The Twist

The History of Rock-n-Roll: In 1958, Ballard wrote “The Twist”, an up tempo 12 bar blues that used a melody line he’d lifted from the group’s flop of the previous year, “Is Your Love For Real?” which he had in turn borrowed from McPhatter and the Drifter’s 1955 hit “What ‘Cha Gonna Do?”.

Chubby Checker : After school, Chubby would sing and crack jokes at his various jobs including Fresh Farm Poultry on 9th Street and at the Produce Market. It was Ernest’s boss at the Produce Market, Tony A., who gave Ernest the nickname “Chubby”.

Classicbands.com : Bernie Lowe, president of Cameo-Parkway Records, was not impressed with Chubby’s recording and felt that it might be suitable for a “B” side at best. For that reason, it took nearly fourteen months, from June 1959, to August 1960, for “The Twist” to catch on. Chubby worked hard at promoting the record – interviews, TV dates and live performances. After three weeks of demonstrating the Twist, he had lost nearly thirty pounds.

Lonnie Mack : In 1963, Lonnie cut an instrumental version of Chuck Berry‘s ”Memphis.” He didn’t even know that Fraternity had issued the single until he heard it on the radio, and within a few weeks “Memphis” had hit the national Top 5 Lonnie Mack went from being a talented regional roadhouse player to a national star virtually overnight.

Answers.com : When he was not yet 21, Gary Anderson was approached by local record producer Frank Guida to join his tiny Legrand label. Guida changed Anderson’s name to U.S. Bonds, hoping the first release would get extra airplay by disc jockeys mistaking it for a public-service announcement.