Chubby Checker was born Ernest Evans on October 3, 1941 in Andrews, South Carolina and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Dick Clark's wife at the time suggested he change his name to Chubby Checker because of his resemblance to Fats Domino. When Chubby recorded a cover version of the Hank Ballard song, The Twist, a new worldwide dance craze was born and a long term career kicked into high gear. Of course, we all know that The Twist went on to become Number One in 1960; and then in late November of 1961, it was re-released and once again it shot to the Number One spot on the charts. This is the only record of the rock era to re-enter the charts and return to the #1 position.
Chubby Checker had 35 records hit the charts between 1959 and 1988, including eight Top Ten hits and four Gold records.
This week on Treasure Island Oldies, Voice Your Choice spotlights Chubby Checker with two listener favourites: Hooka Tooka and Pony Time. Which song do you prefer?
Come to the Voice Your Choice page and cast your vote. The winning song will get played in Hour 3 of next week's show.
