Chubby Checker

Raised in South Philadelphia, Ernest Evans grew up singing on street corners with school friends and mimicking Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis Presley, Fats Domino and other stars of the day. His talent earned him an audition for American Bandstand host Dick Clark, for whom he recorded a novelty Christmas single, featuring his impressions of other artists. Given the name Chubby Checker by Clark's wife, his defining moment came in 1960 when he covered a little known 12-bar blues song by Hank Ballard and the Midnighters. The Twist became a huge US Number 1 hit and one of the great landmarks in early rock'n'roll, with its accompanying dance move becoming the hot craze of the year and an ingrained part of popular culture. The track had a number of re-releases and different interpretations down the years and was named Biggest Chart Hit Of All Time by Billboard Magazine in 2008. Checker went on to score a string of up-tempo dance hits in the following years, including Limbo Rock, Loddy Lo and the US Number 1 Pony Time, but styles soon changed with the invasion of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones and his success dried up after 1965.