The Twist (song)
{{short description|Single}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}}
"The Twist" is an American pop song written and originally released in 1958 by Hank Ballard and the Midnighters as a B-side to "Teardrops on Your Letter".{{cite book |title= Top Pop Singles 1955-1999|last= Whitburn|first= Joel|author-link= Joel Whitburn|year= 2000|publisher= Record Research, Inc.|location= Menomonee Falls, WI|isbn= 0-89820-140-3|page= 32 }} It was inspired by the twist dance craze. Ballard's version was a moderate hit, peaking at number 28 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in 1960.[http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/esearch/chart_display.jsp?cfi=379&cfgn=Singles&cfn=The+Billboard+Hot+100&ci=3069989&cdi=8780672&cid=07%2F18%2F1960 The Billboard Hot 100 Chart Listing For The Week Of Jul 18 1960], Billboard.com {{dead link|date=May 2013}} On the US Billboard Hot R&B Sides chart, the original version of "The Twist" first peaked at number 16 in 1959 and at number six in 1960.{{cite book |title= Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004|last=Whitburn |first=Joel |author-link=Joel Whitburn |year=2004 |publisher=Record Research |page=44}} By 1962, the record sold in excess of one million copies, becoming Ballard's fourth million seller.{{cite book| first= Joseph| last= Murrells| year= 1978| title= The Book of Golden Discs| edition= 2nd| publisher= Barrie and Jenkins Ltd | location= London| page= 121| isbn= 0-214-20512-6}}
Chubby Checker's 1960 cover version of the song reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 on September 19, 1960, where it stayed for one week, and setting a record at the time as the only song to reach number one during two different chart runs when it resurfaced and topped the Hot 100 again for two weeks starting on January 13, 1962.{{Gilliland |url=https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc19770/m1/ |title=Show 20 – Forty Miles of Bad Road: Early '60s potpourri |show=20 |track=2}} This would not happen for another song for nearly 59 years until December 2020, when Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas Is You" reached the summit after previously topping in another separate chart run in December 2019.
On Billboard's list of all-time No. 1 Hot 100 singles, which considers total weeks on the chart and chart position each week, "The Twist" held the top position from 2008 until September 2020, when "Blinding Lights" by The Weeknd took over the top position.{{cite magazine|title=Watch the Throne|last=Mamo|first=Heran|magazine=Billboard|date=November 20, 2021|volume=133|issue=16|page=5-}} In 2014, Billboard magazine declared the song the "biggest hit" of the 1960s. On Canada's CHUM Charts, the songs were co-charted, reaching number two on August 22, 1960.{{cite web|url=http://chumtribute.com/60-08-22-chart.jpg| title=CHUM Hit Parade - August 22, 1960}}
History
Hank Ballard wrote "The Twist" after seeing teenagers in Tampa, Florida doing the titular dance.Bronson, Fred (2003). The Billboard Book of Number One Hits, p.74. {{ISBN|9780823076772}}.{{cite journal|last=Eury|first=Michael|date=August 2020 |title=The Twist|journal=RetroFan|publisher=TwoMorrows Publishing |location=United States|issue=10 |pages=16–17}} In a 2014 interview with Tom Meros, Midnighters member Lawson Smith claimed that The Gospel Consolaters' Nathaniel Bills wrote the song and initially asked The Spaniels to record it, and that Ballard "stole" the song, falsely claiming authorship.{{cite web |last=Meros |first=Tom |title=Midnighters' Lawson Smith: Hank Ballad Stole 'The Twist' |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7eXm91EVms |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211222/-7eXm91EVms |archive-date=December 22, 2021 |url-status=live|website=YouTube |access-date=October 10, 2021 |date=October 29, 2014}}{{cbignore}} Green and Ballard already had written a song together called "Is Your Love for Real", which was based on Clyde McPhatter and The Drifters' 1955 song "What'cha Gonna Do", so they created an entirely new song by simply putting the new Twist words to the older melody. They originally recorded a loose version of the song in a Florida studio for Vee-Jay Records in early 1958, with slightly different lyrics, featuring Green on guitar playing like Jimmy Reed. This version appeared on the box set "The Vee-Jay Story" in 1993, but it went unreleased at the time. They did not get around to recording the released version until November 11, 1958, when the Midnighters were in Cincinnati.{{cn|date=October 2021}}
Ballard thought "The Twist" was the hit side, but King Records producer Henry Glover preferred the ballad "Teardrops on Your Letter", which he had written himself.{{cn|date=October 2021}} The song ultimately became the B-side of Hank Ballard and The Midnighters' 1959 single "Teardrops on Your Letter". The song was used in the 2007 film Spider-Man 3.{{Cite web|url=https://www.tunefind.com/movie/spider-man-3-2007|title=Tunefind}}
Chubby Checker version
{{Infobox song
| name = The Twist
| cover = The twist 45.jpg
| alt =
| caption = 1960 45 rpm label
| type = single
| artist = Chubby Checker
| album = Twist with Chubby Checker
| B-side =
- "Toot"
- "Twistin' USA"
| released = June 1960
| recorded = 1960
| studio = *Cameo-Parkway
| genre =
- Pop{{cite web|first= Tom |last= Breihan |title= The Number Ones: Chubby Checker's 'The Twist'|website= Stereogum |date= March 5, 2018 |url= https://www.stereogum.com/1985659/the-number-ones-chubby-checkers-the-twist/columns/the-number-ones/|quote= And as a dance-craze record, 'The Twist' had different goals to accomplish than most pop songs.|accessdate= June 7, 2023}}
- rock and roll{{cite book|last= Breihan|first= Tom|chapter= Chubby Checker - 'The Twist|date= November 15, 2022|title= The Number Ones: Twenty Chart-Topping Hits That Reveal the History of Pop Music|publisher=Hachette Book Group|location= New York|page= 21}}
| length = {{Duration|m=2|s=34}}
| label = Parkway
| writer = Hank Ballard
| producer = Dave Appell
| prev_title = Dancing Dinosaur
| prev_year = 1959
| next_title = The Hucklebuck
| next_year = 1960
}}
The song became popular on a Baltimore television dance show hosted by local DJ Buddy Deane; Deane recommended the song to Dick Clark, host of the national American Bandstand. When the song proved popular with his audience, Clark attempted to book Ballard to perform on the show. Ballard was unavailable, and Clark searched for a local artist to record the song. He settled on Checker, whose voice was very similar to Ballard's.{{cite book |title=Behind The Hits:Inside Stories of Classic Pop and Rock and Roll |last=Shannon |first=Bob |author-link=Bob Shannon (WCBS-FM) |author2=John Javna |year=1986 |publisher=Warner Books |location=New York |isbn=0-446-38171-3 |pages= 98–99}} Checker's version featured Buddy Savitt on saxophone and Ellis Tollin on drums,{{cite web
|last = Jackson
|first = Blair
|title = Classic Tracks: Chubby Checker's "The Twist"
|work = Mix Magazine
|date = May 1, 2007
|url = http://mixonline.com/recording/tracking/audio_chubby_checkers_twist/
|url-status = dead
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110629140731/http://mixonline.com/recording/tracking/audio_chubby_checkers_twist/
|archive-date = June 29, 2011
}} with backing vocals by the Dreamlovers. Exposure for the song on American Bandstand and on The Dick Clark Saturday Night Show helped propel the song to the top of the American charts.{{cite book|title= Rock Stars Encyclopedia|last= Rees|first= Dafydd|author2= Luke Crampton|year= 1999|publisher= DK Publishing|location= New York|isbn= 0-7894-4613-8|pages= [https://archive.org/details/rockstarsencyclo00rees/page/192 192–194]|url-access= registration|url= https://archive.org/details/rockstarsencyclo00rees/page/192}}
In July 1960, Checker performed "The Twist" for the first time in front of a live audience at the Rainbow Club in Wildwood, New Jersey, and just weeks later, on August 6, 1960, the song became a national sensation after Checker performed it on Dick Clark's American Bandstand.
In late 1961 and early 1962, the twist craze belatedly caught on in high society. Sightings of celebrities doing the dance made the song a hit with adults, particularly after a report in the Cholly Knickerbocker gossip column. Soon there were long lines at the Peppermint Lounge nightclub in New York, the most popular celebrity twisting spot. This new interest made "The Twist" the first recording to hit number one on the United States charts during two separate chart runs, and marked a major turning point for adult acceptance of rock and roll music.
Checker re-recorded the song numerous times. An updated 1982 recording (from his album The Change Has Come) was retitled "T-82", and in the 1990s, he recorded a country version. In the late 1970s, he recorded a new version that, except for the sound mix and some minor arrangement changes, was identical to the 1960 original; as a result this later version is often misidentified on compilations as the original recording. In 1988, he joined The Fat Boys on a rap version of the song, which hit number 2 in the UK, number 16 in the US, and number 1 in Germany and Switzerland. Checker also joined the group to perform the song that summer at a London tribute concert for Nelson Mandela. In addition, he recorded variations on the theme, such as "Let's Twist Again" to keep the craze alive ("Let's Twist Again" was and has remained more popular than "The Twist" itself in the United Kingdom). Joey Dee and the Starliters, the Peppermint Lounge house band, scored a hit with "Peppermint Twist", while other artists, including Sam Cooke scored with other "Twist"-themed songs. In Europe, Petula Clark scored hits in several countries with "Twist"-themed records, while Bill Haley and His Comets recorded several albums of Twist songs in Mexico for the Orfeon Records label. In 1997, the song was featured in a Teledyne Waterpik commercial, and a commercial for Denny's in 1998, to promote the New Slams.
In the sixth episode of the second season of the TV series Quantum Leap, entitled "Good Morning, Peoria" (set on September 9, 1959), Dr. Sam Beckett (Scott Bakula) and Al Calavicci (Dean Stockwell) meet Chubby Checker (played by himself) in a radio station, where they sing and dance "The Twist". An impressed Checker asks, "Can I use that move?" Sam responds, "Yah, but I got it from you!"
Checker later toured with this signature piece throughout the U.S. Midwest in the 1980s. The song was used in 2007 in Spider-Man 3.
=Charts=
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}
==Weekly charts==
{{col-2}}
==Year-end charts==
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
!Chart (1960) !Position |
| scope="row"|US Billboard Hot 100
|align="center"|10 |
|---|
| Chart (1962)
!Position |
| scope="row"|US Billboard Hot 100
|9 |
==Decade-end charts==
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
!Chart (1960–69) !Position |
| scope="row"|US Billboard Hot 100{{cite magazine|url=http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/6296373/billboard-hot-100-1960|title=The Top 20 Billboard Hot 100 Hits of the 1960s|magazine=Billboard|date=December 19, 2009|access-date=August 16, 2020}}
|1 |
|---|
==All-time charts==
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
!Chart !Position |
| scope="row"|US Billboard Hot 100{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/greatest-hot-100-singles/|title=Greatest of All Time Hot 100 Songs|magazine=Billboard|access-date=February 23, 2023}}
| style="text-align:center;"|2 |
|---|
{{col-end}}
Fat Boys version
{{Infobox song
| name = The Twist
| cover = The Twist Fat Boys cover.png
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Fat Boys with Chubby Checker
| album = Coming Back Hard Again
| B-side = "The Twist" (Buffapella)
| released = 1988
| recorded =
| studio =
| genre =
| length = 4:00 (7-inch version)
| label =
- Tin Pan Apple
- Polydor
| composer = Hank Ballard
| lyricist =
- Hank Ballard
- Jim Glenn
- Damon Wimbley
| producer =
- Albert Cabrera
- Tony Moran
| chronology = Fat Boys
| prev_title = Wipeout!
| prev_year = 1987
| next_title = Are You Ready for Freddy
| next_year = 1988
| misc = {{Extra chronology
| artist = Chubby Checker
| type = single
| prev_title = Harder Than Diamond
| prev_year = 1982
| title = The Twist
| year = 1988
| next_title = Knock Down the Walls
| next_year = 2008
}}
}}
In 1988, American hip-hop trio Fat Boys covered "The Twist" with featured lyrics from Checker and additional rap lyrics written by Jim Glenn and Damon Wimbley. Produced by Albert Cabrera and Tony Moran (the Latin Rascals), this version reached number two in the United Kingdom and number one in West Germany, as well as number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song's music video was produced by Ken Walz and shows the Fat Boys doing the twist with Checker at a sweet sixteen party.{{cite magazine|title=Tom Petty Solos with Help from Friends; Kenny G Blows on 3 Stevie Nicks Tracks|last=Gett|first=Steve|magazine=Billboard|volume=100|issue=22|page=41|date=May 28, 1988}}{{cite magazine|title=June Is Jumping with Hit Artists|last=Rosenbluth|first=Jean|magazine=Billboard|volume=100|issue=23|page=78|date=June 4, 1988}} Checker initially missed the filming in May 1988 due to being hospitalized with spinal meningitis.
=Track listings=
7-inch and cassette single{{cite AV media notes|title=The Twist|year=1988|type=US 7-inch single sleeve|publisher=Tin Pan Apple, Polydor Records|id=887 571-7}}{{cite AV media notes|title=The Twist|year=1988|type=US cassette single sleeve|publisher=Tin Pan Apple, Polydor Records|id=887 737-4}}
:A. "The Twist" (Yo, Twist!) – 4:00
:B. "The Twist" (Buffapella) – 4:15
US 12-inch single{{cite AV media notes|title=The Twist|year=1988|type=US 12-inch single sleeve|publisher=Tin Pan Apple, Polydor Records|id=887 571-1}}
:A1. "The Twist" (Twist So Def version) – 5:57
:A2. "Yo, Twist!" (7-inch version) – 4:00
:B1. "The Twist" (Yell for More!) – 6:30
:B2. "The Twist" (Buffapella) – 4:15
CDV single{{cite AV media notes|title=The Twist|year=1988|type=US CDV single liner notes|publisher=Tin Pan Apple, Mercury Records|id=870 742-2}}
- "Rock the House, Y'all" (audio) – 3:30
- "Comin' Back Hard Again" (audio) – 3:20
- "Back and Forth" (audio) – 2:40
- "The Twist" (audio) – 4:05
- "The Twist" (video) – 5:00
=Charts=
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}
==Weekly charts==
| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
!Chart (1988) !Peak |
| {{single chart|Australia|28|artist=Fat Boys with Chubby Checker|song=The Twist|rowheader=true|access-date=April 24, 2025}} |
| {{single chart|Austria|5|artist=Fat Boys with Chubby Checker|song=The Twist|rowheader=true|access-date=April 24, 2025}} |
| {{single chart|Flanders|2|artist=Fat Boys with Chubby Checker|song=The Twist|rowheader=true|access-date=April 24, 2025}} |
| {{single chart|Canadatopsingles|37|chartid=8588|rowheader=true|access-date=April 24, 2025}} |
| {{single chart|Canadadance|12|chartid=8558|rowheader=true|access-date=April 24, 2025}} |
| scope="row"|Denmark (IFPI){{cite magazine|title=Top 3 in Europe|magazine=Music & Media|volume=5|issue=38|page=31|date=September 17, 1988}}
|2 |
|---|
| scope="row"|Europe (Eurochart Hot 100){{cite magazine|title=Eurochart Hot 100 Singles|magazine=Music & Media|volume=5|issue=34|page=14|date=August 20, 1988}}
|2 |
| {{single chart|France|22|artist=Fat Boys with Chubby Checker|song=The Twist|rowheader=true|access-date=April 24, 2025}} |
| {{single chart|Ireland2|4|song=The Twist (Yo, Twist)|rowheader=true|access-date=April 24, 2025}} |
| {{single chart|Dutch40|2|year=1988|week=31|rowheader=true|access-date=April 24, 2025}} |
| {{single chart|Dutch100|4|artist=Fat Boys with Chubby Checker|song=The Twist|rowheader=true|access-date=April 24, 2025}} |
| {{single chart|New Zealand|7|artist=Fat Boys with Chubby Checker|song=The Twist|rowheader=true|access-date=April 24, 2025}} |
| scope="row"|South Africa (Springbok Radio){{cite web|url=http://rock.co.za/files/sa_charts_1969_1989_songs_(T-V).html|title=SA Charts 1965 – 1989 Songs T–V|website=rock.co.za|access-date=April 24, 2025}}
|6 |
| scope="row"|Spain (AFYVE){{cite book|last=Salaverri|first=Fernando|title=Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002|edition=1st|date=September 2005|publisher=Fundación Autor-SGAE|location=Spain|isbn=84-8048-639-2}}
|4 |
| {{single chart|Sweden|7|artist=Fat Boys with Chubby Checker|song=The Twist|rowheader=true|access-date=April 24, 2025}} |
| {{single chart|Switzerland|1|artist=Fat Boys with Chubby Checker|song=The Twist|rowheader=true|access-date=April 24, 2025}} |
| {{single chart|UK|2|date=19880702|rowheader=true|access-date=April 24, 2025}} |
| scope="row"|US Billboard Hot 100{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100/1988-08-06/|title=Billboard Hot 100|magazine=Billboard|date=August 6, 1988|access-date=April 24, 2025}}
|16 |
| scope="row"|US 12-inch Singles Sales (Billboard){{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-dance-singles-sales/1988-07-23/|title=Dance Singles Sales|magazine=Billboard|date=July 23, 1988|url-access=subscription|access-date=April 24, 2025}}
|47 |
| scope="row"|US Hot Black Singles (Billboard){{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/r-b-hip-hop-songs/1988-08-06/|title=Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs|magazine=Billboard|date=August 6, 1988|url-access=subscription|access-date=April 24, 2025}}
|40 |
| {{single chart|West Germany|1|artist=Fat Boys with Chubby Checker|song=The Twist|songid=1815|rowheader=true|access-date=April 24, 2025}} |
{{col-2}}
==Year-end charts==
{{col-end}}
=Certifications=
{{Certification Table Top}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Germany|type=single|artist=Fat Boys|title=The Twist|award=Gold|relyear=1988|certyear=1989|access-date=April 24, 2025}}
{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true}}
Accolades
Chubby Checker's "The Twist" held the honor of being the most successful single in Billboard history on its various "Greatest Hot 100 Songs of All Time" charts over the decades.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/rock/8468305/chubby-checker-the-twist-hot-100-number-one |title=Chubby Checker's 'The Twist': The Improbable Life and Legacy of the Hot 100's All-Time Number One Song |date=August 2, 2018 |magazine=Billboard |access-date=August 14, 2018}} It held the title until 2021, when it was dethroned by the Weeknd's "Blinding Lights".{{Cite magazine|last=Mamo|first=Heran|date=November 23, 2021|title=The Greatest Hit: The New No. 1 Song of All Time|url=https://www.billboard.com/music/features/the-weeknd-blinding-lights-billboard-cover-story-2021-interview-1235001282/|access-date=December 2, 2021|magazine=Billboard|language=en-US}}
The song is ranked number 451 on the Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time in 2004 and number 457 in 2010. Jim Dawson wrote a 1995 book about the song and the Twist phenomenon called The Twist: The Story of the Song and Dance That Changed the World for Faber and Faber.
In 2000, the 1960 recording by Chubby Checker on Parkway Records was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.{{Cite web|url=https://www.grammy.com/awards/hall-of-fame-award#t|title=GRAMMY Hall Of Fame | Hall of Fame Artists | GRAMMY.com|website=grammy.com}}
The song has been added to the National Recording Registry in the Library of Congress on March 21, 2013, for long-term preservation.{{cite web |title=Simon & Garfunkel song among those to be preserved |url=http://www.cfnews13.com/content/news/cfnews13/news/article.html/content/news/articles/ap/2013/03/21/Simon__Garfunkel_song_among_those_to_be_preserved.html |publisher=CFN13 |access-date=March 21, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130410165726/http://www.cfnews13.com/content/news/cfnews13/news/article.html/content/news/articles/ap/2013/03/21/Simon__Garfunkel_song_among_those_to_be_preserved.html |archive-date=April 10, 2013}} In 2014, Billboard magazine declared the song the "biggest hit" of the 1960s.{{cite magazine|url=http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/6296373/billboard-hot-100-1960|title=The Top 20 Billboard Hot 100 Hits of the 1960s|last=Leight|first=Elias|magazine=Billboard |date=October 27, 2014|access-date=October 28, 2014}}
In 2018, Checker's version was one of six singles inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in a new category honoring singles by artists who have not been elected to the Hall.{{cite web |url=http://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2018/04/rock_and_roll_hall_of_fame_int.html|title=Rock and Roll Hall of Fame introduces new category for singles |last=Smith|first=Troy L.|date=April 15, 2018|website=Cleveland.com|access-date= April 21, 2018}}
Editions
- USA: Hank Ballard and the Midnighters: "Teardrops on Your Letter" b/w "The Twist" 1959
- USA: Chubby Checker: "The Twist" b/w "Toot" Parkway 811; 7/60
- USA: Chubby Checker: "The Twist" b/w "Twistin' USA" Parkway 811; 11/61
See also
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
External links
- [https://www.chubbychecker.com/discography Chubby Checker discography]
{{Hank Ballard & the Midnighters}}
{{Chubby Checker}}
{{2018 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Twist, The}}
Category:Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles
Category:Cameo-Parkway Records singles
Category:Cashbox number-one singles
Category:Hank Ballard & the Midnighters songs
Category:Number-one singles in Germany
Category:Number-one singles in Switzerland
Category:Polydor Records singles
Category:Songs written by Hank Ballard
Category:United States National Recording Registry recordings