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Why Isn't Chubby Checker In The Rock and Roll Of Fame?

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By: john-russell • 5 years ago • 16 comments

Why Isn't Chubby Checker In The Rock and Roll Of Fame?

I think two simple facts more than support Chubby Checker as a rightful member of the Rock and Roll Hall Of fame

1. He recorded the most popular song of the rock era.

2. That song is a "rock and roll" song.

And let's add that between 1960 and 1966 he had 23 singles that appeared in the national top 40 (Billboard) , so he was not a one hit wonder.

In 2018 Billboard put out a list of the 100 most popular singles of the "rock era" which at that time was 1958-2017. The number one song on that list is "The Twist" by Chubby Checker.

THE TWIST - Chubby Checker

The Twist was one of the biggest dance crazes of the 20th century.

The man who wrote The Twist , a 1950's r&b artist named Hank Ballard, is in the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame.

And the song itself is in the R&R Hall of fame, having been inducted a few years ago. But Chubby Checker is not. Chubby is 78 years old now and doesnt have forever to wait.

If the person who sang the most popular song in rock and roll history is not "famous" enough for a "hall of fame" , what is the point ?

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Professor Principal

1 author JohnRussell 5 years ago

The beauty of The Twist was that in order to be able to do the dance you didn't have to be able to , well, you know...... dance.

Professor Principal

1.1 author JohnRussell replied to JohnRussell @1 5 years ago

The beauty of The Twist was that in order to be able to do the dance you didn't have to be able to , well, you know...... dance.

It is possible to do The Twist reasonably well without moving your feet at all. I know that from personal experience.

Professor Principal

3 Kavika 5 years ago

Impossible to have a valid excuse for Chubby not being in the RR Hall of Fame.

Professor Principal

3.2 author JohnRussell replied to Kavika @3 5 years ago

I was surprised to see he was only 19 years old when The Twist first came out. He always looked a lot older than that.

Professor Principal

3.2.1 JBB replied to JohnRussell @3.2 5 years ago

Because he was, um, corpulent a/k/a chubby...

Professor Quiet

3.2.2 Jasper2529 replied to JBB @3.2.1 5 years ago

Because he was, um, corpulent a/k/a chubby...

Really? I didn't know that.

According to an interview ...

After school Evans would entertain customers at his various jobs, including Fresh Farm Poultry in the Italian Market on Ninth Street and at the Produce Market, with songs and jokes. It was his boss at the Produce Market, "Tony A.", who gave Evans the nickname "Chubby". The owner of Fresh Farm Poultry, Henry Colt, was so impressed by the boy's performances for the customers that he, along with his colleague and friend Kal Mann, who worked as a songwriter for Cameo-Parkway Records ,^[6]

Professor Expert

3.3 Buzz of the Orient replied to Kavika @3 5 years ago

Maybe they thought he couldn't fit through the door.

Professor Quiet

4 Jasper2529 5 years ago

If the person who sang the most popular song in rock and roll history is not "famous" enough for a "hall of fame" , what is the point ?

I remember Chubby Checker's great songs very well. I don't know what the Hall of Fame induction criteria is, but here are a couple of my thoughts.

Maybe he hasn't been inducted because ...

his popularity in the US was less than 10 years? His main popularity was in Europe starting in the 1970s after his early 1960s mega-hits in the USA died down.
he protested outside of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002 because he wasn't an inductee yet?

Masters Expert

5 al Jizzerror 5 years ago

Did you know where "Chubby Checker" got his last name?

And, it was Domino who served as the muse for Chubby Checker's moniker. Checker was born Ernest Evans and nicknamed "Chubby" since childhood. In 1961, the singer was perfecting his Fats Domino impression in the recording studio of Dick Clark of American Bandstand fame. When Clark's second wife, Barbara, heard him, she quipped, "His name is Chubby, like Fats? Well, then, his last name should be Checker, like Domino."
Dick Clark also was responsible for Checker's big break . When the song's writer, Hank Ballard , was unable to perform "The Twist" live on American Bandstand, Clark asked Checker to cover the tune, which became an instant hit.

Domino went on to inspire other musicians, including Elvis Presley and The Beatles, who reportedly wrote "Lady Madonna" with Domino's distinctive style in mind.

Here's something about Chubby's daughter:

Chubby Checker's daughter is WNBL player Mistie Bass , who helped win a WNBA championship with the Phoenix Mercury in 2014. Bass was signed for the 2017-2018 season with the Australian Canberra Capitals. She is also the wife of former NFL quarterback Shane Boyd. ibid

Professor Silent

6 charger 383 5 years ago

He isn't in there?

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