"The Twist" - 50 Years Dancing Apart to the Beat

July 9, 1960, dance was forever changed. We have spent the past 50 years dancing apart to the beat, since the day Chubby Checker appeared on Dick Clark's American Bandstand." Elvis Presley is The King of Rock and Roll, because when he burst onto the Rock and Roll scene, Rock and Roll was forever changed. Michael Jackson is the King of Pop, for the same reason that, just like Presley changed Rock and Roll, Jackson forever changed Pop music. We seem to, however forget the King of Dance. To be more precise, dancing apart to the beat as we do today is because of one man who knows how to move. Chubby Checker forever changed how we danced with a simple song and dance called "The Twist." I was able to speak with Checker about the past 50 years dancing apart to the beat and more.

July 9^th 2010 marked 50 years since "The Twist" created a whole new way to dance. How does it feel fifty years later, to be still be twisting and doing music?

People haven't got it right yet. It has been fifty years of the way we dance on the dance floor to everybody's music. This is what they miss. If they say fifty years of "The Twist" that's true, but "The Twist" is something that gave us a style of dancing. That style of dancing is fifty years old to anybody's music. Because "The Twist", "The Shake", "The Pony", "The Fly", and "The Huckelbuck," that's what people do and that is what they have been doing since we came on the scene. The style of dance that we now enjoy on the dance floor, before Chubby Checker it was not here. It is the fiftieth year of "The Twist" but it is also the fiftieth year of the way we dance to the beat on the dance floor. You can't give Alexandra Graham Bell the telephone, and say it happened back then, and you act like you're not talking on it today. The thing is we are celebrating fifty years of the way we dance on the dance floor, before Chubby it wasn't here, so that is what we are really celebrating.

I interviewed you back in 2007. It was when "Knock Down the Walls" was coming out. Can you tell me what has been going on in the past three years with you?

"Knock Down the Walls" was the last thing that we did. We struggled with it and we got a little bit of airplay with it. We are working on some new things. When we turn from music we usually turn to snacks and right now we are working on the Chocolate Checker Bar. We are hoping to have that on TV early next year. We will be on TV selling a Checkered Board Chocolate Candy Bar. It is the only one like it in the world, there is no other like it. That is kind of exciting and then we are on tour.

On the second of December I am going to be in Branson, Missouri at the Icon Theater for the whole month of December. In between that time we are going to be going to Oklahoma for a concert. On New Year's Eve we are going to be in Telluride, Colorado. Starting a week from now I am going to be really busy until the first of January. I think the reason I am able to stay so busy is because of everything we have done over the years it's like a permanent peace of furniture out in the world I guess.

Can you tell me about your experience at the 2010 Emmys?

I almost did not even get on that show. They said we are only giving you a minute. I said what am I going to do with a minute? Then a started thinking about a minute is a long time if you do the right thing. But if you noticed when we came on to sing everybody stood up. All the movie and TV stars, they were so excited that I was on stage. They were standing for the whole time that I was there. Just before the end of it I saw Susan Lucci. I see her being the queen of the Soaps and I just grabbed her. We started dancing and I just picked her up. I enjoyed that. We had the best time. It was great and it was wonderful exposure for me because I don't get that much. It was just great to out there with all the television stars.

Is there anything you feel strongly about, that you want to highlight?

We have an incredible batting average out there in the music business. We had five albums in the Top 12 all at one time. No one has ever done that. The only people who had five albums in the top five were "The Beatles," but their number one song was "Twist and Shout." We are the only people to have nine double sided hit songs, we had the first platinum with "Let's Twist Again," we have the first rock and roll Grammy with "Let's Twist Again, we have the biggest song of the decade with "The Twist", the only song to be number one twice is "The Twist" and in 2008 on September 11 "The Twist was named the number one song of all time. What am I most concerned about? Musical rejection, my music is not being played. Musical rejection, I can't get used to that. Every night when I go to sleep, I wake up and I hear the radio and no one is playing Chubby Checker. Even oldies radio they play the Beatles "Twist and Shout" but not "The Twist" I don't understand that.

You're a legend and nowadays, even for you, it seems radio is not an easy place to get noticed. Why do you think it is so hard for people with great talent to get radio play?

I don't get anything played. I'm nothing. I'm not a legend, I'm not anything. If you look on the internet and see how many people have patent on "The Twist" and trademarks on "The Twist" there are literally thousands. Duncan Donuts is twisting, Twizzler's is twisting, Pepsi is twisting, and everybody is twisting. It is like I never existed

I have had people tell me "if it is not on the radio it must not be any good." Can you explain to people who think like this why that is not so?

The answer to that is whatever is played on the radio is what you have to listen to, whether you like it or not. The point is I don't even have that opportunity to see whether they like me or not because I don't get airplay.

Lots of other people like me get a lot of airplay. Marvin Gaye gets a lot of airplay and Michael Jackson wasn't getting a lot of airplay until he died. Barry White and Nat King Cole get a lot of airplay. All the dead ones get played not the ones that are living.

I don't get my music played that is the only thing that really irritates me about the music industry. My music is not being played and it is so very sad. If you have seen my shows we are in such good shape, and we perform like we did years ago. It's still good and our persona is still here and people are making millions of dollars off of our creations every day. They just overlook the Chub. I want to hear it while I am alive. It is like an insurance policy, you pay for it all your life and then you die and you don't get the benefit.

Now don't get me wrong everything is good we are doing shows, everything is out there and people are coming to see us and enjoying what we do. At least we have that and we are pleased with that. If they played my music, however, more people would come to our show and we would have more fun with more people.

If you were the interviewer and I was the musician what one question would you ask me?

I'm you and I live in Ohio.

I remember when the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame was trying to get erected in Cleveland. I remember that you came to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to enhance the building of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Why aren't you in it?

What is your answer to that question?

I really don't know. Around 10 years ago I wrote an article in the Billboard Magazine and said that I wanted a statue of myself erected in the courtyard of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The reason for that was that everyone in there since 1960, my dances represent the songs that they play on the radio every day. I think it would be very fitting to have a Chubby Checker statue in the courtyard of the Hall of Fame inviting everyone into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I got a lot of flak for that.

I said to them the only reason that the Hall of Fame is in Cleveland is because a man named Alan Freed would only play the original songs on the radio, and back in those days the white kids would always cover the black kids songs, and the black kids didn't get any play on the radio. They were inflamed at him because he took that stand and played the original songs.

Payola was around at that time and I think they used Alan Freed as a scapegoat to destroy him as a way of getting him out of business and he died a broken hearted man. Alan Freed did some incredible things for black kids. They wouldn't play their music on the radio so he went and made movies so kids could come to the movie houses and see these kids sing their music. I worship him for that.

I am glad the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is in Cleveland because of Alan Freed. It did not belong anywhere else. That is why when they were erecting the Hall of Fame and they wanted me to come down and sing. I wondered why they wanted me to come down and represent them when they were trying to get the building erected. I still can't put that together.

In time maybe Chubby Checker will be in the Hall of Fame. Right now though, I have to deal with the day to day business of being Chubby Checker and doing that thing that I do, because to me that is the most important thing. There are people in the Hall who now have day jobs they are not even doing it now. The gift is to be able to go out and play, and be out there active in the world doing shows. That is the most rewarding part of it all.

I think this is a fitting place to end the interview. We have spent the past 50 years dancing apart to the beat thanks to Chubby Checker, and Checker is still out there playing and dancing and having fun. Give yourself a reward and go see Chubby Checker the next time he is in your area. You will have a blast doing "The Twist" with the King of Dance himself Chubby Checker.