Chubby Checker - The Chubby Checker Collection 1959-62 (2019)

Chubby Checker was one of the many artists to emerge from the burgeoning rock ‘n’ roll scene in Philadelphia during the 1905, helped by the thriving commercial and creative environment provided by the independent labels which sprang up in the city in those years, and the fact that Dick Clark’s “American Bandstand” TV show was based there. Born in 1941, Chubby came to the fore when he popularised the Twist dance craze in the USA in 1960, making No. 1 with “The Twist”, eventually resulting in the dance becoming a sensation all round the world when he had a big hit with “Let’s Twist Again” the following year. As well as other successful records based round the Twist theme, his producers at the Cameo label ensured that he became the vehicle for introducing a number of other dance crazes with hits like “Pony Time”, “The Fly”, “Limbo Rock” and “Popeye The Hitchhiker” over the next couple of years. This great-value 60-track 2-CD set comprises the A and B sides of his US and UK singles from his 1959 debut through to the end of 1962, along with selected titles from his several dance-focused albums during these years, “Twist With Chubby Checker”, “For Twisters Only”, “It's Pony Time”, “Let's Twist Again”, “For Teen Twisters Only”, “Limbo Party” and “Beach Party”. It features all his 15 UK and US chart entries from these years, including the No. 1s “The Twist” and “Pony Time”, and the Top 5 hits “Let’s Twist Again”, “Slow Twistin’” and “Limbo Rock”. It’s set that captures the essence of the dance craze era through the medium of one of its prime movers.