As today is Chubby Checker’s birthday, here are 10 things you might not know about the Twist.
The word twist in relation to dancing actually dates back much further than the 1960s. It dates back to the nineteenth century when a similar pelvic dance move was brought to America by slaves from the Congo. The lyric "Now anybody can learn the knack, put your hands on your hips and bend your back; stand in one spot nice and tight, and twist around, twist around with all of your might" is from a hit song called Mess Around by Perry Bradford in 1912.
Chubby Checker’s song, The Twist, was a cover version of a song released in 1958 by Hank Ballard and the Midnighters as a B-side to Teardrops on Your Letter.
The song was inspired by the dance craze, rather than the song creating the craze.
The original recording of The Twist topped the Billboard charts twice, in 1960 and in 1962.
Chubby Checker released several follow up tunes with a twist theme, including Let’s Twist Again. Other artists jumped on the bandwagon with songs like Peppermint Twist (Joey Dee and the Starliters) and Twist and Shout (The Beatles).
The Jerk, the Pony, the Watusi, the Mashed Potato, the Monkey, and the Funky Chicken were all dances inspired by The Twist but none of them were ever as popular.
A world record was set in DeLand, Florida, on October 11, 2012, when Chubby Checker sang the song live and 4,000 people twisted along.
The dance gets a mention in the Amazing Spiderman issue number 2, where Jameson tells Peter Parker to buy "twist records" with his money.
The song was added to the National Recording Registry in the US Library of Congress on March 21, 2013 for long-term preservation.
Feel inspired to have a go? Here’s how it’s done. Stand with feet hip width apart. Grind the feet as if you’re extinguishing a cigarette on the floor and move the body as if you’re drying yourself with a Towel. the dance can be varied in speed, intensity, and vertical height as necessary.
Character birthday
Obsidian's Ark
Teenage years bring no end of problems. Daniel Moran's include getting hold of computer games his parents don't think he should have; a full blown crush on the beautiful Suki from Zorostan; maintaining his status as a prefect and getting his homework done. He must also keep from his parents and sister the fact that he is a superhero with a sword from another world.
Trish wonders how to get science whizz Tom to notice her; how to persuade him that the best way to stand up to the school bully is to fight back. She doesn't want her friends, especially not Tom, to know she is a genetic variant with superpowers. Little does she know that Tom has secrets of his own.
Suki struggles to make friends at school when she cannot understand everyday cultural references, and they all suspect her of being a terrorist. She, too, has a secret, but is it what her classmates assume?
When Daniel stumbles upon a plot by an alliance of supervillains to plunge the world into war, he tries to alert the established superheroes, but none of them believe him. When the Prime Minister's only daughter, Yasmin Miller, is abducted, Daniel knows the villains' plan is underway. It seems humanity's only hope may be Daniel and the ragtag bunch of teenage superheroes he recruits. Can he pull together, not only his own team, but the older heroes as well, in a bid to save the Earth from a devastating war?
Trish wonders how to get science whizz Tom to notice her; how to persuade him that the best way to stand up to the school bully is to fight back. She doesn't want her friends, especially not Tom, to know she is a genetic variant with superpowers. Little does she know that Tom has secrets of his own.
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