The Twist (song)

"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".[1] It was inspired by the twist dance craze. Ballard's version was a moderate hit, peaking at number 28 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1960.[2] 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.[3] By 1962, the record sold in excess of one million copies, becoming Ballard's fourth million seller.[4]

Chubby Checker's 1960 cover version of the song reached number 1 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 1 in two different hit parade runs when it resurfaced and topped the popular hit parade again for two weeks starting on January 13, 1962.[5] 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 Canada's CHUM Charts, the songs were co-charted, reaching number 2 on August 22, 1960.[6]

In 1988, "The Twist" again became popular due to a new recording of the song by The Fat Boys featuring Chubby Checker. This version reached number 2 in the United Kingdom and number 1 in Germany as well as #16 on the Billboard Hot 100. In 2014, Billboard magazine declared the song the "biggest hit" of the 1960s.[7]

  1. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2000). Top Pop Singles 1955-1999. Menomonee Falls, WI: Record Research, Inc. p. 32. ISBN 0-89820-140-3.
  2. ^ The Billboard Hot 100 Chart Listing For The Week Of Jul 18 1960, Billboard.com [dead link‍]
  3. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 44.
  4. ^ Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. p. 121. ISBN 0-214-20512-6.
  5. ^ Gilliland, John (1969). "Show 20 – Forty Miles of Bad Road: Early '60s potpourri" (audio). Pop Chronicles. University of North Texas Libraries. Track 2.
  6. ^ "CHUM Hit Parade - August 22, 1960".
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference BB2014 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).