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He's the singer who I feel made the greatest impact of 1960. "The Twist" was THE dance to do as it became a nationwide sensation. Legend has it that during a Bandstand show in the summer of 1960, a black couple were spotted on camera doing some strange dance steps. A horrified Dick Clark ordered cameras off the couple, but after thinking about it, came to the conclusion that there may be money-making potential here. Hank Ballard had previously written (in 1958) and recorded "The Twist" in 1959 with his group The Midnighters as a B side to "Teardrops On Your Letter", one of their big R + B hits. This peaked at no. 16, R + B. On the momentum of the Checker hit, the group charted again at no. 28 with their original and was the first record to place Ballard's name in front. This is the same song that was done by Checker. Check out the Ballard version; Checker recorded the song exactly the same, note by note! It could be said that Chubby Checker was created by Dick Clark. Checker first hit the Top 40 with the novelty "The Class" (1959), on Cameo Records, Parkway label, which was partially owned by Clark. Checker also attended high school with Fabian and Frankie Avalon. The company chose Checker to sing the remake and "Twist" was given very heavy promotion on American Bandstand. The rest is recording, cultural, AND merchandising history as the dance took off nationwide and later, internationally. The Twist became a No. 1 record in 1960. Checker became known not only as the "Twist King" but also the "Dance King" for popularizing The Hucklebuck, The Fly, The Popeye, and The Limbo. The former chicken plucker, born Ernest Evans, even got his new name from Dick Clark's wife at the time, who said that he looked like a litle Fats Domino, hence a Chubby Checker. Brenda Lee Brenda Lee, who had her 1st chart hit at 12 (!), debuted on the Top 40 with the no. 4 smash "Sweet Nothin's" (1960). Is it just me? "Little Miss Dynamite" went on to two No. 1s in 1960, "I'm Sorry" and "I Want To Be Wanted." "That's All You Gotta Do", "Sorry"'s B side, even charted at no 6. "Just A Little" reached no. 40.
The copyright of the article Pop Music Hits in the Year 1960 in 60s Music is owned by Patricia Jacobs. Permission to republish Pop Music Hits in the Year 1960 in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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