Chubby Checker Joins Hall & Oates Onstage to Do ‘The Twist’
Two years ago, when Hall & Oates entered the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, during his acceptance speech Daryl Hall griped that his fellow Philadelphian, Chubby Checker, had not yet been inducted. “How about the biggest single in the history of the world? Chubby Checker,” he proclaimed. “Why isn’t he in [the Hall of Fame]? You guys tell me. I’m calling everybody out.”
And on Sunday night, Daryl Hall and his musical partner John Oates got the chance to celebrate Checker’s sometimes-forgotten legacy, when they invited the early rock ‘n’ roll pioneer onstage during a Yahoo Live broadcast of their concert at the BB&T Pavilion in Camden, NJ.
“In the spirit of Live at Daryl’s House, I’m going to bring out someone who’s a legend in Philadelphia,” Hall announced, referring to his popular cable TV show that has featured everyone from Cheap Trick and Sammy Hagar to Fitz & The Tantrums and Aloe Blacc. “Now, I won’t give you a history lesson, but this guy was the biggest star in the world. In the world, I’m telling you!”
Checker then joined his platinum-selling Philly friends for a rousing rendition of – what else? – “The Twist.” Incidentally, Checker’s famous 1960 version of Hank Ballard and the Midnighters’ 1959 B-side was declared the “biggest hit of the ‘60s” by Billboard magazine in 2014 – an honor bestowed only a few months after Hall & Oates’s pro-Checker Rock and Roll Hall of Fame speech.
