My very first radio interview with a “big star” occurred in 1983 with the legendary Chubby Checker, who, believe it or not-was scheduled to play a very small club called The Roundup in Ellsworth, Maine.
I admit that I was a bit nervous—after all, this was the man who made “The Twist” a huge hit in 1960 and started a dance craze across the nation.
He couldn’t have been any nicer or gracious to a young and inexperienced broadcaster like me, but for awhile, I thought he was pulling my leg. He stated that “The Twist” was a turning point in American history!
Of course I chuckled at this---thinking the man was joking.
He was not.
Indeed, he elevated the song and the dance that inspired it to levels that approached the importance of the moon landing and the polio vaccine. Really. It was only after a few minutes of hearing him compare this pop song with cultural, historical and scientific advancements of far greater impact that I realized that Chubby had perhaps smoked a few chubbies too many himself.
At any rate, the show at this little club in Ellsworth was a tour de force of nonstop music and dancing, with zero breaks in between songs. The man was still a bit “chubby”, but could he ever move!
It was on this date in 1962 that Chubby Checker appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show. I couldn’t locate that footage, but here is a clip from, I believe, American Bandstand:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGAUTADn47U
Chubby’s appearance on Ed Sullivan boosted sales of the single so much that it reached #1 AGAIN –still the only song to top the chart TWICE. It is considered one of the most successful singles of all time-having stayed in the Top 100 charts for 39 weeks!
Did the Salk polio vaccine ever do THAT? I don’t think so!
If you’d like my blog in your weekday box, just drop me an e-mail (FREE!) tim.moore@citcomm.com
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