Chubby Checker to perform June 20 in Cape

In 1960, Chubby Checker's dance craze "the twist" changed the world one dance floor at a time. On June 20, the boogieman himself is coming to town.

"It's a lovely area, Cape Girardeau," Checker said. "And we're going to tear it down."

He and his band the Wildcats are bringing their vintage rock 'n' roll repertoire, including the twist, the pony and the hucklebuck, to Isle Casino Cape Girardeau to kick off the casino's Jester's Jam entertainment series.

What can fans expect to see at the show?

"Chubby Checker," he explained. "It's like a hurricane; it's something you feel in the air. We get rockin' and we don't stop 'till there's nothing left on the foundation."

Even those who are too young to know him by name know his contribution to pop music. Chubby Checker is more or less responsible for the song-and-dance format that begot every subsequent phenomenon from the macarena to gangnam style. The twist remains the gold standard by which all other dance fads are measured.

"You look at Justin Bieber, Britney Spears, Pharrell. Chubby Checker's in all that," he said in an telephone interview with the Southeast Missourian.

Checker recorded his version of the Hank Ballard's "The Twist" in 1958, and it sat on the shelf for two years until he rocked Dick Clark's "American Bandstand." The tune went to the top of the pop charts and inspired a flurry of spinoff hits like the "Peppermint Twist" and the "Oliver Twist." But Checker's version remains the only song in history ever to hit No. 1 on Billboard's Top 100 charts in two separate runs, first in 1960 and again in 1962. Billboard Magazine named "The Twist" the "biggest chart hit of all time" on the song's 50th anniversary in 2008.

"We were in the right place at the right time," he said. "We changed everything. I'm not sure if it will ever happen again like that. It might, but it hasn't for the past 50 years."

Checker won a Grammy in 1961 for Best Rock and Roll Solo Performance with his "Twist" follow-up, "Let's Twist Again." He said that he and the Wildcats still have that same spark when they perform.

Checker will perform at 7 and 9 p.m. June 20 at the Isle of Capri Event Center. Tickets start at $25 and may be purchased from the Isle Casino gift shop or at cape-girardeau.isleofcapricasinos.com.

tgraef@semissourian.com

777 N. Main St. in Cape Girardeau