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"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 Billboard's list of all-time No. 1 Hot 100 singles, which considers total weeks on the chart and chart position each week, "The Twist" held the top position from 2008 until September 2020, when "Blinding Lights" by The Weeknd took over the top position.[6]
On Canada's CHUM Charts, the songs were co-charted, reaching number 2 on August 22, 1960.[7]
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.[8]
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2000). Top Pop Singles 1955-1999. Menomonee Falls, WI: Record Research, Inc. p. 32. ISBN 0-89820-140-3.
- ^ The Billboard Hot 100 Chart Listing For The Week Of Jul 18 1960, Billboard.com [dead link]
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 44.
- ^ Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. p. 121. ISBN 0-214-20512-6.
- ^ Gilliland, John (1969). "Show 20 – Forty Miles of Bad Road: Early '60s potpourri" (audio). Pop Chronicles. University of North Texas Libraries. Track 2.
- ^ Mamo, Heran (November 20, 2021). "Watch the Throne". Billboard. Vol. 133, no. 16. p. 5-.
- ^ "CHUM Hit Parade - August 22, 1960".
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
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