Chubby Checker

Rock 'n' roll icon Chubby Checker blasted into the stratosphere in 1960 following his blockbuster cover of Hank Ballard & The Midnighters' “The Twist,” which raced up the charts and sparked a global dance craze. Checker was born Ernest Evans in 1941 in Spring Gully, South Carolina, grew up in South Philadelphia, and honed his chops performing in street-corner harmony groups and imitating popular acts like Elvis Presley and Fats Domino. Evans took on his famed moniker (a play on both his nickname and adulation of Domino) in 1958 after catching the ear of American Bandstand host Dick Clark. He quickly secured a record deal and TV appearances that produced hit singles (and dances) like “Pony Time,” “The Fly,” and “Limbo Rock.” After “The Twist” fad passed, Checker dabbled in psychedelic music, disco, and pop ballads, but while the shadow of his hip-shaking legacy grew too formidable to escape, it also ensured his permanent place in the pantheon of rock 'n' roll trailblazers.