Chubby Checker could be headed for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
Cyndi Lauper, whose two biggest hits were written with Philadelphians, is also nominated, along with OutKast, the White Stripes, Mariah Carey, the Black Crowes, and more.
Has Chubby Checker’s time finally arrived?
The Philadelphia singer born Ernest Evans has long been an advocate for himself as a deserving member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Fueling this is the strength of “The Twist,” his 1960 monster hit at the height of the Philadelphia-centric American Bandstand era during the early days of rock and roll.
And now, the 83-year-old singer born in Spring Gully, S.C., but raised in South Philly, is getting his chance. For the first time, Checker is included on the not-so-short list of nominees to be inducted into Cleveland’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame ceremony that will be held in Los Angeles this fall.
Along with Checker, the nominees are: 1970s English rock band Bad Company, 1990s Southern rock band the Black Crowes; Queen of Christmas and pop-R&B star Mariah Carey; English singer Joe Cocker; punk turned pop star Billy Idol; Joy Division & New Order, the 1980s post punk Brits with shared membership; Mexican rock en español band Maná; the battling Gallagher bothers of Oasis; Atlanta hip-hop greats OutKast; jam band quartet Phish; Seattle grungers Soundgarden, and blues-rock duo the White Stripes. Also on the nominees list is Cyndi Lauper, whose “Girls Just Want To Have Fun” was written by late Philly songwriter Robert Hazard (with added lyrics by Lauper) and her “Time After Time” was penned with Rob Hyman of the Hooters.
In 2001, Checker took out a full-page ad in Billboard arguing he should be included in the Rock Hall. “I want my flowers when I’m alive,” he wrote. “I can’t smell them when I’m dead.” He protested outside the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony in 2002 arguing that he had been snubbed.
The stage name Chubby Checker was the idea of Barbara Clark, American Bandstand host Dick Clark’s wife, after she heard Evans do a Fats Domino impression as a teenager.
The argument against Checker has always been that his case is pretty much based on one song, which he did not write, or record first. It was originally cut by Hank Ballard and the Midnighters and released as a B-side in 1958.
Checker did have other hits, however, including “Pony Time,” “The Fly,” “Twistin’ U.S.A.,” and “Let’s Twist Again.”
And the one-hit-wonder critique seems weak when you consider that the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame has inducted artists like “When a Man Loves a Woman” vocalist Percy Sledge, who is also primarily known for one song.
As Checker has always rightly argued, the hip-swiveling anyone-can-do-it dance that is “The Twist” was legitimately innovative. It meant that once the music started, anyone could head out on the floor and commence dancing on their own. You don’t need a partner to do “The Twist.”
The Rock Hall has broadened its vision of what kind of music can make it into its hallowed hall in recent years, honoring more hip-hop and pop artists. If Maná makes it, for instance, they will be the first exclusively Spanish-language artist to be inducted.
But still, as ever when the nominees are announced, there’s plenty to complain about. Already on Wednesday morning, this year’s nominee list was criticized for including only two women among the 15 nominees. And once again, the Rock Hall has failed more-than-worthy inductees, such as Los Lobos and Warren Zevon.
Fan voting for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame has begun at voterockhall.com.
The final list of inductees, who will be announced in April, is determined by the votes of 1,200 artists, historians, and music business professionals. The fan voting totals are then submitted as just one ballot — along with those 1,200 — in tabulating the winners. The fan vote gets covered like a horse race in the music press, but has negligible effect on the election.