The Twist

In the rock ‘n’ roll era, only one song has gone to number 1 on Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart in its first chart appearance and then hit number 1 again during a second run on the charts.  That song?  Chubby Checker’s “The Twist,” which originally hit number 1 for one week in 1960, then exactly 50 years ago today, hit number 1 during its second chart appearance, this time spending two weeks at the top of the chart.

This feat was representative of Checker’s career, which was largely built on various incarnations of “The Twist.”  In 1961, a little less than a year after hitting number 1 the first time with “The Twist,” Checker hit number 8 with “Let’s Twist Again.”  In 1962, Checker followed up the second number 1 run for “The Twist” by hitting number 3 with “Slow Twistin’.”  Checker would also hit number 25 in 1963 with “Twist It Up” and then, 25 years later, hit number 16 in 1988 while teaming up with the Fat Boys for “The Twist (Yo, Twist!).”