The scenes are iconic : Mia and Vincent , so serious about it in " Pulp Fiction " ; Peggy in " Mad Men , " trying to seduce Pete ; Ferris Bueller atop a parade float with thousands cheering him on . The dancing called " the Twist " has leave an unerasable impression on multiple generations since it hit the airwaves in 1960 … but why ?
It ’s about as simple as a saltation can get , and it ’s fairly low - get-up-and-go as far as these thing go . It ’s sexy , but not lewd ; Twist partners do n’t even touch . The dramatic impingement of the Twist on the early days of ' LX ( and beyond ) had perhaps more to do with its social implications than it did the well-off , anyone - can - do - it hip rocking that flood dance floors and life rooms around the humanity – although the hip thing definitely did n’t injure .
In this clause , we ’ll discover out what the Twist is , how it got begin , who vulgarize the iconic dance and how you could do it on your own dance floor today . There ’s nothing quite like the Twist for straightaway - up , retro fun .
Let ’s begin with the guy cable who started it all with a tricky Sung dynasty : Chubby Checker , aka grocery - store shop assistant Ernest Evans …
Chubby Checker and the Twist
The degree name , they say , is rooted in a puerility moniker , " Chubby , " combined with an reflexion by Dick Clark ’s married woman that Ernest looked like a chubby Fats Domino ( chequer and dominoes – get it ? ) [ sources : ChubbyChecker , Jourdan ] .
But the birdcall that made Chubby Checker a star was really a natural covering ; " The Twist " was first performed by a group called Hank Ballard and the Midnighters , but it did n’t really take off . In 1959 , Chubby recorded it – and again , it did n’t make much of an impact . His producers slot it to be a B - side [ reservoir : ChubbyChecker ] .
That changed the following year , when the song was released as a single and Checker performed " The Twist " on Dick Clark ’s pop - music show " American Bandstand . " With that desired photo ( and all those pretty girls shaking their hip ) , the call , the dance and Chubby Checker took the world by storm .
Chubby Checker became an all-night sensation , performing his collision song nonstop in the early ' sixty and going on to record hit song after hit song , often accompanied by key signature dances . Many of his follow - up hit also had " Twist " in the form of address , most notably " Let ’s Twist Again , " which was nearly as big a hit as Checker ’s original break - out song .
" The Twist " bump off No . 1 on the Billboard Charts in September 1960 , and stayed there for a week . Still , impressive as a running play at No . 1 is , that ’s not the biggest title to renown for the strain and terpsichore …
The Twist Craze
No . 1 is a exploit . world-wide phenomenon is a effort . Simply performing on " American Bandstand " is an honour . " The Twist , " however , earned a much more meaning achievement in 1962 , when it carry out something no other song has , before or since : The precise same version of " The Twist " birdsong landed at No . 1 for a second trial in 1962 .
The full time Checker ’s hit spent on the charts came to nine month ( with three weeks in the top spot ) , and its impingement ran deep . For one thing , it was the first pop dance in which the dance partner did n’t touch , but instead dance separately to the beatnik .
It correspond the ' LX – a decade moving away from the structure of the 1950s , of poodle skirt and cone bandeau , a perfect accompaniment to the pencil skirts and slacks that suddenly put lady friend ' hips ( and rear ! ) in the public eye . " The Twist " had girls and son dancing on their own , individuals rather than a individual building block , and gave them the freedom to express themselves as such .
Chubby Checker ’s song and dance became a symbolic representation of the ten , landing at or near the top of the charts in Great Britain , South Africa , Canada , New Zealand and Brazil , for a start , and inspiring countless Twist - have-to doe with follow - ups , and not only by Chubby Checker , of which Sam Cooke ’s " Twistin the Night Away " ( 1962 ) andThe Beatles'“Twist and Shout " ( 1964 ) are two of the well - have it away [ source : Tsort ] .
Even in the twenty-first one C , " The Twist " be on in moving-picture show , TV shows , and its ever - lasting consequence on couples'-dancing flair . You ’ll find people twisting on dance floor today – although they may not be aware of it .
So , how do you know if you ’re twist ? It ’s easy to separate …
How to Do the Twist
While you do n’t see heap of the great unwashed twisting the nighttime away at terpsichore clubs ( the dancing itself has n’t been a craze in 10 ) , elements of the Twist – the hips , the terpsichore - apart - but - together – have stand up the test of time .
Plus , retro is ( almost ) always groovy .
To properly Twist , then , you ’ll ask at least a modicum of speech rhythm . And that ’s about it .
If you ’ve ever stubbed out acigarettewith your ft , or see someone else do it with style ( check out Olivia Newton - John in the final scene of " Grease " for character ) , you ’ve witness the Twist without musical concomitant . It goes pretty much like this :
With the right amount of attitude , rhythm and maybe a little humor , the Twist can still go over crowing . And beyond the retro appeal , the terpsichore is a requirement at any ' 60s - theme party – or any of the " distortion " conventions that have popped up around the song ’s 50th anniversary , some of which have featured Chubby Checker himself execute the iconic smasher .
Because , ultimately , the Twist never go out of style . It ’s kind of like The Beatles that way . Only kitschier .
