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Note: I use a ‘theme’ for my diaries, in an attempt to keep my writings on a cohesive path while I compose the diaries. It is also fun to see comments that fit within that theme. However, here in MOTland, all topics are welcome, it is an open thread. There are no demerits for being so-called ‘off-topic’. Thanks!
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Preview: Next Saturday September 20, songs about ‘loving’.
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>>>This diary is about songs related to the dance The Twist.
Words below from this Wiki: The Twist
"The Twist" is an American pop song written and originally released in 1958 by Hank Ballard and The Midnighters.
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.
The song became popular on a Baltimore television dance show hosted by local DJ Buddy Deane; Deane recommended the song to Dick Clark, host of the national American Bandstand. When the song proved popular with his audience, Clark attempted to book Ballard to perform on the show. Ballard was unavailable, and Clark searched for a local artist to record the song. He settled on Checker, whose voice was very similar to Ballard's. Exposure for the song on American Bandstand and on The Dick Clark Saturday Night Show helped propel the song to the top of the American charts.
In late 1961 and early 1962, the twist craze belatedly caught on in high society. Sightings of celebrities doing the dance made the song a hit with adults. Soon there were long lines at the Peppermint Lounge nightclub in New York, the most popular celebrity twisting spot.
Peppermint Lounge
Snippet: The New York club was run by Genovese crime family captain Matty “The Horse” Ianniello, who managed numerous gay bars and strip clubs in Manhattan. It closed when it lost its liquor license on December 28, 1965.
Caveat: If you are old enough to have twisted in 1960, as I did, you may (like me) also be beyond twisting physical fitness stage, so perhaps you and I should simply perform seated toe-tapping.
The Twist by Hank Ballard and The Midnighters
Twistin’ U.S.A. by Chubby Checker
Twistin’ The Night Away by Sam Cooke
