The No. 1 Single Of The '60s Is An Iconic Dance Song No One Can Resist

The 1960s were a seismic decade for popular music, most notably for the emergence of several world-beating rock bands such as the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and the Beach Boys, which to this day are considered by most music fans to be some of the greatest bands ever. But while all of these and countless other bands were releasing rock classics that sold millions, none had as big a hit as Chubby Checker, whose 1960 smash "The Twist" sparked a huge dance craze and went on to become the highest-charting song of the entire decade.

Still a teenager at the time the song was released, Checker was propelled to superstardom thanks to his irrepressible enthusiasm as a vocalist, which transformed "The Twist," an R&B track originally released in 1959, into a dance floor filler. But Checker wasn't just a one-hit wonder. "The Twist" became something of a franchise for the South Carolina performer in a way that's rarely been seen outside of Christmas music.

"The Twist" was originally an obscure 1959 B-side, written and recorded by Hank Ballard. But in 1960, four years before the Beatles changed the face of popular music in America by appearing on "The Ed Sullivan Show," Chubby Checker demonstrated the incredible power TV was to have during the decade to introduce new artists to the record-buying public.

That year, Checker was a guest performer on Dick Clark's "American Bandstand." Checker had enjoyed a good relationship with the influential TV show host in the late 1950s, as the show's ties to the music industry helped propel stars. Prior to "The Twist," Checker recorded a novelty version of "Jingle Bells" featuring impressions of other '50s stars that Clark sent out as a Christmas card. It was even Clark's wife, Barbara, who suggested Checker's stage name, as a pun on the R&B pianist Fats Domino.

On "American Bandstand," Checker introduced both the song and the accompanying dance, which was simple and easy enough for people at home to quickly grasp. Though some critics argued the Twist should be banned for being too suggestive, it caused a sensation and saw the single go to No. 1 on the pop chart.

"The Twist" wasn't the first popular song to describe dance moves to the listener. Hank Ballard's original version had, in fact, been influenced by songs dating as far back as 1912, with Perry Bradford's "Messin' Around" setting the template for the genre.

The 1960s saw such a proliferation of novelty dance songs in the wake of "The Twist" that future Velvet Underground frontman Lou Reed parodied the genre while working as a staff songwriter for Pickwick Records. The Reed-penned "The Ostrich" by The Primitives included instructions to lay your head on the dance floor so your partner can step on it.

But Checker himself remained the champion of the genre. In 1961, he had another major hit with "Let's Twist Again," an answer song to his own 1960 hit that told listeners to "Twist again / Like we did last summer." He also introduced other dances to listeners, including the pony and the limbo. But even more remarkably, in 1961, "The Twist" was reissued, and once again became a smash, hitting No. 1 on the pop chart in January 1962, a feat rarely achieved outside festive music.