MUSIC SCENE
Chubby Checker ready to rock 'n' roll

By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Editor

•	Chubby Checker 7:30 p.m. Sunday Blaisdell Arena $35 for lower-level and loge seats, $25 for upper-level seats 526-4400 Also featuring: Yvonne Elliman and Dee Dee Sharp

And he's been rolling nonstop since 1959, when he first recorded the song.

He says it's the only tune in rock history that hit No. 1 on the Billboard charts twice, first in 1960, then again in 1961. "It's the national anthem to rock 'n' roll, and of course I will perform it," Checker said from a cell phone in his car as he was driving in Philadelphia last week.

And he's raring to share an evening of yesteryear vibrations Sunday at Blaisdell Arena, sharing the limelight with Dee Dee Sharp and Hawai'i's Yvonne Elliman.

Ernest Evans, who became Chubby Checker because of his admiration of Fats Domino (parallels for Chubby and Checkers), is the King of the Twist who also fueled a handful of dance crazes through his rock hits over the years: the Pony ("Pony Time"), the Fly ("The Fly"), the limbo ("Limbo Rock"), the Hucklebuck ("The Hucklebuck") and the Slow Twist ("Slow Twistin'," with Dee Dee Sharp).

He likens himself to a classic car — always in vogue, with power to spare. And still getting good mileage.

"I'm an original commodity," he said. "The only performer who has lived to make that statement. I encompass all of rock 'n' roll, a survivor, not a nostalgia thing. It's all because of 'The Twist,' and 'dancing a part to the beat,'" he said of his signature song and lyrics.

His "cover" of the Hank Ballard song ignited, 14 months after it was initially recorded, when Dick Clark showcased Checker's version on "American Bandstand," fueling rockdom's first dance song and craze. "In a 47-month period, I sold 250 million pieces of music, something unheard of, even better than The Beatles and Elvis Presley," he boasted.

Dancing while performing "The Twist" affected his weight; in the heyday of the song's popularity, Checker once lost 30 pounds in three weeks.

This will be his first public performance in Hawai'i since his May 1962 concert, although he's been a frequent visitor over the years.

"I've been over a number of times, mostly on Maui, for conventions. I love it there; sunny, warm; I want to get in the car and start driving around the island at 10 a.m. and coming back by 3 p.m. to avoid the traffic."

He said his fans should not put off seeing him. "You might not see me again," he advised, sharing an experience from years ago, when he intended to catch a Janis Joplin gig but left the show early because he felt she was boring. "Not too much longer later, she died," he said.

"Then there was Elvis; I waited and waited to see him; after 2 1/2 hours, he finally showed. I almost left, and good thing I stayed, because several days later, he died."