TIP-OFF
Twist the night away at oldies concert Feb. 17

By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Editor

Three pop-rock names from the past — Chubby Checker, Dee Dee Sharp and Hawai'i's own Yvonne Elliman — will stroll down memory lane for an oldies night at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 17 in the Blaisdell Arena.

The bill is Tom Moffatt's first oldies concert of 2002 and a reunion of sorts, since he staged shows with these stars in their heydays.

Checker is the undisputed king of the twist, who logged the chart-topping, trend-setting hit "The Twist" in the 1960s. He proceeded to score with other dance faves such as "Let's Twist Again," "The Pony," "The Fly" and "Limbo Rock." With Dee Dee Sharp, Checker also had a hit in "Slow Twistin.'"

Sharp is remembered for "Mashed Potato Time," her signature hit, along with "Gravy (For My Mashed Potatoes)" and "Do the Bird."

Elliman, a Roosevelt High School graduate who portrayed Mary Magdalene in the stage and film versions of "Jesus Christ Superstar," is known for one of the Andrew Lloyd-Webber/Tim Rice ballads, "I Don't Know How To Love Him." She also was a hot commodity at the height of disco fever, performing "If I Can't Have You" in the soundtrack of "Saturday Night Fever." Among her other chartbusters: "Love Me," "Hello, Stranger" and "Love Pains." Her appearance at the Blaisdell will be her first since 1979.

Tickets: $35 for lower-level and loge seats, $25 for upper-level seats; on sale at 9 a.m. Saturday at the Blaisdell box office and at all Ticket Plus outlets, including Foodland and Sack 'N Save stores, Tempo Music on Maui and the Big Island, the University of Hawai'i Campus Center, MWR Kunia, Brigham Young University-Hawai'i, JCB Waikiki, the Honolulu Club, Pearl Harbor, Marine Corps Base Hawaii and other military locations.

Charge by phone: 526-4400 or online at ticketplushawaii.com.