Chubby Checker will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on Saturday. It’ll be a very Philly night.
The South Philly singer is being inducted 65 years after “The Twist” first became a hit. But will he make it to the awards ceremony?
Nobody has advocated more for Chubby Checker’s induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame than Chubby Checker.
In 2001, he took out a full-page ad in Billboard saying, “I want my flowers when I’m alive. I can’t smell them when I’m dead.” The next year, he protested his exclusion outside the Rock Hall induction ceremony.
Now, 65 years after “The Twist” first topped the charts, the South Philly-raised singer born Ernest Evans has finally gotten the recognition he has long sought.
On Saturday, in Los Angeles, in a ceremony that will be streamed live on Disney+ at 8 p.m., Checker will be inducted into the Rock Hall. He’s part of a class that includes rock band Bad Company, English singer Joe Cocker, 1980s hitmaker Cyndi Lauper, Atlanta rap duo OutKast, Seattle grunge group Soundgarden, and 21st-century blues band the White Stripes.
It’s a big night for the singer who got his start singing for customers in the Italian Market in South Philly and whose stage name was the idea of American Bandstand host Dick Clark’s wife Barbara, in a nod to Fats Domino — and for Philadelphia music in general.
Thom Bell, the late producer, songwriter and arranger who stands alongside Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff (who were inducted in 2008) as one of the “Mighty Three” architects of the Sound of Philadelphia, will be honored in musical excellence category.
Lauper’s induction — by Chappell Roan, an unabashed Cyndi stan — is also cause for a Philly celebration. Two of her biggest hits, “Girls Just Want To Have Fun,” penned by Robert Hazard, and “Time After Time,” cowritten with Rob Hyman of the Hooters — are works of Philadelphia musicians.
Even Warren Zevon, whose induction in the musical influence category is a great relief to fans who have railed against his unjust omission, has significant ties to Philadelphia. He lived on Rittenhouse Square in the early 1980s while dating Philly rock star DJ Anita Gevinson.
So, with the music world watching, will Checker, 84, be on stage Saturday reveling in the belated being acknowledgement for his contributions to pop culture? Will he bask in the glory of finally being recognized for making music that has “impacted generations of artists and fans worldwide,” as RRHOF president and CEO Greg Harris, told The Inquirer when this year’s inductees were announced in the spring? Harris, incidentally, is a Bucks County native and Temple University grad.
He will not.
Yes, Chubby Checker is skipping his own induction into the Rock and Roll of Fame.
Instead of attending, the singer whose version of “The Twist” — which was written and originally recorded by Hank Ballard — topped the Billboard chart in 1960 and then again in 1972, will be performing elsewhere.
A spokesperson for the Rock Hall and Checker’s manager Shelly Field both confirmed that Checker does not plan to make it to the ceremony.
And it’s not because he has any beef with the Rock Hall. “He’s very, very grateful to his peers for voting him in,” Field told The Inquirer this week. Inductees are chosen by the votes of 1,200 artists, historians, and music business professionals.
The reason Checker is not showing up is that he has another gig that was booked before the Rock Hall honor was announced.
Field wouldn’t say where but Checker plays hundreds of shows each year and appeared to be a remarkably nimble octogenarian in videos that showed him performing at a music business convention in Nashville earlier this year.
A source told The Inquirer that it’s a private event in Santa Barbara, Calif.
So while he’s being feted at the Peacock Theater in L.A. — and will accept his honor via a video message — “The Twist,” “Twistin’ U.S.A.,” and “Let’s Twist Again” hitmaker will be honoring a previous commitment, and twistin’ the night away two hours up the California coast.
Checker won’t be the first Philadelphian to be honored by the Rock Hall, and then not show up to the party. In 2021, Upper Darby-raised singer and producer Todd Rundgren did not attend, and was outspoken in his utter disdain for the institution.
“The people running that thing see themselves as some sort of Mt. Olympus,” Rundgren told cleveland.com that year. “They think they’re arbiters, the keepers of the flame or something like that. And I don’t know if you can ever weed out the elitism that comes with something that a bunch of millionaires decided to do.”
This year, Paul Rodgers of Bad Company will also not attend. The British singer announced that he’s not coming in order to “prioritize health.” There’s also been much speculation about whether Jack and Meg White of the White Stripes will appear, or perform. The band broke up in 2011, and have not played live since 2007.
The Rock Hall has released a list of presenters and performers for Saturday’s show, but have not announced who will induct who — other than the Roan-Lauper pairing — or which artists will perform.
David Letterman is expected to induct piano-playing L.A. noir songwriter Zevon, who died in 2003. He famously explained to Letterman in his final Late Show appearance how being diagnosed with terminal cancer had changed him: “You put more value in every minute,” he said. “You’re reminded to enjoy every sandwich.”
Among those scheduled to appear on the show are Olivia Rodrigo, Questlove, Beck, Brandi Carlile, Elton John, Cher, Missy Elliott, Iggy Pop, Doja Cat, Donald Glover, Jim Carrey, and Avril Lavigne.
John is a good bet to to induct Bell. In 1977, the duo recorded an EP together called The Thom Bell Sessions.
After the show streams on Disney+ on Saturday, ABC will air a special with performance highlights on Jan. 1 at 8 p.m. That show will be available on Hulu the following day.