“The Twist” was originally written by Hank Ballard, but 2025 Inductee Chubby Checker turned it into a cultural phenomenon. Checker debuted his version of the song in July 1960 at the Rainbow Club in Wildwood, New Jersey. The dance, which was performed in tandem with the song, took the nation by storm, with moves considered scandalous and ahead of their time. Chubby Checker, born Ernest Evans, was given his now-iconic stage name while working at a produce market where the owner of the market call