An American music legend is coming to the Sunshine Fair next week.
Chubby Checker, father of The Twist and a rock and roll star for more than half a century, will be performing in the Party Tent next Saturday at 8pm.
Chubby, 82, sounded like a man half his age in a phone interview Monday.
“I better sound good,” he said, laughing from his home in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania.
He’s been performing since his high school days, but his interest in music started long before that, when his mother took the four-year-old to the Georgetown Fair in Georgia to see Ernest Tubb.
“I looked up, and even at four, I said, ‘I gotta do that,’ ” Chubby said.
His early influences were originators of 1950s rock and roll: Fats Domino, Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Chuck Berry and Little Richard.
“They were the volcano, and I was just one of the fragments that came out,” Chubby said. “They were the epitome of rock and roll.”
He’s fueled by what he calls the originality of his work. Before 1959, people danced one way, but after Chubby hit the stage styles changed.
He pointed to not only the Twist, but also the Pony, Fly and Shake, with people still doing variations.
“We changed the dance floor,” Chubby said. “When someone’s dancing with their hands in the air, they’re doing the Fly.
“The day Chubby Checker came on stage, dancing changed.”
Although he’s had numerous hits besides The Twist––Pony Time, Let’s Twist Again, Limbo Rock and Slow Twistin’ among them––the original remains his favorite.
Outside of Bing Crosby’s White Christmas, The Twist is the only song to chart number one twice, in two different years––early in 1960 and late in ’61.
“It was the number-one song of the ’60s,” Chubby said. “That song changed the whole planet.”
Although he enjoys rock, Chubby’s go-to music isn’t what you might expect.
“Classical stuff,” he said. “When I want to relax, I listen to classical. . .driving in the car, looking at the scenery, listening to Bach or Beethoven.”
He’s bringing his five-member band, The Wildcats, to the Fair. They’ve been together a long time, and Chubby said they’re all looking forward to Cobleskill.
And for performers who’ve done gigs in huge venues, a smaller one is no different.
“Wherever I play is the most important,” Chubby said. “My favorite place is right where I am. I’m not excited about the next one.”
Even at 82, Chubby has a full schedule, and he’s already booked through March.
“Somebody asked about a date in 2026, and I said, ‘Oh, go away.’ I don’t want to think about that.”
He’ll be in the area after Cobleskill, but the Fair is on his mind now.
“That’s the most important,” Chubby said. “I can’t wait to get to Cobleskill and explode.”