The only difference between The Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, Aerosmith, and Chubby Checker is that they get their music played on the radio.
History was made the day Chubby Checker went on 'Bandstand' with 'The Twist.'
Being on 'Bandstand' was like getting a Nobel Prize. From 3 o'clock in the afternoon until 5:30, nobody was on the street. They were watching 'Bandstand.'
Chubby Checker changed the dance floor.
Alexander Graham Bell brought us the telephone. He owns the telephones in the buildings. Thomas Edison owns the lightbulb. Whether they took it and did things to improve it, he's the guy. Now on the dance floor, that belongs to Chubby Checker.
I compare the Twist to the electric light, The Twist is me, and I'm it. I'm the electric light.
I love food, and the food industry is huge, and I just love dealing in it.
Homey don't quit. What else are you gonna do? It's like those guys in the cartoon they get up in the morning, check the clock and fight all day and after it's over they check the clock and go home. That's how it goes.
Fame was a mixed blessing for me because I thought I could be as big as I wanted to be, and then I realized that I couldn't because of the racist element in the record business.
What turns me on is to walk into a sold-out venue. The audiences are so much the same as they were in the '60s. It's just an amazing thing. I can't explain it, but I hope it never stops.
