Ilov80s
Footballguy
Early Rock and Roll Roots
Rd 13: Let's Go Let's Go Let's Go by Hank Ballard and The Midnighters (1960)
B side:
Originally, the group Hank Ballard formed was called "The Royals" and briefly featured Jackie Wilson and Levi Stubbs. This would make Hank the third most significant member of his own group. "Let's Go Let's Go Let's Go" aka "There's a Thrill on the Hill" was his top hit, reaching #6 on the pop charts. However, it was far from the biggest hit Hank wrote. He wrote and initially released "The Twist". Ballard's 1959 version was forced by the studio to stand in as the B-side but it gained some traction on the R&B charts. That traction was nothing compared to what the Chubby Checker cover did- hitting #1 on the charts twice and regularly calculated to be the #1 All Time Hot 100 Billboard Song.
If you hear the version I linked here, there isn't much different between the Ballard original and the Chubby cover. So why is Ballard forgotten and Chubby Checker part of rock lore? **** Clark and a scheduling conflict. **** Clark had gotten wind that "The Twist" was catching on as a popular song and dance craze in a few cities so he wanted to get Ballard to perform the song on American Bandstand. However, Ballard had a scheduling conflict and wasn't able to do the show. So **** found a local performer with a similar voice to record a version and perform it on the show. The performance caused the song to fully cross over into the pop charts and made a career for Chubby Checker. The song sounded so similar that when Ballard began hearing on the radio, he assumed it was his version.
Rd 13: Let's Go Let's Go Let's Go by Hank Ballard and The Midnighters (1960)
B side:
Originally, the group Hank Ballard formed was called "The Royals" and briefly featured Jackie Wilson and Levi Stubbs. This would make Hank the third most significant member of his own group. "Let's Go Let's Go Let's Go" aka "There's a Thrill on the Hill" was his top hit, reaching #6 on the pop charts. However, it was far from the biggest hit Hank wrote. He wrote and initially released "The Twist". Ballard's 1959 version was forced by the studio to stand in as the B-side but it gained some traction on the R&B charts. That traction was nothing compared to what the Chubby Checker cover did- hitting #1 on the charts twice and regularly calculated to be the #1 All Time Hot 100 Billboard Song.
If you hear the version I linked here, there isn't much different between the Ballard original and the Chubby cover. So why is Ballard forgotten and Chubby Checker part of rock lore? **** Clark and a scheduling conflict. **** Clark had gotten wind that "The Twist" was catching on as a popular song and dance craze in a few cities so he wanted to get Ballard to perform the song on American Bandstand. However, Ballard had a scheduling conflict and wasn't able to do the show. So **** found a local performer with a similar voice to record a version and perform it on the show. The performance caused the song to fully cross over into the pop charts and made a career for Chubby Checker. The song sounded so similar that when Ballard began hearing on the radio, he assumed it was his version.