Chubby Checker was born Richard M. Jones on May 23, 1932, in Inglewood, California. He attended Theodore Roosevelt High School in Los Angeles, where he was a member of the football and track teams. He also learned to play the piano, guitar, trumpet, accordion, and drums
He first performed on television when he was 14 years old on "The Arthur Godfrey Show." His first professional appearance was with the Sugarman-Hill-Clifford band. He had his first hit single on November 4, 1955 with "Mashed Potato Time." He went on to have many more success throughout his career including "Twist Around The Clock" (1956), "Let's Twist Again" (1960), "Shake Your Tail Feather" (1961), "Yakety Yak" (1962), "I Get Around" (1964), "The Twist" (1964) and closing theme for the TV show of the same name.
It takes a real soldier to stay in the music industry and live off the things that have been put before me and be able to survive all this time because it has not been easy.Chubby Checker
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.Chubby Checker
