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
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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.