50th Anniversary of "Twist" Celebrated at City Hall

by KYW's David Madden

A noontime concert today in center city with local pop icon Chubby Checker marked a moment in rock-n-roll history as Philadelphia made an effort at a Guinness world record.

More than a thousand people got their "twist" on today with Chubby Checker on Dilworth Plaza, 50 years after he first did "The Twist" at the old Rainbow Club down in Wildwood, NJ.

The Philadelphia Daily News had hoped to get 1,700 people to twist at the same time today, breaking the current record now held in England.

But Chubby (above) makes it clear that he's having fun regardless:

"For 50 years people have been dancing by themselves on the floor with someone else. This is what we're celebrating."

It doesn't hurt for Checker to sell some of his own CDs, t-shirts, even his "Checkerbar" candy bars on the side.

And at 68, he hasn't lost a step.  Or is it a shake?

Whatever, fans like Ted Ongurski, from the East Falls section of Philadelphia, just wanted to bask in the glow of a '60s legend:

"I've been twisting for about 20 years now.  Anybody can do it.  Just twist. That's all."

(Photos by KYW's David Madden)