One of several popular male vocalists to emerge from the Philadelphia rock 'n' roll scene in the late 1950s and early 1960s, Chubby Checker was the chief beneficiary of the fervor created by the dance known as the Twist.

Checker was born Ernest Evans on October 3, 1941 in Spring Gully, South Carolina, the child of poor tobacco farmers. At the age of nine he moved to Philadelphia and eventually began working at a neighborhood produce market where he acquired his famous nickname "Chubby" from his employer. Evans' big break, however, came at age 16 while working at a local poultry market. Proprietor Henry Colt overheard Evans singing a familiar tune as he went about his work. Colt was impressed with Evans' talent and referred him to a songwriter friend named Cal Mann who was, at that time, working with Dick Clark.

Dick Clark and his American...