The Twist was a dance in the 1960s, inspired by rock and roll music. It became a worldwide craze, enjoying immense popularity among young people and drawing fire from critics who felt it was too provocative. It was the first international rock and roll dance of its kind. It inspired dances such as the
Mashed PotatoThe Mashed Potato is a dance move which was a popular dance craze of 1962. It was danced to songs such as Dee Dee Sharp's "Mashed Potato Time". Also referred to as "mash potato" or "mashed potatoes", the move vaguely resembles that of the Twist, by Sharp's fellow Philadelphian, Chubby Checker.The...
, the
MonkeyThe Monkey is a novelty dance, most popular in 1963. The dance was popularized by two R&B records: Major Lance's "The Monkey Time", and The Miracles' "Mickey's Monkey" both Top 10 Pop hits released during the summer of 1963....
and the
Funky chickenFunky Chicken may refer to:*Chicken Dance, an oom-pah song*"Do The Funky Chicken," a Rufus Thomas recording...
, although none were as popular. The dance was inspired by “
The Twist"The Twist" is a twelve bar blues song that gave birth to the Twistdance craze. The song was written and originally released in 1959 by Hank Ballard and the Midnighters as a B-side but his version was only a moderate 1960 hit, peaking at 28 on the Billboard Hot 100...
,” B-side of
Hank BallardHank Ballard , born John Henry Kendricks, was a rhythm and blues singer, the lead vocalist of Hank Ballard and The Midnighters and one of the first proto-rock 'n' roll artists to emerge in the early 1950s...
’s single “Teardrops on your letter” in 1959.
The Twist is performed by standing with the feet approximately shoulder width apart.
The Twist was a dance in the 1960s, inspired by rock and roll music. It became a worldwide craze, enjoying immense popularity among young people and drawing fire from critics who felt it was too provocative. It was the first international rock and roll dance of its kind. It inspired dances such as the
Mashed PotatoThe Mashed Potato is a dance move which was a popular dance craze of 1962. It was danced to songs such as Dee Dee Sharp's "Mashed Potato Time". Also referred to as "mash potato" or "mashed potatoes", the move vaguely resembles that of the Twist, by Sharp's fellow Philadelphian, Chubby Checker.The...
, the
MonkeyThe Monkey is a novelty dance, most popular in 1963. The dance was popularized by two R&B records: Major Lance's "The Monkey Time", and The Miracles' "Mickey's Monkey" both Top 10 Pop hits released during the summer of 1963....
and the
Funky chickenFunky Chicken may refer to:*Chicken Dance, an oom-pah song*"Do The Funky Chicken," a Rufus Thomas recording...
, although none were as popular. The dance was inspired by “
The Twist"The Twist" is a twelve bar blues song that gave birth to the Twistdance craze. The song was written and originally released in 1959 by Hank Ballard and the Midnighters as a B-side but his version was only a moderate 1960 hit, peaking at 28 on the Billboard Hot 100...
,” B-side of
Hank BallardHank Ballard , born John Henry Kendricks, was a rhythm and blues singer, the lead vocalist of Hank Ballard and The Midnighters and one of the first proto-rock 'n' roll artists to emerge in the early 1950s...
’s single “Teardrops on your letter” in 1959.
Steps
The Twist is performed by standing with the feet approximately shoulder width apart. The torso may be squared to the knees and hips, or turned at an angle so one foot farther forward than the other. The arms are held out from the body, bent at the elbow. The hips, torso, and legs rotate on the balls of the feet as a single unit, with the arms staying more or less stationary. The feet grind back and forth on the floor, and the dance can be varied in speed, intensity, and vertical height as necessary. Occasionally one leg is lifted off the floor for styling, but generally the dance posture is low and with the feet in contact with the floor with very little vertical motion.
Origin
The Twist's original inspiration came from the African American plantation dance called "wringin' and twistin," which has been traced back to the 1890s. However, its original aesthetic origins, such as the use of pelvic movement and the shuffling foot movement, can be traced all the way back to West Africa. Throughout the 20th Century, the dance evolved until emerging to a mass audience in the 60s.
In 1959 American DJ and host of
American BandstandAmerican Bandstand was a television show that aired in various versions from 1952 to 1989, hosted from 1957 until its final season by Dick Clark, who also served as producer...
Dick Clark featured the dance. Clark urged Philadelphia record label Cameo/Parkway to release their own version of “The Twist.”
Chubby CheckerChubby Checker is an American singer-songwriter best known for popularizing the The Twist with his 1960 hit cover of Hank Ballard's R&B hit "The Twist"...
, who until 1960 had only one hit (“The Class” in 1959), cut the song. Released in summer 1960, Checker’s rendition of “The Twist” became number one on the singles chart in the USA in 1960 and then again in 1962.
In 1961, at the height of the craze, patrons at
New YorkNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
's
Peppermint LoungeThe Peppermint Lounge was a popular discotheque located at 128 West 45th Street in midtown Manhattan that was open from 1961 to 1965.-Original Peppermint Lounge:...
on West 45th Street were twisting to the house band, a local group from Jersey,
Joey Dee and the StarlitersJoey Dee and The Starliters is an American popular music team. Best known for their successful recording "Peppermint Twist" , the group was initated by Joey Dee.-Early singles:...
. Their song, "The
Peppermint Twist"Peppermint Twist" is a song written by Joey Dee and Henry Glover, recorded and released by Joey Dee and the Starliters in 1961. Capitalizing on the Twist dance craze and the nightclub in which Dee performed , the song hit number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in early 1962...
(Part 1)" became number one in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
for three weeks in January 1962. In 1962,
Bo DiddleyBo Diddley , born Ellas Otha Bates, was an American rock & roll singer, guitarist, and songwriter. He was known as "The Originator" because of his key role in the transition from blues music to rock & roll, influencing a host of legendary acts including Buddy Holly, Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton...
released his album
Bo Diddley's A Twister. He recorded several Twist tracks, including "The Twister," "Bo's Twist" and "Mama Don't Allow No Twistin," which referenced the objections many parents had to the pelvic motions of the dance.
In
Latin AmericaLatin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish, Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,501 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
, the Twist was sparked in 1960-62 by
Bill Haley & His CometsBill Haley & His Comets was an American rock and roll band that was founded in 1952 and continued until Haley's death in 1981. The band, also known by the names Bill Haley and The Comets and Bill Haley's Comets , was the earliest group of white musicians to bring rock and roll to the attention of...
. Their recordings of "The Spanish Twist" and "Florida Twist" were successes, particularly in
MexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. Haley, in interviews, credited Checker and Ballard. Coincidentally, Checker appeared in two musicals that took their titles from films Haley made in the 1950s:
Twist Around the ClockTwist Around the Clock is an American musical film released in 1961.-Plot Summary:A struggling manager visits a hayseed town and discovers a new dance craze, and hopes to turn it into an overnight nationwide sensation!...
(after
Rock Around the ClockRock Around the Clock is the title of a 1956 musical motion picture that featured Bill Haley and His Comets along with Alan Freed, The Platters, and Freddie Bell and the Bellboys. It was produced by b-movie king Sam Katzman and directed by Fred F...
) and
Don't Knock the Twist-Plot Summary:Many twist dancers' hinge is the preparation for the TV variety show called "The Twist". While the special is still in the production stages, jealousies lead to problems - and a whole lot of dancing.-Songs performed in the movie:...
(after
Don't Knock the RockDon't Knock the Rock was a 1956 rock and roll film starring Alan Dale as a rock star who returns to his hometown to rest up for the summer only to find that rock and roll has been banned there by disapproving adults...
).
In popular culture
In 1962,
Dell ComicsDell Comics was the comic book publishing arm of Dell Publishing, which got its start in pulp magazines. It published comics from 1929 to 1973. At its peak, it was the most prominent and successful American company in the medium...
produced a comic called
The Twist that fictionalized the Peppermint Lounge dance craze. Several television shows parodied the dance in the early 60s. An episode of
The Alvin ShowThe Alvin Show was an American animated television series. It was the first to feature the singing characters Alvin and the Chipmunks, although a series with a similar concept The Nutty Squirrels Present had aired a year earlier...
showed a parody of the Twist called
The Alvin-United States:*Alvin, Colorado*Alvin, Georgia*Alvin, Illinois*Alvin, Kentucky*Alvin, Michigan*Alvin, South Carolina*Alvin, Texas**Alvin Community College**Alvin High School*Alvin, Wisconsin*Alvin, Iowa-Other:*Alvin, British Columbia, Canada...
Twist. "The Flintstones" version was called the Twitch and aired in 1962, as did "The Dick Van Dyke Show"'s Twizzle. The same year, it was featured in an episode of "
Leave It To BeaverLeave It to Beaver is a 1950s and 1960s family-oriented American television situation comedy about an inquisitive but often naive boy named Theodore "Beaver" Cleaver , about his adventures at home, in school, and around his suburban neighborhood. The show also starred Barbara Billingsley and Hugh...
" called "Beaver Joins a Record Club".
The dance would come to be seen as emblematic of the early 1960s in later years, with popular songs, television shows, and movies likely to reference it when they wanted to convey the spirit of that time period. In 1978, rock band
The B-52'sThe B-52s originated is a New Wave rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, United States, in 1976. The B-52s' sound is marked by the vocals — the female harmonies of Cindy Wilson and Kate Pierson, and the generally spoken-word or sprechgesang male vocal counterpoint of Fred Schneider, Ricky Wilson's...
included the line, "Twisting round the fire," in their song of 1960s
beach party filmBeach party movies were an American 1960s genre of feature films created by American International Pictures with their surprise 1963 hit, Beach Party, and copied by virtually every other studio...
references, "
Rock LobsterJasus edwardsii, the southern rock lobster, red rock lobster, or spiny rock lobster, is a species of spiny lobster found throughout coastal waters of southern Australia and New Zealand including the Chatham Islands. The commercial rock lobster fishery is New Zealand's third biggest seafood export...
".
In 1993, a film by
Ron MannRonald "Ron" Mann is a Canadian documentary film director focusing primarily on aspects of Canadian and American popular culture. He does most of his work through his company Sphinx Productions, while also running a film distribution company on the side called 'FilmsWeLike'. Mann has also put...
called
Twist was a documentary about the craze.
Quentin TarantinoQuentin Jerome Tarantino is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer and actor. In the early 1990s he was an independent filmmaker whose films used nonlinear storylines and aestheticization of violence...
's 1994
filmFilm encompasses individual motion pictures, the field of film as an art form, and the motion picture industry. Films are produced by recording images from the world with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects....
Pulp FictionPulp Fiction is a 1994 crime film directed by Quentin Tarantino, who cowrote its screenplay with Roger Avary. The film is known for its rich, eclectic dialogue, ironic mix of humor and violence, nonlinear storyline, and host of cinematic allusions and pop culture references...
featured
John TravoltaJohn Joseph Travolta is an American actor, dancer and singer. He first became known in the 1970s, after appearing on the television series Welcome Back, Kotter and starring in the box office successes Saturday Night Fever and Grease...
and
Uma ThurmanUma Karuna Thurman is an American actress. She has performed predominantly in leading roles in a variety of films, ranging from romantic comedies and dramas to science fiction and action thrillers. She is best known for her work under the direction of Quentin Tarantino...
dancing the Twist to
Chuck BerryCharles Edward "Chuck" Berry is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter.Chuck Berry is one of the pioneers of rock and roll music...
's "You Never Can Tell" as part of the Jack Rabbit Slim's Twist Contest. In
Spider-Man 3Spider-Man 3 is a 2007 superhero film written and directed by Sam Raimi, with a screenplay by Ivan Raimi and Alvin Sargent. It is the third film in the Spider-Man film franchise based on the fictional Marvel Comics character Spider-Man...
(2007),
Harry OsbornHarry Osborn is a fictional character, a supporting character of Spider-Man in the . In addition to being Peter Parker's best friend, Harry was the second Green Goblin and is the son of the first, Norman Osborn...
and
Mary Jane WatsonMary Jane Watson, often is shortened to MJ, is a fictional supporting character appearing, originally, in Marvel comic books and, later, in multiple spin-offs and dramatisations of the Spider-Man titles as the best friend, love interest, and, in some continuities, wife of Peter Parker, the alter...
dance to "The Twist." In a Season One episode of
Mad MenMad Men is an American period drama television series created and produced by Matthew Weiner. The show is broadcast on the American cable network AMC and is produced by Lionsgate Television. It premiered on July 19, 2007 and completed its second season on October 26, 2008...
("The Hobo Code"), Peggy Olsson and several other employees of Sterling Cooper dance to Chubby Checker's "The Twist." Season One takes place in 1960, when Checker's version first became a hit.
In
World of WarcraftWorld of Warcraft, often referred to as WoW, is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game by Blizzard Entertainment. It is the fourth released game set in the fantasy Warcraft universe, which was first introduced by Warcraft: Orcs & Humans in 1994...
, creatures called "Treants" can perform this kind of dance.