Chubby Checker Wants To Be Inducted Into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has long received praise for highlighting the many early rock and R&B hitmakers who have never gotten their proper due. However, Chubby Checker, singer of 'The Twist,' feels that there is one name above all that they have overlooked: himself. And he wants that rectified quickly.

Checker was speaking from the red carpet at the Songwriters Hall of Fame induction ceremony on Thursday (June 12), where he sang as part of the commemoration of the 100th anniversary of ASCAP, the organization that collects royalties on behalf of its artists. Unlike many other musicians, the 72-year old is rather candid about why he wants to be inducted as soon as possible: he wants to be able to profit from it.

"I don't want to get in there when I'm 85 years old," the Associated Press reported him as saying. "I'll tell them to drop dead, so you better do it quick while I'm still smiling...If you put me in when I'm too old to make a living, then it's no good for me to be in there."

'The Twist' holds a special place in rock history as the only song to have topped the Billboard Hot 100 in two different stretches on the charts. It hit No. 1 for the week of Sept. 19, 1960 -- helping to spawn a national craze -- and again on Jan. 13, 1962. Checker placed 18 other hits, many of which were dance-themed, in the Top 40 between 1960 and 1965, with 5 of those reaching the Top 10.

Checker has some big names who agree with him, including Daryl Hall, who said, "Why isn't [Checker] in?" when Hall & Oates were inducted in April. Similarly, Kenny Gamble of the legendary Philly soul writing/producing team of Gamble and Huff said last week, "I think Chubby Checker should be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He's the only person I know to have the same song go to No. 1 twice."