Things Are Looking Up for Creator of ‘The Twist’

Whatever happened to giving credit where credit is due? Two weeks ago, the Fat Boys made it all the way up to No. 16 on Billboard’s Hot 100 singles chart with their invigorating remake of “The Twist.”

Singing and “twistin’ ” along with the rotund rappers in the accompanying video is Chubby Checker, whose hit version of the song in 1960 spawned one of the biggest rock ‘n’ roll dance crazes ever.

Conspicuously absent, however, is rhythm-and-blues pioneer Hank Ballard, who not only wrote “The Twist,” but also recorded it in 1958--two years before Checker--with his band, the Midnighters, as the B side to “Teardrops on Your Letter.”

“It’s just one of those things,” said Ballard, who will be appearing Thursday night at the Belly Up Tavern in Solana Beach. “Sure, I wish it had been me (in the video), but since Chubby is best known for ‘The Twist,’ I guess they felt he had more commercial value.

“Still, quite a few people know I had the first version, so, ever since the song hit, I’ve been getting a lot of press, big press. And, because of all this attention, 1988 is really turning out to be my year.”

It certainly is. After six years of plodding along the comeback trail, Ballard’s pace has picked up considerably over the past few months. He’s headlined such prestigious venues as the Universal Amphitheater in Los Angeles and Radio City Music Hall in New York; his performances at the Chicago Blues Festival and the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival were frequently interrupted by standing ovations.

Ballard has also been tapped to compose a new song for the sound track to the upcoming movie “Shag,” a “Dirty Dancing” clone set in Myrtle Beach, S. C., circa 1960. He’s just finished recording a doo-wop duet, “Two Bad Boys Just Makin’ Noise,” with Tim Hauser of vocal group the Manhattan Transfer. And, if negotiations with Warner Brothers Records pan out, the label will soon release Ballard’s first album of new material since the early 1970s.

This year, reggae music scored a decisive victory in its long and arduous battle for popularity in the western world when Top 40 radio finally gave in to the seductive rhythms and topical lyrics of Ziggy Marley and other recent rasta invaders from Jamaica.

It is only fitting, then, that original battalion leader Jimmy Cliff, on his current tour of the United States, is enjoying the spoils by attracting standing-room-only crowds to his shows--including the one scheduled for Saturday night at the California Theater in downtown San Diego.

“Reggae doesn’t just relate to girls and cars, like rock ‘n’ roll,” Cliff said. “It speaks about every aspect of life; it’s about living and existing and surviving. That’s why it appeals to all people. And now that it’s finally getting the right kind of exposure, it’s destined to become the dominant music in the world.”

Cliff first began plotting the road to domination in the early 1960s, when he directly and indirectly recruited for his fledgling reggae army its two top future marksmen. Directly, because in 1962 Cliff helped a 17-year-old Bob Marley secure his first recording contract. Indirectly, because the next year, Marley drafted a young baritone, Peter Tosh, into his backup band, the Wailers.

A decade later, the reggae forces were primed to do battle, and it was Cliff who fired the opening shot: As the star of the 1973 film “The Harder They Come” and its best-selling sound track, he was the first reggae musician to achieve widespread popularity outside Jamaica.

LET’S DO IT AGAIN: A few years ago, Candye Kane was a struggling young country singer in Los Angeles who regularly opened shows at grungy honky-tonks for fellow upstart Dwight Yoakam.

Kane has since moved to North County, where she recently put her career on hold to start a family (she is married to Thomas Yearsley, bassist for rockabilly revivalists the Paladins). Yoakam, meanwhile, has become one of the hottest country stars west of Nashville, with a pair of Top 10 albums and several chart-topping singles to his credit. His latest hit, “Streets of Bakersfield,” is a duet with country legend Buck Owens.

When Kane heard that Yoakam’s current national tour included an August 19 date at San Diego State University’s Open Air Theater, she immediately phoned her old compatriot, asking for a pair of free tickets. Yoakam agreed to oblige on one condition: that Kane roust up a backup band and be his opening act.

“It will be just like old times,” Kane said, “except that now, I’m pregnant.”

IT’S THE SAME OLD SONG: “Absolute Perfection” has long been one of Private Domain’s most popular live numbers. So when the veteran San Diego rock band hooked up with Chameleon Records in the spring of 1987, it was only natural that the reggae tune, co-written by singer Paul Shaffer and guitarist Jack Butler, be included on their debut album.

It was--with Jamaican rap-master Pato Banton helping out in the studio. A few months later, the song found its way onto the sound track to the movie “Back to the Beach.” By year’s end, it had made its third vinyl appearance: on “Never Give In,” Banton’s solo album on MCA.

Just recently, Private Domain signed with a new label, NuBeat. The band’s first single? “Absolute Perfection.” Once again, it’s the same old song--only this time, Banton’s vocal rap has been mixed out and replaced with a newly recorded instrumental break.

BITS AND PIECES: “Living in Paradise,” the third album by home-grown pop-jazz troupe Fattburger, has just been released by Intima Records. . . . Tickets go on sale Saturday for Ziggy Marley’s Sept. 23 concert at San Diego State University’s Open Air Theater. It’s the second local appearance by the reggae hotshot in less than five months.