‘The Twist’ and Turns of Ballard’s Life

Veteran R&B; star Hank Ballard was sitting on a stool in a dingy Hollywood fast-food joint eating a cheese sandwich when he suddenly started doing “The Twist” in his chair.

Then he broke into a chorus of the hugely successful song: “Round and round and a up and down we go again. . . .”

Ballard, still lean and muscular at 52, was making the point that “The Twist,” which is back on the charts again--thanks to a rap version featuring the Fat Boys and Chubby Checker--is his.

Though Checker took “The Twist” to No. 1 in 1960 and 1961, fueling one of the biggest dance crazes of the century, he didn’t write it.

Laughing and twisting joyously while talking loud enough to allow the few people in the restaurant to hear him, Ballard said: “I wrote it! I wrote ‘The Twist.’ People think Chubby wrote it, but they’re wrong. They call Chubby the father of the twist but he’s just the stepfather. I’m the father. It’s my baby.”

After a while, he toned down his twisting to a minor squirm so he could concentrate on his sandwich, but kept on singing, “Come on, baby, let’s do the twist. . . .”

Ballard should be dancing with joy. With “The Twist” back in the Top 40 on Billboard magazine’s national pop chart, the royalty checks are increasing. And in a stroke of good timing, Ballard is also one of the 30 finalists being considered for inclusion in the next group of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees.

But he could also be bitter. Although Ballard wrote and recorded “The Twist” two years before the craze, it was Checker who became the star and parlayed the song into a long, lucrative career.

Not too many people remember Ballard, though he had other hits back in the early ‘60s--such as “Finger Poppin’ Time” and “Let’s Go, Let’s Go, Let’s Go.” His version of “The Twist” was re-released shortly after Checker’s and reached No. 28 on the pop charts.

“I’m not bitter,” Ballard said, chuckling and still twisting. “I’ve been friends with Chubby for years. Without him and Dick Clark, ‘The Twist’ would have never become as big as it was.”

In 1958, Ballard wrote “The Twist” in the heavy, raunchy, old-fashioned R&B; style. Though it caused a minor stir in the black market, it was nothing pop stations would have played in those days.

“At first it had a different melody and a different groove,” he recalled. “But I couldn’t give that song away. I rewrote it and added another groove. My record company still didn’t like it. They made it a B side to one of my singles.”

But Clark had more foresight. When he heard about the record, he auditioned singers to record another, pop-oriented version. His choice was a portly chicken-plucker named Ernest Evans, who was renamed Chubby Checker.

“He was chosen because he came closest to my sound,” Ballard said. “He beat me with my own sound. I never spent much time worrying about it, despite what people say. If I had, I’d be all eaten up by anger by now.”

Though Ballard has never been as famous as Checker, he and various versions of his backup band, the Midnighters, have been successful on the nostalgia circuit. Due to trauma caused by marital problems, Ballard didn’t work most of the ‘70s, but when his royalty money was running out, he returned to performing in 1982 with the Midnighters in an old-style R&B; revue.

He’s in big demand now, thanks to the latest “Twist” revival and the renewed interest in ‘50s and ‘60s music triggered by the “Dirty Dancing” movie and records.

He’ll perform Saturday at the Lingerie in Hollywood. Sire Records has also called him to work on a ‘50s sound track. Though he has occasionally worked on singles, Ballard’s last album was recorded more than 20 years ago.

“The Twist” is just part of the Ballard story. Back in the early ‘50s, the Detroit native was lead singer in a group called the Royals, who became famous in the black community for the raunchy “Annie” series.

The biggest hits by the Royals, who were renamed the Midnighters, were “Work With Me Annie” and “Annie Had a Baby.”

At that time, black and pop music were nearly separate. R&B; was considered too lewd for pop audiences. Frequently black songs were sanitized by white artists and turned into pop hits. For instance, Ballard’s “Work With Me Annie,” was cleaned up and turned into Georgia Gibbs’ huge hit “Dance With Me Henry.”

Ballard prospered as an R&B; artist in the ‘50s, but it was “The Twist” that brought him a measure of national prominence.

“You may not believe it, but when I was writing that song, I had a feeling it was going to be great,” he said.

“Even though my record company didn’t like it, the song had something. It came about while I was watching my band do a dance routine. They were twisting their bodies and improvising some steps. As I was writing the song about those steps and that twisting motion, I said, ‘This could be my ticket to fame.’ ”

Ballard started twisting in his seat again. “And I’ve twisted my way into history.”

Then he announced loudly, “I’ve got to sing my song again,” as he stood up, twisting and singing, “Come on, baby. . . .”