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From Times Staff and Wire Reports

Chubby Checker Sues McDonald’s Canada: Singer Chubby Checker, who has been doing “The Twist” since the song was a hit in 1960, is suing McDonald’s Restaurants of Canada for allegedly imitating his voice in its commercials. He is seeking $14.8 million. “We believe that when people hear the advertisements on the radio and television, they think it is Chubby Checker who is singing,” said Tony DeLauro, Checker’s manager. “Mr. Checker’s permission was never granted, and he was never compensated.” The ads, broadcast earlier this year in Canada, were used to promote McDonald’s McTwist french fries. But McDonald’s advertising agency said it paid Hank Ballard, who wrote and performed “The Twist” in the late 1950s, for the rights to the lyrics, music and performance style of the song.

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