Music Sales Group Acquires “The Twist”

Music Sales Group is excited to announce it has acquired the U.S. publishing rights to “The Twist,” written by Hank Ballard and recorded by Chubby Checker. Billboard declared “The Twist” as “the biggest chart hit of all time” in 2008. It is the only song in history to have held the No. #1 spot in two separate release cycles - first in September 1960 and then in January 1962.

By popularizing a rendition of Hank Ballard’s original on Dick Clark’s American Bandstand, Chubby Checker’s recording of “The Twist” truly revolutionized American pop culture and dance in 1960. It encouraged those to “dance apart from the beat” and brought rock n’ roll to a national audience. “The Twist” was not only popular among younger crowds, but the iconic song unexpectedly resonated with an adult audience, which was a turning point in the acceptance of contemporary pop music and styled group dance.

"It’s impossible to talk about the post-WWII American songbook without referencing “The Twist.” It’s not just a hit song that spawned a dance craze, but an integral part of early rock n’ roll that defined the American experience in the early 1960’s,” said John Castaldo, SVP at Music Sales Corporation. “The lyric, ‘My daddy is sleepin’ and mama ain’t around’ propelled the nation’s youth to embrace their independence, foreshadowing America’s counterculture revolution that culminated in Woodstock.”