The Twist (song) The Twist (song) "The Twist" is an American pop song written and originally released in early 1959 (having been recorded on 11/11/1958) by Hank Ballard and the Midnighters as a B-side to "Teardrops on Your Letter". Ballard's version was a moderate 1960 hit, peaking at number 28 on the "Billboard" Hot 100. Chubby Checker's 1960 cover version of the song gave birth to the Twist dance craze. His single became a hit, reaching number 1 on the "Billboard" Hot 100 on September 19, 1960, where it stayed for one week, and setting a record as the only song to reach
Twist (dance) by the United States Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) when actions in 1961 were dubbed "Operation Twist". In 2011 the FOMC revived Operation Twist. The dance would come to be seen as emblematic of the early 1960s in later years, with popular songs, television shows, and movies likely to reference it when they wanted to convey the spirit of that time period. In 1978 rock band The B-52's included the line, "Twisting round the fire", in their song of 1960s beach party film references, "Rock Lobster". In 1993, a film by Ron Mann called "Twist" was a documentary about the