'Gotta new dance and it goes like this ...'

Let's twist again like we did -- well maybe not last summer, but close enough.

Legendary rock n’ roll performer Chubby Checker

and his band the Wildcats will be performing Wednesday night, May 7, at the Grand Opera House of the South in Crowley.

The singer-songwriter best known for popularizing the song and dance “The Twist” takes the stage at 7 p.m.

“It’s our mission to bring awesome performers to this area,” said Kim Gielen Gattle of the Opera House. “We are so excited to have a legendary performer such as Chubby Checker perform at the Opera House and will continue to bring such outstanding acts in the future.”

“The Twist”, previously recorded by its author, Hank Ballard (you might remember his other its such as Finger Poppping Time), had originally gone up to #16 on the Billboard charts.

However, when Checker’s version came out it became a nationwide smash. During his heyday Checker had several other songs hit the top 40 including “The Hucklebuck”, “The Fly”, and “Pony Time” which became his second #1 single.

Checker won a Grammy in 1961 for Best Rock and Roll Solo Vocal Performance and is the only recording artist to place five albums in the top 12 at the same time.

Musician Clay Cole credited Checker with another major accomplishment.

“Chubby Checker has never been properly acknowledged for one major contribution to pop culture, Chubby and the Twist got adults out and onto the dance floor for the very first time. Before the Twist dance phenomenon, grownups did not dance to teenage music,” he said. -- LSN.