Chubby Checker to headline music festival

Singer-songwriter Chubby Checker is coming to town.

Courtesy photo

Ernie Kos, executive director of the Clovis-Curry County Chamber of Commerce, said Chubby Checker will be the headliner for Clovis Music Festival, scheduled for September.

Ernie Kos, executive director of the Clovis-Curry County Chamber of Commerce, said Checker, who rose to stardom in 1960 with the hit song "The Twist," is under contract and will be the headliner for Clovis Music Festival, scheduled for September.

"That's the only thing we know for certain," Kos said. "This is the 25th anniversary of the festival since Vi Petty started it. We're hoping it's really special."

The music festival will run Sept. 6-9. Kos said Checker, 70, is scheduled to perform Sept. 8, along with opening acts.

"We don't have the rest of the acts under contract yet," Kos said. "We're hoping to know by the first of next week.

"Obviously, we'll have a Buddy Holly impersonator."

Record producer Norman Petty's widow, Vi, started the music festival in 1987 to celebrate the rock 'n' roll heritage of Clovis. The annual event pays homage to rock 'n' roll legends such as Buddy Holly and Roy Orbison, who recorded at the Norman Petty Studio in Clovis.

A few things you might not know about Chubby Checker:

• He was born Oct. 3,1941, in Spring Gulley, Calif.
• His first hit son was "The Class" in 1959.
• Checker's real name is Ernest Evan.
• He founded his first street harmony group when he was 11 years old.
• He received the nickname "Chubby" from his boss while working at a produce market.
• He is the only artist to have five albums in the top 12 all at once.
• He is the only artist to have the same number one hit twice — "The Twist" hit No. 1 on the charts in 1960 and again in 1962.
• Checker's famous dance, the twist, introduced a new concept of dancing separately, but together.

Sources: chubbychecker.com, wikipedia.org