The Best of Chubby Checker: Cameo Parkway 1959-1963

Chubby Checker

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 18, 2005)
• Original Release Date: October 18, 2005
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Abkco
• ASIN: B000B8I8XW
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #24,764 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Chubby Checker, The Best of Chubby Checker: Cameo Parkway 1959-1963

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Let's limbo some more!, October 23, 2005

By	S. Paradoa (Miami, Florida United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The wait is over. This collection brings us the official release of the original Parkway recordings of one of the era's most successful male solo artists. The set consists of 24 tracks total, all in mono, including 22 that hit the Hot 100. Missing are three top 40 hits ("Twenty Miles" that peaked at #15 in 1963, "Lazy Elsie Molly" that peaked at #40 in July of 1964, and "Let's Do the Freddie" that hit #40 in May of 1965). However, the b-side to the original release of "The Twist" along with one album cut are thrown in. The tracks are not in chronological order, but the digital sound is supreme. A four page essay (written by Jeff Tamarkin, who also authored the essay for the Cameo Parkway box set released in May 2005) plus five pages of credits and chart info detail the career of the former chicken plucker turned king of the dance crazes. Most fans and collectors will be satisfied (you can't beat the price). Highly recommended.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Finally...The Original Recordings, October 20, 2005

By	Steve Vrana (Aurora, NE) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Why it took Cameo Parkway so long to release this muisc on CD is unclear to me, but it's nice to have the original recordings finally released after being unavailable for decades.

This 24-track collection presents 18 of his 21 hits that he recorded for the label. [The only missing hits are "Twenty Miles" (#15, 1963) and "Lazy Elsie Molly" and "Let's Do the Freddie" (both peaked at #40 in 1964).]

Checker's best known song is, of course, "The Twist." The song was so popular, it is the only song to reach No. 1 on the pop chart in nonconsecutive years (1960 and 1962). He also had million-sellers with "Let's Twist Again" and "Limbo Rock." Additional dance craze top ten hits included "Pony Time," "The Fly," "Popeye (The Hitchhiker)" and a duet with labelmate Dee Dee Sharp on "Slow Twistin'." Checker also had a holiday hit with labelmate Bobby Rydell on "Jingle Bell Rock."

My only quarrel with this collection is the sequencing. It should have been in chronological order, starting with his 1959 debut "The Class." And if you aren't going to do that, at least start with his signature song, "The Twist," not 1962's "Dancin' Party." With that aside, this is an enjoyable collection of dance songs. No serious lyrical content, just plain fun music. RECOMMENDED

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally, the real deal!, October 18, 2005

By	Paul Warren "rhythm reviewer" (Farmington Hills, MI United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I know you've been waiting 20+ years, like me, to find a CD with Chubby's ORIGINAL hit recordings. The wait is finally over. You can now toss out all those various old and woefully inferior "Greatest Hits" and "Best Of" Chubby Checker re-recordings in your CD collection that have proliferated the market for too many years. This disc has the hits the way you remember them (or the way you younger fans should hear them the first time) and some B-sides that should please most collectors. I give it 5 stars for containing a total of 24 selections and decent liner notes for a bargain price.