Sunday Afternoon (July 27th) we made it out to The Des Plaines Theatre to see new Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Inductee Chubby Checker.
And better yet, he was presented with that Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Statute right there on the Des Plaines Theatre stage.
The presentation was filmed to be edited into the live broadcast on November 7th. (Chubby has another gig that night so he is unable to attend the actual ceremony ... but this was Ron Onesti's and The Rock Hall's way of still including him in the broadcast.)
Chubby pointed out the long wait to be recognized (He was actually eligible the first year The Rock Hall began inducting candidates ... so he's been waiting FORTY YEARS for this well-deserved recognition. He also pointed out how he was glad that they finally decided to do this while he was still alive!!! ... as The Rock Hall has a history of waiting too long and then inducting new candidates posthumously.)
Chubby went right into "The Twist" as part of his acceptance speech and then did his full, non-stop show.
And when I say "non-stop," I'm not kidding ... EVERY song ran right into the next one without so much as a moment to catch your breath. Chubby performed a full 90 minute cardio work-out right before our very eyes ... and he was magnificent.
Every twist song you can imagine (including hits by other artists like "Peppermint Twist" and "Twist And Shout") was performed that night ... he was absolutely Twistin' The Night Away.
The energy level was incredible ... I was exhausted just WATCHING him!!! (This man is going to be 84 years old in October ... and he looks and performs like a man less than half that age!)
About two-thirds of the way into the concert he performed "Slow Twistin'" and then worked his way out into the audience. Once there, he managed to twist his way thru about the first ten rows of the theatre, stopping to shake hands and hi-five members of the audience. (I was able to video-tape him on my phone for most of this journey.)
When he got to OUR row, he grabbed the phone out of my hands, made me stand up and do the twist with him, giving me a "not bad" nod of approval before handing me my phone back ... which unfortunately means I don't have video footage of ANY of that exchange!!!
(I had the chance to visit with Chubby before the show ... and this man just LOVES to entertain and bring joy to his audience. I can tell you first hand that he succeeded on every level.)
Between hits and hit-medleys of songs by other artists, Chubby managed to make his way thru about a dozen of his own hits, including long-forgotten numbers like "Hooka Tooka" and "Loddy Lo" ... as well as the obvious favorites like "The Twist" (by evening's end, he had performed that song THREE times!), "Let's Twist Again," "Limbo Rock," "Pony Time" and the aforementioned "Slow Twistin'."
NOTE: One of the times he did "The Twist," he invited members of the audience to come up and join him on stage ... and actually DO The Twist with him ... you should have seen the rush of women ready to take him up on his offer. (Actually, you CAN see it here):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=auen9Wc3J-k&list=RDauen9Wc3J-k&start_radio=1
Brian Hyland opened the show (he wasn't in the dressing room when I visited beforehand ... I would have LOVED to talk to him and get a picture and let him know that "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka-Dot Bikini" was the very first record I ever bought!)
Brian is in fine voice and is still making new music, as is Chubby. (He did a great live version of his 2013 release, "Changes," while encouraging the audience to live every day to its fullest.) Hyland performed with Chubby's band, who are outstanding as well. This is a real, honest-to-God ROCK band ... and guitar and sax solos were the flavor of the day, along with excellent drumming and bass and keyboard support. They knew EVERY move Chubby was going to make and were spot-on the beat each and every time.
Hyland probably did as many covers as he did of his own hits. (I was disappointed that he played a minor hit, "I'm Afraid To Go Home" without mentioning or performing its B-Side, the original version of "Save Your Heart For Me," later a hit for Gary Lewis and the Playboys. He also left out "The Joker Went Wild," a Top 20 Hit in 1966. He DID, however, mention that "I'm Afraid To Go Home" was a big hit in Chicago, which it was ... it went to #7 here, while only reaching #63 in Billboard.)
Ron Onesti was the perfect host and master-of-cermonies. When he explained the sequence of the day's events prior to the start of the concert, he told the audience:
"When they do the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame presentation, the cameras are going to pan the audience ... and when they do, we need you all to stand up and cheer and scream."
But then he said:
"If there's anybody out there that does NOT want to be caught on camera, please discreetly leave the theater before we start filming.
"Guys, you know what I men ...
"Girls, you know what I mean."
This TOTALLY cracked me up ... this disclaimer must be part of the new Coldplay Doctrine!!!
Start-to-finish, a GREAT show. SO cool to see Chubby FINALLY inducted. (Ron said that on Hall Of Fame Induction Night, he may show the ceremony on the big screen at one of his theatres so fans can come out and see the historic Des Plaines Theatre on worldwide tv!)
[I hesitate to share video of Chubby's acceptance speech as I don't want to risk having to do battle with Disney, who have the rights to the official broadcast. I will only say that it was completely dignified and well-deserved.]
