Free Republic

Day 321 Of The Dictatorship Of COVID-19, Day 321 Of America And The World Held Hostage Back in 1979 Americans taken hostage in Iran and ABC News coining the phrase "America Held Hostage" as illustrated in this first of many late night special reports... And here we are in 2021 the Dictatorship of COVID-19 and Americans held hostage like Gayle Meyer... Don McLean's "American Pie" was all over the radio back in 1972 and many phrases in that song including "The Day The Music Died". It will be 62 years ago this Wednesday "The Day The Music Died" February 3,...

PHILADELPHIA – Fifty years to the day after the release of the hip-swiveling tune "The Twist," the man who made it famous celebrated the occasion in his hometown. Chubby Checker performed Friday at a free noontime concert at Philadelphia City Hall. About 1,000 people joined in on the gyrations, some even invited onstage by the South Philadelphia-bred singer. "The Twist," released as a single on July 9, 1960, burst into the rock 'n' roll stratosphere after Checker performed it for Dick Clark on his Philadelphia-based "American Bandstand." Checker's 1960 cover version of the Hank Ballard and the Midnighters song —...

Hank Ballard, the R&B star who wrote and recorded "The Twist" with little success and watched a year later as Chubby Checker used the song to teach the world a new dance, died Sunday at his home in Los Angeles. Ballard, who had been suffering from throat cancer, was 66.

Hank Ballard, singer and writer of 'The Twist,' dies 03/03/2003 Associated Press LOS ANGELES - Singer and songwriter Hank Ballard, whose hit "The Twist" ushered a nationwide 1960s dance craze, has died. Ballard, who was suffering from throat cancer, died Sunday at his home, friends said. Friend and caretaker Anna L. Ayala remembers him for his spirit. "He was just a very good man and loved by so many people," she said. Ayala said Ballard's birth records indicate he was born in 1927, but biographical information on the Internet and Rock and Roll encyclopedias lists his birth date as...