Chubby Checker's concise R&B-formula pop was consistent as it was redundant, but managed almost two dozen Top 40 chart entries. The dance theme permeates
For Teen Twisters Only, with any track a candidate for inclusion on an American International Pictures youth-oriented film. "The Fly" went Top Ten in October of 1961 and is an interesting song with unique sound effects to separate it from the rest, followed by
Checker's third biggest hit, the Top Three "Slow Twistin'," a duet with the great
Dee Dee Sharp hitting in March of 1962. Those two smash songs were interrupted on the charts by the reentry of "The Twist," going number one for the second time in 15 months, and a seasonal hit, "Jingle Bell Rock," both titles not included on this effort. The stronger material is on side one and by the time you hit the final track -- the second of
Checker's two compositions, "Twistin' Bones" -- the novelty has worn off. But this wasn't about creating great albums; it was about riding the wave of Top 40 success and
Ernest Evans in his
Chubby Checker persona milks it for all it's worth. The word "twist" appears on two-thirds of the titles, eight of the 12 tracks, with all the material coming in under the three-minute mark. There are three tunes written by the team of
Mann/
Appell along with covers of
the Isley Brothers' "Shout,"
Dion DiMucci's "Runaround Sue," and the inevitable
Joey Dee & the Starliters classic, "The Peppermint Twist."
For Teen Twisters Only album delivers the goods without straying from the mission to twist again...and again...and again.