When Checker released his version with an accompanying dance routine, the song became an instant hit. “The Twist” was revolutionary as a dance movement as it gave couples the freedom to break apart on the dance floor.
Since then he has had 34 hits and had the first rock-and-roll song that received a Grammy.
He has also been happily married to former beauty queen Catharina Lodders for 57 years – a union that has faced many obstacles.
When the couple got married in 1964 it was the same year the Civil Rights Act of 1964 had been introduced. The act meant that restrictions on voting rights for African-Americans were lifted and segregation in the army, education and basic public services fell but bans on interracial marriage still remained.
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