Connie Francis

Hit Parade Hall of Fame

It was nice introducing two good friends to each other. Pat Boone and George Noory fans came together with millions of listeners worldwide tuning in to hear them on a recent Coast to Coast broadcast.

His favorite singer was Bing Crosby, but it hardly seems possible five decades have passed since my walk home from the record store, carefully protecting a 78rpm recording of �Two Hearts� and �Ain�t That A Shame�. It was early rock n' roll before unbreakable 45s, EPs or LPs, cassettes, or CDs. It was a time before Elvis or the Beatles. Perry Como was the rage, but this new face�this new voice�.this new rock music was just being introduced by our local radio station. "It's Pat Boone from Tennessee�, said the DJ. This new comer, wearing �white bucks� that soon would become his trademark, would not only create a new fad in footwear, but give new birth to v-neck sweater sales, as young men everywhere attempted to be like the guy their girl friends were swooning over�.more like Pat Boone.

His image dampened the dark words of those proclaiming rock n� roll was the �devil's music�. As Elvis would do later, Pat Boone began his career by introducing a wider audience to the music of black performers in an era when their songs were seldom heard on radio. As a lad growing up in the nation's heartland, I never heard of Little Richard or Fats Domino until Pat Boone's rendition of their songs introduced them to me. Pat basically introduced mainstream America to rock n' roll.

In the early 50's Pat won the amateur competition on both the Ted Mack and Arthur Godfrey TV shows. At the birth of early Rock n' Roll his "Two Hearts", "Ain't That A Shame", "At My Front Door" and "Long Tall Sally" introduced millions to "the big beat". His hit string continued with "I'll Be Home", "I Almost Lost My Mind", "Friendly Persuasion", "Chains of Love", "Don't Forbid Me", "Why Baby Why", "Love Letters In The Sand", "Remember You're Mine", "April Love", "A Wonderful Time Up There", "It's Too Soon To Know", "Sugar Moon", "If Dreams Came Thru", "Moody River" and "Speedy Gonzales". With more than twenty top ten hits to his credit, Pat�s recordings have occupied a notch on the nation�s hit parade more than sixty times.

Pat Today

In a society that is hard pressed to remember anyone more than just a few years, and with even fewer expectations about the character of a celebrity, Pat represents a role model and legacy his kin folk would surely be proud of. A descendent of frontiersman Daniel Boone, Pat has been married 51 years to his wife, Shirley, the daughter of country music royalty, Red Foley.

Tributes may be given to those who survived in the world of entertainment for more than a dozen years, but how many recording artists have flourished for half of a century in an industry not known for longevity? Pat's career has also included success as a best selling author, a successful entrepreneur, a legendary humanitarian, and a family man. His fame is international...he has been listed as one of "The Five Most Recognizable Faces" around the world.

Called "the original American Idol", Pat reminded me in a recent telephone conversation that its been 50 years since as a high school student I first carried "Two Hearts" home and playing it over and over, wore the grooves out. Pat Boone is certainly a charter member of the Hit Parade Hall of Fame.

Well done pal....well done !

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Joe Isgro, John Rook & Tom Jones

I was a Tom Jones fan at the very start of his career. One of many artists presented in Pittsburgh, Tom would be one of the few I took time to meet with to predict great stardom for. Unlike the Beatles, who I didn�t think would last a year, Tom�s unique vocal power grabbed my attention. �You my friend will become a superstar�, I said after hearing him on stage. �Thank you sir�, he replied, �that would be nice�.

Soon, he was on top of the Hit Parade with �Its Not Unusual�, � Delilah� , "Help Yourself", "Love Me Tonight", �I'll Never Fall in Love Again�, �I, who have Nothing�, �She�s A Lady� and �What�s New Pussycat�.

In a conversation with Elvis in 1977, he told me of his admiration and friendship with Tom Jones. �He can sing anything� said the king.

Now a grandfather, Thomas Jones Woodward or Tom Jones as we know him lives in Bel Air, California and his native South Wales as he continues to perform worldwide.

He did indeed become a superstar�earning a place in the Hit Parade Hall of Fame.

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John Rook, Roger Collins & Kenny Rogers

A voice that was also �unique� Kenny Rogers caught my attention in the 1960�s when as lead singer of the First Edition he hit with what must be the Hit Parade�s longest title, �Just Dropped In, To See What Condition My Condition Was in�. The hit string continued with �But You Know I Love You�, �Ruby�, �Reuben James� and �Something�s Burning�.

Then in the mid 70�s he was looking for airplay for a song most would think fit only a country music format. I was one of the first to recognize �Lucille� would be a giant hit as I recommended it to my string of consulted radio stations nationally and added it for airplay on KFI-Los Angeles. It became Kenny�s signature song�followed by Hit Parade toppers �She Believes In Me�, �You Decorated My Life�, �Coward of the County�, �Don�t Fall In Love With A Dreamer�, �Lady�, �I Don�t Need You�, �We�ve Got Tonight� and �Islands In The Stream�.

A show business icon, there are few entertainers of Kenny�s stature. In three decades he has sold more than 100 million records worldwide.

Kenny Rogers sits on the front row of the Hit Parade Hall of Fame

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Neil Diamond, Pat Pipalo, John Rook

At age 16 Neil Leslie Diamond received a guitar for his birthday, it would be the start of an amazing career that would continue to this day as adoring fans fill concert venue�s to hear one of the worlds great troubadours.

In the mid 60�s Eileen Burns of Bang records first called Neil Diamond to my attention. With a little help from me and a few other radio friends �Cherry Cherry� was introduced to the nation and became his first big hit recording. �Girl You�ll Be a Woman Soon�, �Thank The Lord For The Nighttime� �Kentucky Woman� and �Red Red Wine� followed on Bang.

Soon my long time pal, Russ Regan of Uni Records exploded Neil�s career with �Sweet Caroline� and �Holly Holy�. �Cracklin� Rose�, �I am I said�, �Song Sung Blue� �Longfellow Serenade� �You Don�t Bring me Flowers�, �Love on the Rocks�, �Hello Again�, �America� and �Heartlight� kept the Diamond mine overflowing with gold records.

No Hit Parade Hall of Fame would be complete without Neil Diamond.

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Connie Francis

Born Concetta Rosemarie Franconero, Arthur Godfrey insisted her name be shortened to Connie Francis. Starting with the million seller �Who�s Sorry Now� she was the top female vocalist of the late 50's and early 60's charting more than fifty times on the nations Hit Parade over a ten year period. She introduced a new generation to ballad standards �My Happiness�, �Among My Souvenirs� and �Together� while also rocking with �Lipstick On Your Collar� and �Stupid Cupid�. She could sing it all from country to a wide range of songs in many different languages including the classic Italtian hit �Mama�.

With more than 70 albums to her credit in the United States Connie�s popularity in Europe provide fans there to choose from more than 160 cd�s. It's hard to underestimate the talents of this Italian girl who grew up in a Jewish neighborhood in New Jersey. Connie Francis interpretation of music is meticulous, enabling her to become one of the most popular international entertainers of this century.

KQVips of 1964 with Connie Francis

Connie, Big Steve Rizen, John Rook, Dex Allen & Chuck Brinkman

Click here for more of the Connie Francis story

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Paul, George, John & Ringo at my KQV

BeatleMania

(from "Passing Thru")

As a fan of �The Crickets�, a new group by the name of �The Beatles� didn�t impress me�I thought it was a direct steal of Buddy Holly�s band. My friend Bob Skaff, of Liberty Records had told me of his efforts to sign �this new English group�, but was turned down by his boss Al Bennett. �They are gonna be big Johnny�, said Skaff who predicted, �It will only be a matter of time before they come to the attention of American radio�. Bob would introduce me to Beatle manager Brian Epstein, who became very important in giving me an inside track to �the boys� in future times. However, I must admit I didn�t expect the Beatles to be more than a passing fancy��perhaps last a year or two at the most�, I thought.

Several months would pass before Capitol records would kick off the English invasion by introducing �I Want Hold Your Hand�, it would be the first of more than two dozen Beatle hits in a period of one year�1964. Capitol wasn�t the only record company riding the wave as other labels climbed aboard with virtually everything the Beatles had recorded earlier in their career.

With their first Capitol release at #1 on the American Hit Parade, the mop tops arrived in the United States in February to make their TV debut on the top rated Sunday night Ed Sullivan show. BeatleMania was here�and four decades later it would still be. Spending time with them in the Bahamas and personal conversations with George and John where they would tell me how my friend Eddie Cochran was their idol. The Beatles were a magnet for radio and I was appreciative. More about the Beatles in "Passing Thru".

Certainly The Beatles stand at or near the top of the Hit Parade Hall of Fame

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John Rook & Petula Clark

She was a child star known as the British Shirley Temple, making her first movie in 1944. Fifty plus years later Petula Clark had sold 70 million records worldwide including �Downtown� that topped the Hit Parade and earned her a Grammy in 1964.

She was awarded her second Grammy a year later for �I Know A Place� and starred in �Finian�s Rainbow with Fred Astaire and �Goodbye Mr. Chips� with Peter O�Toole. Petula�s �My Love�, �I couldn�t Live Without Your Love�, �This is my Song�, �Don�t Sleep in the Subway� and �Kiss Me Goodbye� kept her hit streak going throughout the 1960�s.

A world class singer, entertainer and motion picture star, Petula Clark is another deserving star on the

Hit Parade Hall of Fame.

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Bobby Rydell (2005)

At an early age Robert Ridarelli showed an uncanny inclination toward music and showmanship. With support and encouragement from his family, young Robert learned to play drums extremely well and had natural command of timing. This gift of rhythm made it easy for Robert to pick up other instruments such as guitar and piano. His talent soon earned him a momentous win on the Paul Whiteman TV show and a new name�.Bobby Rydell.

His 1959 rock hit �Kissin� Time� exploded his career with �Wild One�, �Swingin� School�, �Volare�, �Sway�, �The Cha Cha Cha� and �Forget Him� each top five hits. In a period of five years Bobby Rydell landed 30 times on the Hit Parade.

To a standing room only crowd, Bobby packed New York's legendary Copacabana and had a starring role in the motion picture �Bye Bye Birdie�.

Bobby Rydell�s talent continues to charm audiences worldwide. However, more remarkable than his talent and charisma, is the loving, compassionate, and gracious nature of the man, Bobby Rydell. He's a gentleman.

Dave Scott, Bobby Rydell, Frankie Day and John Rook

(Bobby's birthday in 1964)

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Paul Anka

Raised in Ottawa, Ontario, Paul Anka developed a talent for songwriting through school courses in English and Journalism. His life would forever be altered, however, on a trip to New York with a song he had written for a girl four years his senior. "Diana" launched Paul Anka's career as an international teen idol at the age of sixteen," with sales totaling over 20 million copies worldwide. Before he turned 18, Mr. Anka had five Top-20 hits. With such notable 1950's hits as "Put Your Head On My Shoulder," "You Are My Destiny," "Lonely Boy," and "Puppy Love". In five decades, Paul Anka has been represented on the American Hit Parade more than fifty times with his latest "Jump" a favorite of a new generation of Anka fans.

A prolific song writer with almost 1,000 songs to his credit, they have been performed by Elvis Presley, Barbra Streisand, Tom Jones, Buddy Holly, Linda Ronstadt and Frank Sinatra who chose Anka�s �My Way� as his signature song.

Paul continues to tour ten months out of the year, proving still to be a veritable force of nature with a boundless commitment to entertain his dedicated international following.

KQVips with Paul Anka (1964)

Dex Allen, Chuck Brinkman, John Rosica, John Rook, Dave Scott & Paul Anka

Bob Skaff, John Rook, Paul Anka (1978)

Of my celebrity friends, Paul Anka has been there the longest.

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Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Frank Sinatra

They called him �Chairman of the board� but in reality Frank Albert Sinatra was
�The King� more than any other show business celebrity. Born December 12, 1915, he aimed at becoming a sportswriter but after becoming a fan of Bing Crosby he landed a position front and center with the Harry James band and then Tommy Dorsey�s orchestra where Sinatra became a sensation

Young girls, known as ``bobby-soxers,'' packed each performance to scream and faint in ecstasy as Sinatra sang his own intimate crooning style. A half-century after his first public appearance, he was still packing stadiums and theaters from New York to London, Paris to Las Vegas. A star of more than 50 films, he sold records by the millions.

Frank Sinatra was represented on the American Hit Parade more than seventy times in six decades, with �Learnin� the Blues�, �Love & Marriage�, �Hey Jealous Lover�, �Witchcraft�, �Strangers in the Night� and �That�s Life� among his many million sellers. Written by Paul Anka, �My Way� and �New York, New York� became his signature songs.

George Green, John Rook & Sammy Davis Jr.

Together with Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr., two other inductee's into the Hit Parade Hall of Fame, Sinatra lured millions of fans to Las Vegas during that cities infancy. Sammy's "Somethings Gotta Give" and "That Old Black Magic" in 1955 were followed by "What Kind of Fool am I", "I've Gotta be Me" and his #1 hit "Candy Man" in the 60's. Dean Martin's "Memories are Made of This", "Return to Me", "Everybody Loves Somebody" and "The Door is Still Open to My Heart" kept him on the Hit Parade in the 50's and 60's.

The legend of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr., will never be equaled, for that they are charter members of the Hit Parade Hall of Fame

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Bing Crosby

Bing Crosby was born Harry Lillis Crosby in Tacoma, Washington. After moving to Spokane he was inspired to concentrate on a singing career after meeting Al Jolson. While attending Gonzaga University to become a lawyer, he begin singing with a local band. Without doubt, he would become the most popular media star of the first half of the 20^th century with numerous hit recordings well into the rock era.

Topping the Hit Parade in 1956 with �True Love�, Bing passed away in 1977 but he lives on with his �White Christmas� continuing as an annual holiday hit besides being the all time best selling recording.

Bing Crosby is also on the front row of the Hit Parade Hall of Fame

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Al Martino

It was Mario Lanza who encouraged a young Philadelphian, Alfred Cinito to pursue a musical career, and to move to New York. By 1950, Al Martino landed a much sought-after record deal with Capitol Records, after winning the first prize in Arthur Godfrey's "Talent Scout Show."

His �I can�t get you out of my heart� in the summer of 1959 awakened the nation to his unique voice, �Here in my heart�, �I Love you because�, "Mary in the Morning", �Spanish Eyes�, �Painted Tainted Rose�, �Volare� �I Love You More And More Every Day� and more than forty other Hit Parade favorites keep him on the road performing worldwide.

Al played the much sought-after role of Johnny Fontane in Frances Ford Coppola's 1970�s epic film The Godfather.

In a recent conversation, Al tells me he continues to tour, while his wife Judi answers fan mail from their long time home in Beverly Hills.

Truly a classy gentleman, Al Martino is in the Hit Parade Hall of Fame.

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Patti Page

She was vocalizing at the age of five in her native Oklahoma. Born and raised in humble surroundings, Clara Ann Fowler became �The Singing Rage Miss Patti Page�, the nation�s top female singer for more than a dozen years.

In the course of her remarkable recording career, Patti Page sold approximately 100 million plus records, making her one of the biggest, if not the biggest selling female recording artist in history. She has 15 certified gold records and her recording of �Tennessee Waltz,� at ten million sold, remains, the biggest selling single ever recorded by a female artist. She has charted a staggering 111 hits on pop, country and r&b charts. Additionally, it was Patti Page who took country music out of the country and onto the pop charts with such million record sellers as �Mockin� Bird Hill,� � I Went To Your Wedding,� and, of course, the legendary �Tennessee Waltz�. "Old Cape Cod" and �Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte� are considered Patti Page signature songs, each hitting the top of the Hit Parade. And she is the only singer � male or female � to have had shows bearing her name on all three major television networks.

One of the first to be awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Patti�s name is also on the Country Music Walk of Fame in Nashville. She has received the prestigious Pioneer Award from the Academy of Country Music, and is a member of the Oklahoma Hall of Fame. Patti was the first female to be inducted into the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame along with Merle Haggard and Woody Guthrie and in 2002, she was honored with the Living Legend Award from the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame.

Patti Page is on front row of the Hit Parade Hall of Fame

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Kay Starr

Another Hit Parade star born in Oklahoma was Katherine LaVerne Starks, who became Kay Starr. Joining the Glenn Miller Orchestra, a deep husky voice became her trademark.

Wheel Of Fortune� earned Kay her first gold record and went on to become the number two top selling single of 1952. She followed with "Changing Partners", "Half A Photograph" and "Let Me Go Lover". Kay again hit the American and British charts in January 1956 with her million selling gold record �The Rock And Roll Waltz.� The single went on to become the number two top selling single of 1956 in the U.S., and the number one single of the year on the U.K. charts. In 1957 "My Heart Reminds Me" gave Kay still another chart topper.

Kay is truly a gifted and unique performer who has made a success of every musical genre she has tackled. Whether jazz, pop, country or R&B, Kay Starr belongs in the Hit Parade Hall of Fame

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Johnny Mathis

At age 13 John Royce Mathis began the vocal training that would propel him to the world entertainment stage. Recording for Columbia in 1957, his tasteful ballads of �It�s Not For Me To Say�, �Chances Are� and �The Twelfth Of Never�, topped a Hit Parade dominated with the birth of rock n� roll.

�Wonderful, Wonderful�, �A Certain Smile�, �Misty�, �Gina�, �What Will Mary Say�, �Too Much, Too Little, Too Late� each were million sellers among the more than fifty other Johnny Mathis recordings to visit the American Hit Parade. Columbia Records continued to release albums of Johnny singing beautiful and romantic ballads, classic standards and the best songs from Broadway musicals. These albums, like the singles, became immediate successes with sales in the millions. It was not uncommon for Johnny to have as many as four albums on the BILLBOARD Top Albums chart at the same time. With nearly 100 albums to his credit, his early �Greatest Hits� spent an unprecedented ten years on the best seller charts.

With a voice that belongs to only him, Johnny Mathis marks his 50th anniversary as a recording artist as he continues to entertain world wide. He truly has earned his place in the Hit Parade of greats.

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The Ames Brothers

The Ames Brothers got their beginning in Malden, MA, where all four were born. The act consisting of Joe, Gene, Vic and Eddie were the first artist to record for Coral records in 1948.

Swept into national top billing with their first hit recordings of "Rag Mop" and �Sentimental Me�, they became regulars on the Arthur Godfrey Hour. They were also one of the first acts to appear on the original Ed Sullivan Show when it was known as Toast of the Town.

Moving to RCA records, the Ames Bros. topped the charts throughout the 1950's with �You, You, You�, �The Naughty Lady of Shady Lane�, �The Man with the Banjo�, �My Bonnie Lassie�, �It Only Hurts for a Little While�, �A Very Precious Love�, �Tammy� and �Melodie D�Amour�. They became the top paid group in nightclubs everywhere and in 1956 starred with their own television show to a worldwide audience.

The Ames Brothers epitomized the wholesome American optimism of the 1950�s and clearly deserve to be in the Hit Parade Hall of Fame.

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Buckeye�s Christine, Dorothy and Phyllis McGuire started singing as youngsters and in the early 50�s and became regulars on the highly popular Arthur Godfrey radio show for many years.

Almost immediately the McGuire Sisters landed �Sincerely�, �It May Sound Silly�, �Somethings Gotta Give�, �He� and �Sugartime� topping the nations Hit Parade. Before retiring in 1968, they were regulars on top rated TV shows and made command performances for five US presidents and Queen Elizabeth II of England.

A unequaled blend of voices, The McGuire Sister belong in the Hit Parade Hall of Fame.

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After Bob Hope suggested he change his name to Tony Bennett, Anthony Dominick Benedetto has been serenading music lovers for most of five decades. His first ride on the Hit Parade came from �Because of You� in 1951, followed with �Cold Cold Heart�, �Rags to Riches� and �Stranger in Paradise�. Weathering the introduction of rock n� roll, Tony�s �I Left My Heart In San Francisco� became his signature song in 1962. �I Wanna Be Around�, �The Good Life�, �Who Can I Turn To� and �In The Middle of an Island� continued his streak of hits.

His career has enjoyed three distinct phases, each of them very successful starting in the era of the 78rpm to 45rpm, to 33 1/3 rpm to tape cassette to CD�s in more than fifty years of entertaining. Tony Bennett is on the front row of the Hit Parade Hall of Fame.

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It was the keen ear of A&M�s Herb Albert that brought the Carpenters to the attention of the nation in 1970 with their #1 hit �Close to You�and it continued with �We�ve only Just Begun�, �For All We Know�, �Rainy Days and Mondays�, �Superstar�, �Hurting Each Other�, �Goodbye to Love�, �Sing�, �Yesterday Once More�, �Top of the World�, �Please Mr. Postman�, Only Yesterday� and �Solitaire� each topping the Hit Parade.

Richard and Karen Carpenter won three Grammy�s, had an Academy Award song among their dozen hits and released 17 albums before she would die of heart failure at just 32 years of age.

This brother and sister team, certainly deserve a place on the Hit Parade Hall of Fame.

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Nat King Cole

Born in Alabama, Nathaniel Adams Coles began entertaining at an early age after the family moved to Chicago. Adopting the name Nat �King� Cole, his first hits �Sweet Lorraine�, �Straighten Up and Fly Right�, �The Christmas Song� and �Nature Boy� would establish him before his �Mona Lisa� top the charts in 1950. �Unforgettable�, �Darling Je Vous Aime Beaucoup�, �A Blossom Fell, �Answer Me, My Love�, �Smile�, �If I May� �Send for Me�, �Looking Back�, �Ramblin� Rose� and �Those Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Days of Summer� each topped the Hit Parade before his untimely death shortly after we met 1964.

His �Christmas Song� is still a holiday favorite more than fifty years after it was first released. Nat King Cole is a charter member of the Hit Parade Hall of Fame.

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Perry Como was born Pierino Ronald Como in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania in 1912, the son of immigrants from Italy.

Wearing a cardigan sweater and showing a winning smile on television, his career spanned more than six decades with a variety of songs like "Wanted", "Catch a Falling Star", "Magic Moments", "Hot Diggity Dog Ziggity Boom,�, "Papa Loves Mambo�, and even an early rock hit, "Juke Box Baby. "Dream Along with Me," "Don't Let the Stars Get in Your Eyes," "Temptation," "Because," "Till the End of Time," "Prisoner of Love," "And I Love You So," and "It's Impossible" kept him on the Hit Parade through the 1970�s.

Retiring to his home near Palm Beach, Florida, Perry enjoyed many years golfing, fishing, before he died in 2001�a national treasure gone.

Perry Como is also on the front row of the Hit Parade Hall of Fame.

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Chubby Checker

Ernest Evans was born in Spring Gulley, South Carolina, but grew up in South Philadelphia. He attended South Philadelphia High School with his friend Fabian Forte, who would have show business success of his own. While working at the Produce Market, his employer began calling him �Chubby��the name stuck.

In the summer of 1960 it was the nation�s teenagers that pushed �The Twist� to the top of the Hit Parade. Then a year later adults joined the dance craze and once again radio airplay propelled �The Twist� to the #1 position nationally. No other record before or since has accomplished that feat.

Chubby�s �Pony Time�, �The Fly�, �Slow Twistin�, �Limbo Rock� each landed in the top ten nationally, not to forget a total of 35 other hits including �Jingle Bell Rock� over the next three decades. His �Lets Twist Again� won him a grammy for �Best Rock Performance�.

While hits kept coming, the highlight of 1964 was Chubby's marriage to Catharina Lodders, Miss World 1962.

Now more than forty years later Chubby Checker continues wowing fans eager to do �The Twist�.

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Donna Summer

Donna Adrian Gaines was born in Boston on New Years eve in 1948. Early on she seemed destined to a career as an entertainer. But she would first move to Germany to find fame as Donna Summer. In 1975 she recorded �Love to Love You Baby� that took the promotional genius of Neil Bogart to send it to the top of America�s Hit Parade.

The rest is history. Since then she has racked up fourteen top ten hits, four number one singles, three platinum albums, five Grammy awards and twelve other Grammy nominations. She is the first female artist to have three number one solo singles in one year ("MacArthur Park", "Hot Stuff" and "Bad Girls") and she is the only artist to have three number one double albums in a row "Live And More", "Bad Girls", and "On The Radio".

The undisputed Queen of Disco, Donna Summer belongs in the Hit Parade Hall of Fame.

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Steve Lawrence

Born in Brooklyn, Sidney Leibowitz became Steve Lawrence and a recording artist by age 16. While a regular on Steve Allen�s �Tonight� show in the early 50�s he teamed with and married Eydie Gorme.

Gathering both a Tony for his acting, they together were awarded an Emmy, Grammy�s and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame. For four decades Steve and Eydie have entertained the crowds in Las Vegas and elsewhere.

Steve hit the top of the Hit Parade beginning in the late 50�s with �Party Doll�, �Pretty Blue Eyes�, �Footsteps�, �Portrait of My Love� and �Go Away Little Girl�.

Sinatra said, �the cat can sing� and it has earned him a place in the Hit Parade Hall of Fame.