Chubby Checker Debuts His Beef Jerky

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - The man who introduced the nation to The Twist now has meatier goals.
Chubby Checker brought his new brand of beef jerky to several grocery stores Wednesday.

Fans had other things on the their minds, however. Checker spent most of his visit signing autographs, posing for pictures and chatting with fans.
"I went through the Twist, rock 'n' roll, the whole thing with him - all the way,'' said retired truck driver Joe Deloa. "I'm ecstatic.''

Checker debuted "The Twist'' - his cover of the song by Hank Ballard and the Midnighters - in August 1960. The following month, the song had topped the charts, eventually selling more than a million copies.

His 1962 re-release of "The Twist'' became the only single to hit No. 1 on U.S. charts on two separate occasions. He hit the Top 40 again with a rap version of "The Twist'' in 1988.