Editing Chubby Checker (section)

==Early life==
Checker was born Ernest Evans in [[Spring Gully, South Carolina]].<ref>{{cite book|first=Benjamin V|last=Franklin|title=An Encyclopedia of South Carolina Jazz and Blues Musicians|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jsnYCwAAQBAJ&pg=PT147|date=30 May 2016|publisher=[[University of South Carolina Press]]|location=Columbia, South Carolina|isbn=978-1-61117-622-3|page=147}}</ref> He was raised in [[the projects]] of [[South Philadelphia]], where he lived with his parents, Raymond and Eartle Evans,<ref>UPI Telephoto (NAP 122601), December 1963.</ref> and two brothers.<ref name= Chubby>{{cite web|url=http://www.chubbychecker.com/bio.asp|title=The Official Site|website=ChubbyChecker.com|access-date=2015-08-18|archive-date=May 30, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230530044750/https://www.chubbychecker.com/bio.asp|url-status=dead}}</ref> By age eleven, Evans formed a street-corner harmony group. By the time he entered high school, Ernest had learned to play the piano a little at [[Settlement Music School]]. He entertained his classmates by performing vocal impressions of popular entertainers of the day, such as [[Jerry Lee Lewis]], [[Elvis Presley]] and [[Fats Domino]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Chubby Checker |url=https://www.biography.com/musician/chubby-checker|website=biography.com|access-date=17 June 2019}}</ref> One of his classmates and friends at [[South Philadelphia High School]] was Fabian Forte, who would become a popular performer of the late 1950s and early 1960s as [[Fabian Forte|Fabian]].<ref name= Chubby />

After school Evans would entertain customers at his various jobs, including Fresh Farm Poultry in the [[Italian Market, Philadelphia|Italian Market]] on Ninth Street and at the Produce Market, with songs and jokes. It was his boss at the Produce Market, Anthony Tambone, who gave Evans the nickname "Chubby". The owner of Fresh Farm Poultry, Henry Colt, was so impressed by the boy's performances for the customers that he, along with his colleague and friend Kal Mann, who worked as a songwriter for [[Cameo-Parkway Records]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.classicbands.com/ChubbyCheckerInterview.html |title=Interview With Chubby Checker|website= Classicbands.com|date=1961-02-01|access-date=2015-08-18}}</ref> arranged for young Chubby to do a private recording for ''[[American Bandstand]]'' host [[Dick Clark]]. After hearing Chubby's Fats Domino impression, Clark's wife Barbara suggested that Chubby be called "Chubby [[Checkers|Checker]]" in homage to him.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.classicbands.com/checker.html|title=Chubby Checker|website=Classicbands.com|date=1958-11-11|access-date=2015-08-18|archive-date=May 11, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120511001542/http://www.classicbands.com/checker.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://americansongwriter.com/the-story-behind-how-the-twist-creator-chubby-checker-got-his-name/|title=The Story Behind How "The Twist" Creator Chubby Checker Got His Name|first=Tina|last=Benitez-Eves|date=February 2, 2023|website=American Songwriter}}</ref>