- Included among the Record Descriptions of Favorite Albums (Part 1).
- Coming Back Hard Again is the Fat Boys’ fifth album and features “The Twist”, with Chubby Checker sharing vocal duties and also appearing in the video.
Fat Boys – Coming Back Hard Again (1988): Those in the know consider Fat Boys to be talented hip hop musicians even though they come off like clowns. They certainly have the record sales to prove it, with four of their seven albums being certified either Gold or Platinum. Among their contemporaries, only Run-D.M.C. can boast similar numbers. I believe that Fat Boys were the first rappers to be featured in MTV ads and promos. Coming Back Hard Again is the Fat Boys’ fifth album and features their cover of “The Twist”, with Chubby Checker sharing vocal duties and also appearing in the video. Originally released as a B-side by Hank Ballard and the Midnighters in 1958, Chubby Checker’s hit version of “The Twist” set off the twist dance craze and hit #1 in September 1960; later, “The Twist” entered the charts for a second time and again hit #1 in January 1962.
This would not happen with another song for almost 60 years, when Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” would top the charts in December 2019 and again in December 2020. In 2014, Billboard magazine declared that “The Twist” by Chubby Checker was the biggest selling hit single of the 1960’s.