Ernest Evans was given the name Chubby Checker on October 3, 1941, when he was born in Spring Gully, South Carolina. He is a rock and roll singer and dancer who is most known for popularizing a number of different dance techniques, one of which is known as “The Twist.” The song reached number one on Billboard’s list of the most popular songs to have been included in the Hot 100 chart since the chart’s inception in 1960. The year 1960 was the chart’s first year of publication. In addition to this, Evans is credited with popularizing the dance known as “Pony Time.” The fact that Evans married a woman of a different race, Catharina Lodders, in 1964 kept him in the public eye for another reason. Evans was 22 years old, while Lodders, a supermodel from the Netherlands, was just 21.

When Evans was a child, people started calling him Chubby Checker. Evans was given the nickname “Chubby” for the first time by the manager of the Produce Market at the time, a guy called Tony A. Evans was working for this man at the time. Later on, Chubby was given the opportunity to do a private recording for Dick Clark’s “American Bandstand” after receiving a recommendation from a local composer. When Mrs. Clark asked Evans for his name, he responded by saying, “My friends call me Chubby.” This happened after Evans had completed performing an imitation of Fats Domino. She then responded, “As in Checker?,” to his question. Since then, people have continued to use the name.

Before interracial marriage was made legal throughout the whole of the United States in 1967, the singer and Lodders had to overcome a number of obstacles in order to make a career in America. But despite everything, they have managed to stay together and are the proud parents of three great children: Bianca Johanna Evans, Ilka Evans, and Shan Egan, a musician. Additionally, the pair has seven grandkids between them. Continue reading to find out more about Evans and Lodders, including the challenges they faced when they initially became a couple.

Evans’ “The Twist” was not his first single but rather his second single overall. His debut recording was a song named “The Class,” in which he imitated the vocal style of other well-known artists while performing “Mary Had a Little Lamb.” It was a moderate success, which resulted in Cameo-Parkway Records offering him a recording contract after hearing it. The next year, in 1960, Evans had commercial success with “The Twist.” Following the enormous popularity of the song, the singer was questioned as to whether or not he had any unique experiences related to the song when he was recording it. In response, he said:

“When I asked my mother to pray to God and ask Him to give me a hit song, she told me that she had a dream that I would record a song that belonged to someone else and that it would span the whole globe. I told her that I wanted God to give me a hit song. When I was given the opportunity to perform “The Twist,” I immediately thought of my mother’s advice. It’s the only unique sensation I had when I was recording (it).”

The song has stood the test of time and is still played and enjoyed by many people today. When asked to reflect on what it is about the song that makes it so memorable, Evans said, “I believe that people are hooked to simplicity.” Keep it enjoyable. Keep it dumb. Make sure it has a touch of sexuality to it. “The Twist” has every one of these components. The tone of the song is jovial and carefree, and it seems that the intention behind it is to just enjoy oneself.

However, despite the fact that the song garnered Evans an extraordinary amount of success, he has also been critical of the stardom that it has given him. Once, he said that

“”The Twist” has, in many respects, been the downfall of my life. I was well on my way to becoming a major nightclub performer when “The Twist” came along and completely derailed my career… The situation has been completely out of hand. No one ever thinks I have skill.”

Despite this, Evans followed up the success of “The Twist” one year later with “Let’s Twist Again.” This song was a huge hit. Surprisingly, the song in question is the one that has brought him the most success in recent years. Evans is credited with helping to popularize a number other dances in addition to the Twist, including the Pony dance, the Limbo, and the Fly.

Evans felt an incredible sense of gratitude after learning that his song had topped the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time since the chart’s inception. He explained:

The next time this event will take place is in the year 2063, and at that time, another song will be considered for the honor of having spent 50 years as the most popular song of all time. The song “The Twist” will remain number one for the next 105 years till that day finally comes. The song “The Twist” was the most popular one of the 1960s. “The Twist” is the first song in the history of music to have reached number one twice, making it the first and only record to ever be certified platinum. Because of ‘The Twist,’ the dance floor was rearranged, and now we ‘dance apart to the rhythm,’ which means that we dance together without touching.

But in addition to his flourishing career in music, Evans has also had tremendous success in his personal life. In particular, he has been blessed with a happy marriage to Lodders, a Dutch model who is best known for holding the titles of Miss Holland and Miss World in 1962.

It would seem that Evans fell in love with Lodders the very first time he laid eyes on her. According to an interview he gave in 2015 to Philadelphia Magazine, he first met his wife “in the Philippines in 1964.” When I saw a girl wearing a swimming suit with spots on it, I immediately said to myself, “I’m going to marry that lady.” Even though I had no interest in getting married, I had no choice since I couldn’t even breathe. Catharina Lodders, who won the title of Miss World in 1962, was that lady. We have been married for almost a decade now, and she is from the Netherlands.

Evans and Lodders went through some challenging moments due to the fact that they are an interracial marriage; nonetheless, the singer stated that when people found out he was marrying a white lady, he remarked, “I didn’t care. Love doesn’t come in any one shade. However, there were still obstacles for him and Lodders to overcome, so the conversation would have ended for him at that point. One illustration of this is how difficult it was for them to purchase a property jointly due to the fact that they were an interracial marriage. As a result of this, Evans decided to use the occasion to make a statement against segregation, during which he said that he and his wife would not accept it. They ultimately found a place to call their own in Philadelphia, and to this day, they continue to call that city home.

At the beginning of their relationship, there were also speculations that Evans’ mother did not like Lodders due of her race, but the singer set the record straight about that notion. Lodders is white. He made it clear that his family welcomes Loders into their home, and that everyone there is extremely happy.

It is also reported that Evans and Lodders had a difficult time locating a church in which they could legally be married to one another. In the end, they tied the knot on April 12, 1964, at Temple Lutheran Church in Pennsauken, New Jersey, in the United States of America. Evans discussed his connection with his wife in an essay that was written in 1964 and published not long after the couple tied the knot. He said:

“We are nothing more than two individuals who have the same perspective on life.”

It seems like not even a single day has passed since he said, “I adore it,” when asked how he felt about getting married. In 2022, Evans and Lodders celebrated their 58th wedding anniversary, and their 60th anniversary isn’t too far away at all. Congratulations, you two!