Chubby Checker has gotten his revenge against the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Billboard has named “The Twist” their number 1 record of all time.

The Billboard list crunches all their top 100 charts for the last 60 years. So whatever money was paid, however it was worked out for certain records to soar or fail, it now all comes back to haunt us.

And the list, while weird, is exactly as I would have imagined, knowing the charts particularly for the 60s, 70s, and 80s. The top singles were all phenoms, records that hit number 1 and held on for dear life. Some, like “Hey Jude,” made sense. Others, like “You Light Up My Life,” were clearly crazy when they were happening in real time.

Congrats to Diane Warren. LeAnn Rimes’ cover of “How Do I Live Without You?” is the fifth biggest hit of all time. Diane still doesn’t have an Oscar, but this is pretty good nonetheless.

What else makes the list cool is that records like Bobby Darin’s “Mack the Knife”– from 1959– weren’t forgotten. Also, number 47 is a true masterpiece– Tommy Edwards’ “It’s All in the Game.”

Also congrats to Carly Simon. “You’re So Vain” made number 92. There’s no James Taylor in the top 600. Go figure.

The Beatles scored two notches in the top 100– “Hey Jude” and “I Want to Hold Your Hand.” They have a few more below 100. The Rolling Stones have none in the top 100, but a few down the list.

Remember– this isn’t ‘the best’–it’s how they did on the Billboard charts. It’s a very particular thing. There aren’t a lot of old soul hits, for example– no Aretha, very little Motown. They didn’t have the money or power to buy bulleted positions. Keep that in mind.

As for Chubby Checker, he’s 76, and he deserves this satisfaction. His version of “The Twist” went to the top of the charts twice– in 1960 and 1962.

This is the summer of 50th anniversaries in the music world.

It was 50 years ago over this last three days that the Beatles recorded “Hey Jude.” When they released it at the end of August, “Hey Jude” spent 7 weeks at number 1.

This is also the 50th anniversary of the zenith of Aretha Franklin’s amazing recording career at Atlantic Records. In January 1968, the Queen of Soul released “Lady Soul,” with the hits “Chain of Fools,” “Natural Woman,” “Ain’t No Way,” and “(Sweet Sweet Baby) Since You Been Gone.”

If that wasn’t enough, in June Aretha issued “Aretha Now,” solidifying her royal role. There was no one bigger in R&B or pop or just music. Any kind of music.

“Aretha Now” kicks off with “Think,” which she herself wrote (she penned a number of her own hits, and does not get enough credit. She also wrote “Daydreamin'” and “Rock Steady,” among others.) “Think” is followed by Aretha’s cover of her friend Dionne Warwick’s “I Say a Little Prayer” — written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, “Prayer” had been a million seller the previous autumn for Dionne. Aretha’s version was supposed to be a B side for “The House that Jack Built.” But it took off on its own, and today it’s a classic. It’s different enough from Dionne’s take that the two can live side by side.

There are only five tracks on side 1 of “Aretha Now” and those are the first two–what would be instant classics. The third track is a cover of Don Covay’s “See Saw,” which would itself see saw up the singles charts. Although Covay’s original was cemented in history, Aretha takes the song and makes it her own– just as she did on so many, in particular Otis Redding’s “Respect.” In coming years she’d reinvent Simon * Garfunkel’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water” and Ben E. King’s “Spanish Harlem.” Her interpretations were the key readings songs never knew they needed.

Two more covers grace side 1– Ray Charles’ “Night Time is the Right Time” and Sam Cooke’s “You Send Me.” They are her waxed seals of approval.

Side 2 starts with “You’re a Sweet Sweet Man” was one of four songs Aretha recorded by Ronnie Shannon. Two of the others were big, big hits– “I Never Loved a Man The Way I Love You” and “Baby I Love You.” This one may be its lesser cousin, but Aretha sings it with abandon– there’s a lightness in “Sweet Sweet Man.” She sounds happy, relieved.

“I Take What I Want” is a nod to Aretha’s birthplace, Memphis– written by Isaac Hayes and David Porter from Stax, with Hi Records’ soon-to-be legend Teenie Hodges. Cissy Houston and the Sweet Inspirations sing background as they do on all the tracks. Following the Shannon song, Jerry Wexler finds another deceptively light track. Side 2 is much less ponderous because of it. King Curtis’s tenor sax finds just the right attitude.

Track 3 is a bit of a lost gem, co-written by Curtis with Jimmy Cliff, who was not yet a star. “Hello Sunshine” in retrospect sounds like a top ten hit. But who knows? Wexler was already overwhelmed with riches. Maybe he let it sit there for five decades and a re-discovery. The same goes for the fourth track, “A Change,” a hand-clapping, foot stomping upbeat pop-gospel number that shifts the side’s tone on a dime.

Aretha charges forward. Wexler puts it there to remind you she’s not resting on her laurels.  He lets “Aretha Now” end with a uptempo ballad, again by Shannon, that shows off Aretha’s range. Wexler, who’s also shepherding Dusty Springfield at this time, can out-Dusty with “I Can’t See Myself Leaving You”– her second declaration of freedom after “Think.” “I say we’re through,” Aretha sings. She’s not begging anyone to come back.

The Queen of Soul goes from “Aretha Now” to a two year period of thrilling, live recordings, key covers. Nothing prepares you, though, for a stunning new album of originals in 1970, “Spirit in the Dark,” which would kick off a second decade of Aretha landmarks.