Tom Moon on Cameo/Parkway

"Founded with borrowed funds by a music teacher named Bernie Lowe, Cameo (and later Parkway) was run out of the basement of Lowe's home. It started in 1956 and the very next year had, with its sixth 45-RPM single, a smash hit: 'Butterfly,' written by Lowe and his lyricist partner Kal Mann, and recorded by a South Philly rockabilly guitarist named Charlie Gracie. More hits followed, and many of them were first heard on a then-local TV show called Bandstand, a 'dance' show featuring Philly teens. The program went national in 1957, but because it was taped in Philadelphia, Cameo-Parkway was often asked to supply talent on short notice. Bandstand's host, Dick Clark, returned the favor by alerting Lowe to fast-spreading dance trends; it was his tip that convinced Lowe to rerecord 'The Twist,' a Hank Ballard song. The first single for a former butcher-shop employee Chubby Checker (né Ernest Evans), 'The Twist' became an international sensation. This four-disc set, a comprehensive reissue of the label's vast holdings, plays like a dream shuffle from a torrid decade of pop music" (1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die, pp. 806-807).