The Big Bopper | |
|---|---|
 Richardson in 1958 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Jiles Perry Richardson Jr. |
| Also known as | J.P. Richardson |
| Born | (1930-10-24)October 24, 1930 Sabine Pass, Texas, U.S. |
| Died | February 3, 1959(1959-02-03) (aged 28) Clear Lake, Iowa, U.S. |
| Genres | Rock and roll,rockabilly,country |
| Occupations |
|
| Instruments |
|
| Years active | 1949–1959 |
| Labels | Mercury Records |
Jiles PerryRichardson Jr. (October 24, 1930 – February 3, 1959), better known by his stage nameThe Big Bopper, was an American musician and disc jockey. His best-known compositions include "Chantilly Lace," "Running Bear", and "White Lightning", the last of which becameGeorge Jones's first number-one hit in 1959.
A native ofSoutheast Texas, Richardson began working for a local radio station while studying atLamar College. He then served two years in theUnited States Army from 1955 to 1957 before resuming his radio career. He soon began writing songs for other artists before starting his own career as a performer, achieving his breakthrough with the songChantilly Lace, which was the lead single from his 1958 debut album of the same name.
Richardson waskilled in an airplane crash inClear Lake, Iowa, in February 1959, along with fellow musiciansBuddy Holly andRitchie Valens, and the pilot, Roger Peterson.[1]
Richardson was born on October 24, 1930, inSabine Pass, Texas, the oldest son of oil-field worker Jiles Perry Richardson (1905–84) and his wife Elise (née Stalsby) Richardson (1909–83). They had two other sons, Cecil (1934–89) and James (1932–2010). The family soon moved toBeaumont, Texas. Richardson graduated from Beaumont High School in 1947 and played on the "Royal Purple" American football team as a defensive lineman, wearing number 85.[2] Richardson later was a radiodisc jockey while atLamar College,[3] where he studied prelaw and was a member of the band and chorus.
Richardson worked part-time atBeaumont, Texas radio station KTRM (nowKZZB). He was hired by the station full-time in 1949 and quit college. Richardson married Adrianne Joy Fryou on April 18, 1952, and their daughter Debra Joy was born in December 1953, soon after Richardson was promoted to supervisor of announcers at KTRM. In March 1955, he wasdrafted into theUnited States Army and did his basic training atFort Ord, California. Richardson spent the rest of his two-year service as a radar instructor atFort Bliss inEl Paso, Texas. In March 1957, following his discharge as a corporal, Richardson returned to KTRM radio, where he held down the "Dishwashers' Serenade" shift from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Monday to Friday.
One of the station's sponsors wanted Richardson for a new time slot, and suggested an idea for a show. Richardson had seen college students doing a dance called The Bop, and he decided to call himself "The Big Bopper". His new radio show ran from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m., and he soon became the station's program director. In May 1957, Richardson broke the record for continuous on-air broadcasting by eight minutes. He performed for a total of five days, two hours, and eight minutes from a remote setup in the lobby of theJefferson Theatre in downtown Beaumont, playing 1,821 records[4] and taking showers during five-minute newscasts.[3] Richardson is credited for creating the first music video in 1958, and recorded an early example himself.[4]
Richardson, who played guitar, began his musical career as a songwriter.George Jones later recorded Richardson's "White Lightning", which became Jones's first No. 1 country hit in 1959 (#73 on the pop charts). Richardson also wrote "Running Bear" forJohnny Preston, his friend fromPort Arthur, Texas. The inspiration for the song came from Richardson's childhood memory of theSabine River, where he heard stories aboutIndian tribes. Preston's recording was not released until August 1959, six months after Richardson's death. The song became a No. 1 hit for three weeks in January 1960. The man who launched Richardson as a recording artist wasHarold "Pappy" Daily fromHouston. Daily was promotion director forMercury andStarday Records and signed Richardson to Mercury. Richardson's first single, "Beggar to a King", had a country flavor, but failed to gain any chart action.
Richardson soon cut "Chantilly Lace" as "The Big Bopper"[5] for Pappy Daily'sD label. Mercury bought the recording and released it at the end of June 1958. It slowly began picking up airplay through July and August, and reached No. 6 on the pop chart spending 22 weeks in the national Top 40.[6] The disc sold in excess of one million copies by the end of 1958 and was awarded agold disc.[6] In "Chantilly Lace", Richardson pretends to have a flirting phone conversation with his girlfriend;[5] the record was comical in nature, with The Big Bopper presenting an exaggerated, but good-natured caricature of a ladies' man. In November 1958, he scored a second hit, a raucous novelty tune entitled "The Big Bopper's Wedding", in which Richardson pretends to be gettingcold feet at the altar. Both "Chantilly Lace" and "Big Bopper's Wedding" were receiving top 40 radio airplay through January 1959.[7][8]
Richardson was married to Adrianne Joy "Teetsie" Richardson Wenner (1936–2004) and had a daughter, Debra (1953–2006). His son, Jay Perry Richardson, was born two months after his death, in April 1959. Richardson had been building a recording studio in his home inBeaumont, Texas, and was planning to invest in a radio station. Richardson had written 20 new songs that he planned to record himself or with other artists.
Jay Perry Richardson also followed a musical career and was known professionally as "The Big Bopper, Jr.", performing around the world. He toured on the "Winter Dance Party" tour with Buddy Holly impersonator John Mueller on some of the same stages where his father had performed.[citation needed]
In January 2007, Richardson's son Jay requested that his father's body be exhumed and an autopsy be performed in response to an internet rumor about guns being fired aboard the aircraft and Richardson initially surviving the crash.[9] The autopsy was performed byWilliam M. Bass, a forensic anthropologist at theUniversity of Tennessee,Knoxville. Richardson was present throughout the autopsy and observed the casket as it was opened; both men were surprised that the remains were well enough preserved to be recognized as those of the late rock star. "Dad still amazes me 48 years after his death, that he was in remarkable shape," Richardson told the Associated Press. "I surprised myself. I handled it better than I thought I would."[10] Bass's findings indicated no signs of foul play. "There are fractures from head to toe. Massive fractures…. [Richardson] died immediately. He didn't crawl away. He didn't walk away from the plane."[10]
Richardson's body was placed in a new casket made by the same company as the original and was reburied next to his wife in Beaumont's Forest Lawn Cemetery. His son Jay Richardson allowed the old casket to be displayed at theTexas Musicians Museum. In December 2008, he announced that he would be placing the old casket up for auction on eBay, donating a share of the proceeds to the Texas Musicians Museum,[11] but Jay downplayed the suggestion in later interviews.[12] He died of heart failure in 2013.[13]The family announced "It is with great sadness that we must tell you that Jay P Richardson has passed away. After a long hard fight, JP succumbed on the morning of August 21, at the age of 54".[14]
The grandchildren are roofing contractors in Texas, with their business named in memory of the grandfather, Jiles Solar Power and Roofing.[15]
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With the success of "Chantilly Lace", Richardson took time off from KTRM radio and joinedBuddy Holly,Ritchie Valens, andDion and the Belmonts for a "Winter Dance Party" tour starting on January 23, 1959. On the 11th night of the tour (February 2, 1959), they played at theSurf Ballroom inClear Lake, Iowa. That night, Holly chartered an airplane from Dwyer Flying Service inMason City, Iowa, intending to fly himself and his bandmatesWaylon Jennings andTommy Allsup to their next tour venue inMoorhead, Minnesota. The musicians had been traveling by bus for over a week, and it had already broken down twice. They were tired, they had not been paid yet, and all of their clothes were dirty. The chartered flight would allow them to avoid another arduous bus ride, arrive early before the Moorhead show, do their laundry, and get some rest. Local pilotRoger Peterson of Dwyer Flying Service (age 21) had agreed to take them. The weather forecast for the Clear Lake area was 18 °F (−8 °C) that night with moderate gusty winds and light scattered snow, and Peterson was fatigued from a 17-hour workday, but he agreed to fly the trip.
Frankie Sardo went to meet the crowd while Holly went into one of the dressing rooms at the Surf Ballroom where he notified Allsup and Jennings that he had chartered a plane to take them toFargo, North Dakota (which is directly adjacent to Moorhead, Minnesota). On a friendly wager, Valens flipped a coin with Allsup for his seat on the plane—and won. Meanwhile, J.P. Richardson was suffering from the flu and was complaining that the bus was too cold and uncomfortable for him, so Jennings voluntarily surrendered his seat. Upon hearing that his bandmates had given away their plane seats, Holly joked, "Well, I hope your ol' bus freezes up again." Jennings jokingly replied, "Well, I hope your ol' plane crashes."[16]
The Clear Lake show ended at around midnight and Holly, Valens, and Richardson drove to the Mason City Airport, loaded their luggage and boarded the red and white single-engineBeechcraft Bonanza. Peterson received clearance from the control tower around 12:55 a.m. on February 3, 1959, and they took off—but the plane remained airborne for only a few minutes. It crashed at full throttle shortly after takeoff about 5 miles outside Mason City in the middle of farm country. The reason remains unknown but Peterson may have lost his visual reference and thought that he was ascending while he was actually descending. The right wingtip of the Bonanza hit the frozen ground and sent the aircraft cartwheeling across a cleared cornfield at approximately 170 miles per hour (270 km/h).
Holly, Valens and Richardson were thrown from the airplane on impact and likely tumbled along with the wreckage across the icy field before the wreckage of the aircraft came to rest against a barbed-wire fence, while Peterson's body remained entangled in the wreckage. The bodies of Holly and Valens came to rest several feet away from the wreckage on open ground; Richardson was thrown approximately 100 feet (30 m) beyond the wreckage across the fence line and into the next cornfield. All three died instantly of head and chest injuries. Richardson was 28 years old.
| Title | Year/Label |
|---|---|
| Chantilly Lace | Released in 1958 by Mercury |
| Title | Year/Label |
|---|---|
| The Best of Big Bopper | Released in 1999 by Mercury |
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Album | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US CB | USR&B | AUS | CAN | UK | |||
| 1957 | “Beggar To a King” “Crazy Blues” (as J.P. Richardson) | — — | — — | — — | — — | — — | — — | Non-album singles |
| 1958 | “Monkey Song (You Made A Monkey Out Of Me)” “A Teen-Age Moon (In A Rock And Roll World)” (as J.P. Richardson) | — — | — — | — — | — — | — — | — — | |
| “Chantilly Lace” “Purple People Eater Meets the Witch Doctor”(Non-Album Track) | 6 — | 4 — | 3 — | 18 53 | 2 — | 12 — | Chantilly Lace | |
| "The Big Bopper’s Wedding" “Little Red Riding Hood” | 38 72 | 39 63 | — — | 28 — | 17 — | — — | ||
| 1959 | "Walking Through My Dreams" "Someone Watching Over You" | — — | — — | — — | 64 — | — — | — — | |
| "It's The Truth Ruth" "That's What I'm Talking About"(Non-Album Track) | — — | — — | — — | — — | — — | — — | ||
| "Pink Petticoats" “The Clock” | — — | — — | — — | 89[23] — | — — | — — | ||
"Chantilly Lace" (1958)[24]
"The Big Bopper's Wedding" (1958)[25]
"Little Red Riding Hood" (1958)[26]
In 1988, Ken Paquette, a Wisconsin fan of the 1950s era, erected a stainless steel monument at the crash site depicting a guitar and a set of three records bearing the names of each of the three performers. It is located on private farmland, about a quarter mile west of the intersection of 315th Street and Gull Avenue, about eight miles north of Clear Lake. Paquette also created a similar stainless steel monument to the three near the Riverside Ballroom inGreen Bay, Wisconsin. The memorial was unveiled on July 17, 2003.[27]
J.P. Richardson's pioneering contribution to the genre has been recognized by theRockabilly Hall of Fame. The Big Bopper is fondly remembered not only for his distinctive singing and songwriting, but also as a humorist who combined the best elements of country, R&B, and rock 'n' roll.
In 2010, Richardson was inducted into theIowa Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame.[28]
Richardson's name is mentioned as one of the upcoming musical acts in both the print and television versions ofStephen King's short story "You Know They Got a Hell of a Band" about a town inhabited by late musical legends. Buddy Holly is subsequently featured in the story.
The Canadian television comedy showSCTV featured a character named "Sue Bopper-Simpson", a fictional daughter of the Big Bopper, played byCatherine O'Hara. The character was a part-time real estate agent who appeared in a musical titledI'm Taking My Own Head, Screwing It on Right, and No Guy's Gonna Tell Me That It Ain't.
Shortly after the fatal plane crash, Tommy Dee wrote and recorded a song titled "Three Stars" in tribute to Richardson, Holly, and Valens. It was later recorded byEddie Cochran, a friend of the three musicians who himself would die prematurely a year later in an automobile crash.
The accident was referred to as "The Day the Music Died" inDon McLean's 1971 song "American Pie".[29]
Van Halen's song "Good Enough" from their 1986 album5150 begins with singerSammy Hagar calling out "Hello Baby!", imitating the Big Bopper's hook in "Chantilly Lace".Phil Lewis ofL.A. Guns does the same in their song "17 Crash" from their 1989 albumCocked & Loaded.
TheSimpsons episode "Sideshow Bob Roberts" features a gravestone of The Big Bopper in Springfield thatSideshow Bob (Kelsey Grammer) used to help commitvoter fraud and become elected for mayor. The gravestone is a bust of the Big Bopper holding a telephone receiver, with the epitaph reading "The Big Bopper", his birth and death years (1930–1959), then a parody on the memorable hook reading "Gooooodbye, baby". He also appeared as a vampire holding a telephone in anItchy and Scratchy cartoon during the episode "C.E.D'oh".
An episode ofThe X-Files entitled "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose" alludes to the deaths ofBuddy Holly and the Big Bopper. The episode's title character, played byPeter Boyle, explains that he had a ticket to see them perform the night after they died and received the psychic ability to predict people's deaths by calculating the odds that it took for the Big Bopper to be on the flight that killed him.
The Big Bopper has been portrayed by a musician in atribute band touring as the Winter Dance Party, authorised by the Richardson family through their agreement withThe Three Stooges'C3 Entertainment.[30] In 2019, the Winter Dance Party released the filmBopper and Me.[31]
InNot Fade Away, a turbulent road novel taking place at the end of the fifties,Jim Dodge narrates an eventful trip to the Big Bopper's grave.[32]
Richardson was portrayed byGailard Sartain inThe Buddy Holly Story,Stephen Lee inLa Bamba, andJohn Ennis inWalk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story.
"Chantilly Lace" is used in the moviesTrue Romance andAmerican Graffiti as well as "High Spirits" and "Cocktail".[33]
In the animated seriesThe Venture Bros., it is implied that the elderly villains Dragoon and Red Mantle are actually Richardson and Buddy Holly, who were recruited into the supervillain organization the Guild of Calamitous Intent on the night of their supposed deaths.
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