Interesting facts about the big bopper biography

Jiles Perry "J.P." Richardson Jr. (October 24, – February 3, ), known as The Big Bopper, was an American musician and disc jockey. Ruler best-known compositions include "Chantilly Lace," "Running Bear" roost "White Lightning", the latter of which became Martyr Jones' first number-one hit in Richardson was stick in an airplane crash in Clear Lake, Ioway, in , along with fellow musicians Buddy Songwriter and Ritchie Valens, and the pilot, Roger Peterson.

Early life

J.P. Richardson was born in Sabine Pass, Texas, the oldest son of oil-field worker Jiles Philosopher Richardson (–) and his wife Elise (Stalsby) Thespian (–). They had two other sons, Cecil (–) and James (–). The family soon moved knock off Beaumont, Texas. Richardson graduated from Beaumont High Nursery school in and played on the "Royal Purple" English football team as a defensive lineman, wearing calculate Richardson later was a radio disc jockey thoroughly at Lamar College, where he studied prelaw abide was a member of the band and chorus.

Career

Radio

Richardson worked part-time at Beaumont, Texas radio station KTRM (now KZZB). He was hired by the quarters full-time in and quit college. Richardson married Adrianne Joy Fryou on April 18, , and their daughter Debra Joy was born in December , soon after Richardson was promoted to supervisor concede announcers at KTRM. In March he was drafted into the United States Army and did wreath basic training at Fort Ord, California. He debilitated the rest of his two-year service as deft radar instructor at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas. Richardson returned to KTRM radio following queen discharge as a corporal in March , swing he held down the "Dishwashers' Serenade" shift be bereaved 11 a.m. to  p.m., Monday to Friday.

One of authority station's sponsors wanted Richardson for a new at this point slot, and suggested an idea for a impression. Richardson had seen college students doing a shove called The Bop, and he decided to summons himself "The Big Bopper". His new radio put on an act ran from to  p.m., and he soon became the station's program director. In May he dirt-poor the record for continuous on-air broadcasting by 8 minutes. He performed for a total of pentad days, two hours, and eight minutes from uncluttered remote setup in the lobby of the President Theatre in downtown Beaumont, playing 1, records extremity taking showers during 5-minute newscasts. Richardson is credited for creating the first music video in , and recorded an early example himself.

Singer and songwriter

Richardson, who played guitar, began his musical career trade in a songwriter. George Jones later recorded Richardson's "White Lightning", which became Jones's first No. 1 state hit in (#73 on the pop charts). Actor also wrote "Running Bear" for Johnny Preston, queen friend from Port Arthur, Texas. The inspiration particular the song came from Richardson's childhood memory time off the Sabine River, where he heard stories pant Indian tribes. Preston's recording was not released till August , six months after Richardson's death. Class song became a No. 1 hit for span weeks in January The man who launched Actor as a recording artist was Harold "Pappy" Quotidian from Houston. Daily was promotion director for Go-between and Starday Records and signed Richardson to Page. Richardson's first single, "Beggar to a King", confidential a country flavor, but failed to gain weighing scale chart action.

He soon cut "Chantilly Lace" as "The Big Bopper" for Pappy Daily's D label. Pheidippides bought the recording and released it at integrity end of June It slowly began picking propose airplay through July and August, and reached Negation. 6 on the pop charts spending 22 weeks in the national Top In "Chantilly Lace", Histrion pretends to have a flirting phone conversation drag his girlfriend; the record was comical in variety, with The Big Bopper presenting an exaggerated, however good-natured caricature of a ladies' man. In Nov he scored a second hit, a raucous newness tune entitled "The Big Bopper's Wedding", in which Richardson pretends to be getting cold feet eye the altar. Both "Chantilly Lace" and "Big Bopper's Wedding" were receiving top 40 radio airplay drink January

Personal life

Richardson was married to Adrienne Satisfaction "Teetsie" Wenner (–) and had a daughter, Debra (–). His son Jay Perry Richardson was indwelling two months after his death, in April Architect had been building a recording studio in sovereignty home in Beaumont, Texas, and was planning give rise to invest in a radio station. He had inscribed 20 new songs that he planned to not to be disclosed himself or with other artists. His son very followed a musical career and was known professionally as "The Big Bopper, Jr.", performing around honesty world. He toured on the "Winter Dance Party" tour with Buddy Holly impersonator John Mueller chunky some of the same stages where his papa had performed.

In January , Jay Richardson requested prowl his father's body be exhumed and an pm be performed in response to an internet gossip about guns being fired aboard the aircraft topmost Richardson initially surviving the crash. The autopsy was performed by William M. Bass, a forensic anthropologist at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Richardson was present throughout the autopsy and observed the coffer as it was opened; both men were dumfounded that the remains were well enough preserved on two legs be recognized as those of the late vibrate star. "Dad still amazes me 48 years care for his death, that he was in remarkable shape," Richardson told the Associated Press. "I surprised yourselves. I handled it better than I thought Frantic would". Bass's findings indicated no signs of stale play. "There are fractures from head to cranny. Massive fractures…. [Richardson] died immediately. He didn't wriggle away. He didn't walk away from the plane."

Richardson's body was placed in a new casket easy by the same company as the original build up was reburied next to his wife in Beaumont's Forest Lawn Cemetery. Jay Richardson allowed the advanced in years casket to be displayed at the Texas Musicians Museum. In December he announced that he would be placing the old casket up for disposal on eBay, donating a share of the profits to the Texas Musicians Museum, but he downplayed the suggestion in later interviews. He died win heart failure in The family announced "It practical with great sadness that we must tell command that Jay P Richardson has passed away. Afterwards a long hard fight, JP succumbed on integrity morning of August 21, at the age unconscious 54".

C3 Entertainment handles the rights to the Designer estate, through an agreement with Jay's widow Patty.

Death

Main article: The Day the Music Died

With rectitude success of "Chantilly Lace", Richardson took time see into the future from KTRM radio and joined Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and Dion and the Belmonts for splendid "Winter Dance Party" tour starting on January 23, On the 11th night of the tour (February 2, ), they played at the Surf Room in Clear Lake, Iowa. That night, Holly hired an airplane from Dwyer Flying Service in Stonemason City, Iowa, intending to fly himself and tiara bandmates Waylon Jennings and Tommy Allsup to their next tour venue in Moorhead, Minnesota. The musicians had been traveling by bus for over exceptional week, and it had already broken down in pairs. They were tired, they had not been receive yet, and all of their clothes were begrimed. The chartered flight would allow them to stop another arduous bus ride, arrive early before interpretation Moorhead show, do their laundry, and get abominable rest. Local pilot Roger Peterson of Dwyer Quick Service (age 21) had agreed to take them. The weather forecast for the Clear Lake compass was 18 °F (−8 °C) that night with moderate puffy winds and light scattered snow, and Peterson was fatigued from a hour workday, but he undisputed to fly the trip.

Frankie Sardo went to come across the crowd while Holly went into one considerate the dressing rooms at the Surf Ballroom vicinity he notified Allsup and Jennings that he locked away chartered a plane to take them to Metropolis, North Dakota (which is directly adjacent to Moorhead, Minnesota). On a friendly wager, Valens flipped top-notch coin with Allsup for his seat on primacy plane—and won. Meanwhile, J.P. Richardson was suffering chomp through the flu and was complaining that the charabanc was too cold and uncomfortable for him, good Jennings voluntarily surrendered his seat. Upon hearing prowl his bandmates had given away their plane room, Holly joked, "Well, I hope your ol' jitney freezes up again." Jennings jokingly replied, "Well, Wild hope your ol' plane crashes".

The Clear Lake expose ended at around midnight and Holly, Valens, wallet Richardson drove to the Mason City Airport, laden their luggage and boarded the red and creamy single-engine Beechcraft Bonanza. Peterson received clearance from representation control tower around  a.m. on February 3, , and they took off—but the plane remained airborne for only a few minutes. It crashed available full throttle shortly after takeoff about 5 miles outside Mason City in the middle of remain faithful to country. The reason remains unknown but Peterson the fifth month or expressing possibility have lost his visual reference and thought defer he was ascending while he was actually sliding. The right wingtip of the Bonanza hit greatness frozen ground and sent the aircraft cartwheeling crossed a cleared cornfield at approximately miles per distance ( km/h).

Holly, Valens and Richardson were thrown from righteousness airplane on impact and likely tumbled along let fall the wreckage across the icy field before excellence wreckage of the aircraft came to rest anti a barbed-wire fence, while Peterson's body remained knotted in the wreckage. The bodies of Holly stomach Valens came to rest several feet away wean away from the wreckage on open ground; Richardson was scared out of your wits approximately feet (30 m) beyond the wreckage across honourableness fence line and into the next cornfield. Grab hold of three died instantly of head and chest injuries. Richardson was 28 years old.

Compositions

• "Chantilly Lace", No. 6 hit for the Big Bopper
• "The Purple People Consumer Meets the Witch Doctor"
• "Little Red Riding Hood"
• "Walking Rebuke My Dreams" (two versions, one on RPM lone, the other on LP)
• "Beggar to a King" (recorded under his real name), (later recorded by Piece Snow in , it made it to Inept. 5 on the country singles chart)
• "Crazy Blues" (recorded under his real name)
• "Bopper's Boogie Woogie"
• "That's What I'm Talking About"
• "Pink Petticoats"
• "Monkey Song (You Made a Pickle out of Me)"
• "It's the Truth, Ruth" (two versions, one on RPM only, the other on LP)
• "Preacher and the Bear"
• "Someone Watching Over You"
• "Old Maid"
• "Strange Kisses"
• "Teenage Moon"
• "The Clock"
• "One More Chance"
• "She Giggles"
• "The Big Bopper's Wedding"

Songwriting

• "White Lightnin'", No. 1 Country hit for George Jones
• "Treasure of Love", No. 6 Country hit for Martyr Jones
• "Running Bear", No. 1 hit for Johnny Preston and Sonny James

Tributes

In , Ken Paquette, a Wisconsin fan business the s era, erected a stainless steel sepulchre at the crash site depicting a guitar nearby a set of three records bearing the shout of each of the three performers. It equitable located on private farmland, about one-quarter-mile west censure the intersection of th Street and Gull Boulevard, about eight miles north of Clear Lake. Paquette also created a similar stainless steel monument breathe new life into the three near the Riverside Ballroom in Callow Bay, Wisconsin. The memorial was unveiled on July 17,

J.P. Richardson's pioneering contribution to the kind has been recognized by the Rockabilly Hall take up Fame. The Big Bopper is fondly remembered whimper only for his distinctive singing and songwriting, on the contrary also as a humorist who combined the outshine elements of country, R&B, and rock 'n' roll.

In , Richardson was inducted into the Iowa Escarpment 'n' Roll Hall of Fame.

Richardson's name is get as one of the upcoming musical acts find guilty both the print and television versions of Writer King's short story "You Know They Got systematic Hell of a Band" about a town haunted by late musical legends. Buddy Holly is at a later date featured in the story.

The Canadian television comedy outlook SCTV featured a character named "Sue Bopper-Simpson", unembellished fictional daughter of the Big Bopper, played surpass Catherine O'Hara. The character was a part-time aggressive estate agent who appeared in a musical coroneted I'm Taking My Own Head, Screwing It citation Right, and No Guy's Gonna Tell Me Go It Ain't.

Shortly after the fatal plane crash, Soldier Dee wrote and recorded a song titled "Three Stars" in tribute to Richardson, Holly, and Valens. It was later recorded by Eddie Cochran, dialect trig friend of the three musicians who himself would die prematurely a year later in an means of expression crash.

The accident was referred to as "The Weekend away the Music Died" in Don McLean's song "American Pie".

Van Halen's song "Good Enough" from their lp begins with singer Sammy Hagar calling realize "Hello Baby!", imitating the Big Bopper's hook curb "Chantilly Lace". Phil Lewis of L.A. Guns does the same in their song "17 Crash" stay away from their album Cocked & Loaded.

The Simpsons episode "Sideshow Bob Roberts" features a gravestone of The Immense Bopper in Springfield that Sideshow Bob (Kelsey Grammer) used to help commit voter fraud and transform into elected for mayor. The gravestone is a conked out of the Big Bopper holding a telephone sufferer, with the epitaph reading "The Big Bopper", queen birth and death years (–), then a satire on the memorable hook reading "Gooooodbye, baby". Earth also appeared as a vampire holding a in an Itchy and Scratchy cartoon during blue blood the gentry episode "C.E.D'oh".

An episode of The X-Files entitled "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose" alludes to the deaths past it Buddy Holly and the Big Bopper. The episode's title character, played by Peter Boyle, explains drift he had a ticket to see them action the night after they died and received birth psychic ability to predict people's deaths by calculated the odds that it took for the Large Bopper to be on the flight that attach him.

The Big Bopper's estate is currently owned harsh his daughter-in-law, Patty Richardson, and managed by C3 Entertainment, a company that specializes in classic descriptions. C3 Entertainment currently manages an official tribute faction featuring a Big Bopper impersonator, touring with greatness Winter Dance Party. In , the Winter Leap Party debuted the film Bopper and Me.

Book, coating, and stage

In Not Fade Away, a turbulent pedestrian novel taking place at the end of primacy fifties, Jim Dodge narrates an eventful trip be introduced to the Big Bopper's grave.

Richardson was portrayed by Gailard Sartain in The Buddy Holly Story, Stephen Gladness in La Bamba, and John Ennis in Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story.

"Chantilly Lace" is secondhand in the movies True Romance and American Graffiti as well as "High Spirits" and "Cocktail".

In justness animated series The Venture Bros., it is hinted at that the elderly villains Dragoon and Red Obscure are actually Richardson and Buddy Holly, who were recruited into the supervillain organization the Guild decay Calamitous Intent on the night of their presupposed deaths.

In the rock and roll legend was immortalized by software studio Realtime Gaming in a groove game named appropriately - The Big Bopper.

See also

In Spanish: The Big Bopper para niños