Friday 24 October 2014

J.P. Richardson (Big Bopper) born 24 October 1930

  
Jiles Perry (J.P.) Richardson, Jr. (October 24, 1930 – February 3, 1959), called JP or Jape by friends but commonly known as The Big Bopper, was a disc jockey and rock-and-roll novelty act who parlayed a big voice and exuberant personality into a career as an early rock and roll star.
 
He was born Jiles Perry Richardson in 1930 in Sabine Pass, Texas. He grew up in East Texas, not far from the Louisiana border. He was known as J.P. or Jape to his friends. Richardson worked as a disc jockey before entering the military. On his discharge in 1955 he set his sights on being the preeminent disc jockey in East Texas. He worked at KTRM in Beaumont, Texas and at one time set a record for continuous broadcasting, lasting for over 122 hours. 
 
He became interested in song writing and wrote songs for friends, in addition to doing some recording on his own as the Big Bopper. His hits included Chantilly Lace and Big Bopper's Wedding, both novelty songs released on the Mercury label in 1958. Chantilly Lace went as high as number six on the pop chart.
 
 
                              

In early 1959 J.P. Richardson joined some other notable rock-and-roll acts on a tour of the Upper Midwest. One of the other performers, Buddy Holly, was tired of travelling on the group's bus and wanted to have some time to do his laundry after a performance in Clear Lake, Iowa on the night of February 2, 1959. Holly made arrangements for a private pilot, Roger Petersen, to fly Holly, Richardson and another performer on the tour, Ritchie Valens, to the group's next tour stop. They never made it. The plane crashed shortly after takeoff just outside of Clear Lake early on the morning of February 3, killing all four. 
 
That plane crash became part of the subject matter when another singer/songwriter, Don McLean, wrote and recorded American Pie - Parts I & II in the early 70's. J.P. Richardson was 28 years old at the time of his death. 

Before he died the Big Bopper had seen a young singer, Johnny Preston, perform at the Twilight Club in Port Neches, Texas. He formed an alliance with Preston and the latter recorded a song that Richardson had written for him titled Running Bear. Richardson and country singer George Jones provided backup vocals on the song, which entered the charts some ten months after the Big Bopper's death, making it to the number one chart position in early 1960. 

Richardson was survived by his wife and four-year-old daughter. His son, Jay Perry, was born two months later in April 1959. At the time of his death, Richardson had been building a recording studio in his home in Beaumont, Texas, and was also planning to invest in a radio station. He had written 20 new songs he planned to record himself or with other artists.
 
Jay Perry Richardson took up a musical career and was known professionally as "The Big Bopper, Jr.," and performed around the world. He toured on the "Winter Dance Party" tour with Buddy Holly impersonator John Mueller on some of the stages where his father performed.

In January 2007, Jay requested that his father's body be exhumed to investigate incessant rumours that a gun might have been fired on board the plane and that he might have actually survived the crash and died trying to seek help. Those rumours were finally put to rest after an autopsy by noted forensic anthropologist Dr. Bill Bass determined he suffered massive fractures and likely died immediately in the 1959 plane crash.
 
After the autopsy, Richardson's body was placed in a new casket made by the same company as the original, then was reburied next to his wife in Beaumont's Forest Lawn Cemetery. Jay then allowed the old casket to be put on display at the Texas Musicians Museum. In December 2008, Jay Richardson announced that he would be placing the old casket up for auction on eBay, giving a share of the proceeds to the Texas Musicians Museum, but downplayed the suggestion in later interviews. 
 

Jay Perry Richardson died on August 21, 2013 at the age of 54.
(info edited from mainly tsimon.com & Wikipedia) 


6 comments:

boppinbob said...

For Big Bopper – “Hello Baby - You Know What I Like” go here:

http://uptobox.com/cdytvdxx23ld

1. Chantilly Lace (2:23)
2. Little Red Riding Hood (2:10)
3. Big Bopper’s Wedding (2:11)
4. Pink Petticoats (2:10)
5. Strange Kisses (2:02)
6. Preacher And The Bear (2:21)
7. It’s The Truth Ruth (version 2) (2:16)
8. Walking Through My Dreams (version 2) (2:17)
9. Purple People Eater Meets The Witch Doctor (2:13)
10. White Lightning (2:16)
11. The Clock (2:26)
12. Old Maid (2:12)
13. One More Chance (2:29)
14. It’s The Truth Ruth (version 1) (2:10)
15. Walking Through My Dreams (version 1) (2:32)
16. That’s What I’m Talking About (2:12)
17. Someone Watching Over You (2:32)
Monkey Song (You Made a Monkey out of Me) (2:14)
19. A Teen-Age Moon (2:44)
20- Beggar to a King (2:26)
21. Crazy Blues
22.Someone Watching Over You
23. Bopper's Boogie Woogie
24. Gordon Ritter Purple People Eater Meets The
25. Donna Dameron Bopper 486009
26. Ray Campi The Man I Met
27. Eddie Cochran Three Stars
28. Jayne Mansfield That Makes It
29. Don Terry She Giggles
30. Bill Kimbrough Egg Head and Chantilly Lace
31. Gordon Ritter Sweet Lips

A big thank you to The Rockin’ Bandit for original post.

zephyr said...

Thanks Bob It must have been such a sad day back then to lose them all.

D said...

Hi BB, wow, The Big Bopper...forgot about him. May I get a copy of this?
Thanks

boppinbob said...

Hello Denis. Here's the new link

https://krakenfiles.com/view/aXOfpT4dct/file.html

Unknown said...

Trying to find big boppers song the last time which Rolling Stones took credit

boppinbob said...

I cannot find any reference regarding J.P.Richardson composing the song The Last Time. But i did find this....Although "The Last Time" is credited to Jagger/Richards, the song's refrain is similar to "This May Be the Last Time", a traditional gospel song recorded in 1954 by the Staple Singers. In 2003, Richards acknowledged this, saying, "We came up with 'The Last Time', which was basically re-adapting a traditional gospel song that had been sung by the Staple Singers, but luckily the song itself goes back into the mists of time." (Wikipedia)