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Big Bopper
The Buddy Holly Center presents a gallery exhibition
featuring memorabilia related to the life of Jiles
Perry Richardson, better known as the Big Bopper.
The exhibition opened on September 1st in
the Texas Musicians Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame
showcases the exceptional talent of regional
musicians, and documents the history and traditions of
Texas music and culture. Items on display include fan
letters, handwritten lyrics, photographs, newspaper
clippings and video clips on loan from the family of
the Big Bopper.
J.P. Richardson, called “Jape” by his
friends, is best known for a novelty record called
“Chantilly Lace” from which the immortal introduction
“Hellooo....baby!” came. Born in Sabine, Texas,
Richardson began his career in radio broadcasting. As
a disc jockey at KTRM in Beaumont, Texas, Richardson
made a name for himself as the wild radio personality
the Big Bopper. In May of 1957, he set a world record
for continuous broadcasting with “Discathon”, spinning
1,821 records over six days and nights.
In addition to his broadcast
accomplishments, Richardson was a successful
songwriter. He penned the number one hit “Running
Bear” for his good friend Johnny Preston. Richardson
also wrote “White Lightning” for George Jones.
Richardson cut the record “Chantilly Lace”
in 1957 as the Big Bopper. The album featured a rhythm
section, saxophone, and Richardson half singing and
speaking the vocals in his deep, on air radio voice.
The record was picked up by Mercury Records in the
summer of 1958 was a huge success, climbing to the Top
Ten nationally.
“Chantilly Lace” became the third most
played song of 1958. Richardson was overwhelmed with
tour offers and took a leave of absence from the radio
station to pursue stage performing. His last tour, the
Winter Dance party of 1959, included headliners Buddy
Holly and Ritchie Valens. On February 3rd,
1959, the Bopper was a passenger on a plane chartered
by Buddy Holly to avoid freezing temperatures on their
tour bus. After taking off in severe winter weather,
the plane crashed, killing all of its passengers – the
pilot, Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valenz, and J.P.
Richardson, the Big Bopper.
The Big Bopper’s legacy
carries on after his untimely death. His son, also
J.P. Richardson, was born shortly after the fatal
plane crash in 1959. Memorabilia on display at the
Buddy Holly Center is on loan, including Richardson’s
briefcase that was recovered at the crash site. In
addition, the theater in the Buddy Holly Center will
showcase three video clips of the Big Bopper that are
thought to be the first form of music videos as we
know them today. The energetic and humorous
personality of Jiles Perry Richardson, the Big Bopper,
is brought to life by this transformation from still
imagery to motion.
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