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Jiles Perry Richardson, Jr. (October 24, 1930 – February 3, 1959), called JP by his friends but commonly known as The Big Bopper, was an American disc jockey, singer, and songwriter whose big voice and exuberant personality made him an early rock and roll star. He is best known for his recording of "Chantilly Lace".
[edit] Early yearsRichardson was born in Sabine Pass, Texas, the oldest son of Jiles Perry Richardson, Sr. and his wife Elise (Stalsby) Richardson. His father was an oil field worker and driller. Richardson had two younger brothers, Cecil and James. The family soon moved to Beaumont, Texas. Richardson graduated from Beaumont High School in 1947 and was played on the "Royal Purple" football team as a defensive lineman, wearing number "85". 
Richardson later studied pre-law at Lamar College, and was a member of the band and chorus. He sometimes played with the Johnny Lampson Combo. He also worked part time at radio station KTRM, where he was hired full-time in 1949 and quit college. Richardson married Adrianne Joy Fryou on April 18, 1952. In December 1953 their daughter, Debra Joy, was born. Earlier that year Richardson had been promoted to Supervisor of Announcers at KTRM. In March 1955 he was drafted into the United States Army and did his basic training at Fort Ord, California. He spent the rest of his two years service as a radar instructor at Fort Bliss, near El Paso, Texas. Following his discharge as a corporal in March 1957, Richardson returned to KTRM radio, where he held down the "Dishwashers' Serenade" shift from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. One of the station's sponsors wanted Richardson for a new time slot and suggested an idea for a show. Richardson had seen the college students doing a dance called The Bop, and he decided to call himself "The Big Bopper". His new radio show ran from 3 to 6 p.m. Richardson soon became the station's program director. In May 1957, he broke the record for continuous on-the-air broadcasting by eight minutes. He performed for total of five days, two hours and eight minutes, playing 1,821 records and taking showers during five-minute newscasts. He lost 35 pounds (16 kilos) during his marathon. KTRM paid Richardson $746.50 for his overtime and he slept for the next 20 hours. Richardson is credited with coining the term music video in 1959, and recorded an early example himself. However, his business venture in this area was cut short by his untimely death. [1] [edit] Popular singerRichardson — who played guitar — began his musical career as a song writer. George Jones later recorded Richardson's "White Lightning", which became Jones' first #1 country hit in 1959 (#73 on the pop charts). Richardson also wrote "Running Bear" for Johnny Preston, his friend from Port Arthur, Texas. The inspiration for the song came from Richardson's childhood memory of the Sabine River, where he heard stories about Indian tribes. Richardson sang background on "Running Bear", but the recording wasn't released until September 1959, after his death. Within several months it became #1. The man who launched Richardson as a recording artist was Harold "Pappy" Daily from Houston, Texas. Daily was promotion director for Mercury and Starday 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. He soon cut "Chantilly Lace" as "The Big Bopper" for Pappy Daily's D label. Mercury bought the recording and released it in the summer of 1958. It reached #6 on the pop charts and spent 22 weeks in the national Top 40. It also inspired an answer record by Jayne Mansfield titled "That Makes It". In "Chantilly Lace", Richardson pretends to have a flirting phone call with his girlfriend; the Mansfield record suggests what his girlfriend might have been saying at the other end of the line. Later that year he scored a second hit, a raucous novelty tune entitled "The Big Bopper's Wedding," in which Richardson pretends to be getting cold feet at the altar. With the success of "Chantilly Lace," Richardson took time off from KTRM radio and joined Buddy Holly and The Crickets, Ritchie Valens and Dion & the Belmonts for a "Winter Dance Party" tour. On February 2, 1959, Buddy Holly chartered a Beechcraft Bonanza to take him, Tommy Allsup, and Waylon Jennings to Fargo, North Dakota. Richardson was suffering from the flu and didn't feel comfortable on the group's bus. Jennings agreed to give up his plane seat to Richardson. Valens had never flown in a small plane and requested Allsup's seat. They flipped a coin, and Valens won the toss. [edit] DeathEarly on the morning of February 3, 1959, after a performance at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa, the small four-passenger Beechcraft Bonanza took off from the Mason City airport during a blinding snow storm. It crashed into Albert Juhl’s corn field several miles after takeoff at 1:05 a.m. The crash killed all aboard: Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, Richardson and the 21-year-old pilot, Roger Peterson. In his 1971 hit song "American Pie," Don McLean referred to this crash in his song as "The Day the Music Died". Richardson was survived by his wife and four year-old daughter. His son, Jay Perry Richardson, 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 the ownership of a radio station. He had written 20 new songs he planned to record himself or with other artists. [edit] AftermathRichardson's son took up a musical career and is known professionally as "The Big Bopper, Jr." He has performed all around the world. Notably, he has toured on the "Winter Dance Party" tour with Buddy Holly impersonator John Mueller on some of the same stages as his father performed. On January 17, 2007 it was reported that Richardson's son, wanted an autopsy of his father to settle the rumor that a gun was fired, or that Richardson initially survived the crash [2]. The autopsy was performed by Dr. Bill Bass, a forensic anthropologist at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. His findings indicated there were no signs of foul play. He was quoted as saying "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."[3] J.P. Jr was present with Dr. Bass throughout the entire autopsy and observed as the casket was opened; both men were surprised to find the remains well enough preserved to be recognizable 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."[3] 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. J.P. Jr. then allowed the old casket to be put on display at the Texas Musician's Museum.[4] [edit] Tributes
In 1988, Ken Paquette, a Wisconsin fan of the 1950s era, erected a stainless steel monument depicting a steel guitar and a set of three records bearing the names of each of the three performers.[5] It is located on private farmland, about one quarter mile west of the intersection of 315th Street and Gull Avenue, approximately eight miles north of Clear Lake; this is where the plane crash occurred. He also created a similar stainless steel monument to the three near the Riverside Ballroom in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The memorial was unveiled on July 17, 2003.[6] J.P. Richardson's pioneering contribution to the genre has been recognized by the Rockabilly 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. His name is mentioned as one of the upcoming musical acts in both the print and television versions of Stephen 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. [edit] FilmRichardson was portrayed by Gailard Sartain in The Buddy Holly Story, Stephen Lee in La Bamba, and John Ennis in Walk Hard. On the London stage, Richardson has been portrayed by John Simon Rawlings in the musical Buddy - The Buddy Holly Story. [edit] The Day the Music DiedAn upcoming film, The Day the Music Died, will pay tribute to Richardson. It is slated to be released on February 3, 2009, the 50th anniversary of the crash that claimed the lives of Richardson, Holly, and Valens.[7] [edit] Cover versions The Big Bopper's songs
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