Born 96 Years Ago Today on the Texas Gulf Coast, the 50s Rock Legend Behind Novelty Hits and George Jones’ First No. 1

On this day (October 24) in 1930, Jiles Perry “J.P.” Richardson Jr. was born in Sabine Pass, Texas. Forever immortalized as “The Big Bopper”, he went on to become one of the early pioneers of rock and roll with beloved novelty hits like the self-penned “Chantilly Lace”. As much a songwriter as he was a singer and entertainer, Richardson also penned the classic track “White Lightnin’”, which a then little-known singer named George Jones took to the top of the charts in 1959. It marked the first of 13 career number-one hits for the country star.

He also wrote the number-one hit “Running Bear” for his friend Johnny Preston.

Tragically, Richardson’s time in the spotlight was cut short on February 3, 1959. The 28-year-old died in a plane crash in Clear Lake, Iowa, alongside fellow musicians Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens. Today, we reflect on The Big Bopper’s legacy in honor of what would have been his 96th birthday.

Early Life

Before he was “The Big Bopper”, Jiles Perry Richardson was known to friends as “J.P.” or “Jape”.

The eldest son of an oilfield worker and his wife, he grew up in and around Beaumont, Texas — not far from the Louisiana state line.

Richardson graduated in 1947 from Beaumont High School, where he played defensive lineman on the “Royal Purple” football team and also sang in the choir.

Initially pondering a career in law enforcement, Richardson studied pre-law at Lamar College. He also performed in the band and chorus while working part-time as a disc jockey at a Beaumont radio station.

Although naturally shy and introverted, Richardson came alive behind the microphone. When the station hired him full-time and gave him his own show, he dropped out of college.

Richardson married wife Adrianne in 1952, and the couple welcomed a daughter, Debra, the following year soon after the station promoted him to supervisor of announcers.

However, he had to put his radio career on hold in March 1955 when the U.S. Army drafted him into its ranks.

Spending much of his two-year service as a radar instructor at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas, Richardson was discharged as a corporal in 1957. After that, he returned to Beaumont and the radio station.

Becoming the Big Bopper

After seeing college students doing a new dance called the Bop, Richardson decided to rechristen himself as “The Big Bopper.”

Soon, he had taken over as the station’s program director. And in May 1957, he shattered the record for continuous on-air broadcasting when he performed for more than five days straight from a remote setup in the lobby of the Jefferson Theatre in downtown Beaumont.

Finding Stardom

In 1958, Richardson traveled to Houston’s Gold Star Studios to record songs for Pappy Daily’s D Records as The Big Bopper.

He hoped his A-side, “Purple People Eater Meets the Witch Doctor,” would launch him to stardom. However, the public far preferred the B-side, “Chantilly Lace,” which he reportedly penned as an afterthought in the backseat of the car on the way to the session.

The third most-played song of 1958, “Chantilly Lace” shot to number six on the Billboard pop chart, spending 22 weeks in the top 40.

Later that year, he scored a second top 40 hit with a rollicking novelty tune called “The Big Bopper’s Wedding”, in which Richardson pretended to get cold feet at the altar.

The Day the Music Died

With the success of “Chantilly Lace”, “The Big Bopper” took time off from his radio job and joined Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and Dion and the Belmonts for a “Winter Dance Party” tour starting on January 23, 1959.

On the 11th night of the tour (Feb 2, 1959), the musicians played the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa. That night, Buddy Holly chartered an airplane from Dwyer Flying Service in Mason City, Iowa, intending to fly himself and his bandmates (Waylon Jennings and Tommy Allsup) ahead to their next tour venue in Moorhead, Minnesota, immediately after the show in Clear Lake.

Suffering from the flu, Richardson asked Jennings for his seat on the plane since the bus was too cold and uncomfortable for him. Jennings agreed, and when Holly heard his bandmates had surrendered their seats, he joked that he hoped the bus broke down.

“Well, I hope your ol’ plane crashes,” Jennings replied.

The outlaw country legend’s words would come back to haunt him. Flying in wintry weather conditions with low visibility, the plane went down less than six miles northwest of the airport where it took off.

All occupants — Holly, Richardson, Valens, and pilot Roger Peterson — died on impact.

“God almighty, for years I thought I caused it,” Jennings said decades later in a CMT interview.

[RELATED: Remembering 4 Legendary Rock Singers Who Suffered Truly Tragic Deaths]

Two months after the rock-and-roll icon’s death, his wife gave birth to their son, Jay Perry Richardson.

Featured image by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

The post Born 96 Years Ago Today on the Texas Gulf Coast, the 50s Rock Legend Behind Novelty Hits and George Jones’ First No. 1 appeared first on American Songwriter.