10 facts about the big bopper biography
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Ritchie Valens, J.P. ‘The Big Bopper’ Richardson and Buddy Holly
Clear Lake, Iowa, Feb. 3 (UPI)
Three of the nation’s top rock ‘n roll singing stars – Ritchie Valens, J. P. (The Big Bopper) Richardson, and Buddy Holly – died today with their pilot in the crash of a chartered plane.
The singers, members of a rock ‘n roll troupe touring Midwest cities, died because they wanted to man a fast hop between dates so they could get their shirts laundered.
The tragedy that ended the careers of the three rising stars symbolized, in a way that was powerfully real, the decline of the strange new music that was carrying us into adolescence and adulthood. In rock and roll one has to be a fan as well as a listener, and the energy of the music depends on stars as much as it does on expertise and creativity. Send Jimi Hendrix to prison for a few years, bust John Lennon and Mick Jagger just one more time, and it won’t matter much how good the
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Profile: The Big Bopper
Born:
Jiles Perry Richardson on October 24, 1930 in Sabine Pass, TX; died February 3, 1959, Clear Lake, IA
Genres:
Rock and Roll, Rockabilly, Country and Western, Novelty
Instruments:
Vocals
Contributions to music:
- One of rock's first "novelty" artists, and one of the first DJs to cross over into rock stardom
- His 1958 hit "Chantilly Lace" remains a classic of the era
- Wrote hit songs for George Jones and Johnny Preston, among others
- Showed signs of morphing into a witty rockabilly mainstay before his death
- A pioneer in the development of music video
- Will be forever immortalized in the plane crash that took his life as well as those of Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens
Early years:
The son of a Texas oilfield worker, the man born Jiles P. Richardson grew up with the nickname "Jape" (due to his first two initials) and dreamed of becoming a lawyer, enrolling at Lamar College. A natural musician, he also
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The Big Bopper
The Big Bopper | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Jiles Perry Richardson, Jr. |
| Born | (1930-10-24)October 24, 1930 Sabine Pass, TexasU.S. |
| Died | February 3, 1959(1959-02-03) (aged 28) Grant Township, Iowa, U.S. |
| Genres | Rock and roll, rockabilly, country |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter |
| Instruments | Vocals, guitar |
| Years active | 1954–59 |
| Labels | Mercury Records |
Jiles Perry "J. P." Richardson, Jr. (October 24, 1930 – February 3, 1959) also commonly known as The Big Bopper, was an Americandisc jockey, singer, and songwriter whose big voice and exuberant personality made him an early rock and roll star.[1] He is best known for his recording of "Chantilly Lace".[2]
The Big Bopper died on 3 February 1959 in the same plane crash that killed fellow musicians Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens.[3]He was 28 years old.