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J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson |
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J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson was an American singer
of Chantilly Lace fame. He was also the songwriter
of Running Bear, and White Lightning fame.
The Big Bopper was a rock 'n roll innovator who was the
first to record a rock video. He also coined the term
"music video" in an article back in the fifties.*
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Biographical fast facts |
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Full or original name at birth: Jiles Perry Richardson, Jr.
Date and place of birth: October 24, 1930,
Sabine Pass, Texas, U.S.A.
Date, time, place and cause of death: February 3, 1959,
at 1:03 a.m., near Clear Lake, Iowa, U.S.A. (Plane crash) **
Marriage
Wife: Adrianne Joy Fryon (m. April 18, 1952 - February 3, 1959) (his death)
Children
Son: Jay Perry Richardson (b. April 1959)
Daughter: Deborah Joy Richardson (b. 1957)
Family/Relatives
Siblings: Cecil Richardson and James Richardson (brothers)
Parents
Father: Jiles Perry Richardson, Sr. (an oil field worker)
Mother: Elise Richardson
Burial site: Beaumont Cemetery, Beaumont, Texas, U.S.A.
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Error corrections or clarifications |
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* NOTE: Bill Griggs, editor of the "Rockin' 50s" music magazine,
reports the Big Bopper coined the term "music video" in
a 1959 article.
** Some sources mistakenly list "Mason City, Iowa" as
his place of death. Although this is where
the plane took off, its crash took place closer to
Clear Lake, Iowa.
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Career - Credits |
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The Big Bopper's Chantilly Lace was
one of the most-played songs of 1958, but
he was far more than just a singer. He was
also a songwriter who wrote the hit songs
Running Bear, and White Lightning.
Music historians also credit him with
recording the very first rock video.
Richardson came up with the nickname "The Big
Bopper" while working as a DJ at KTRM, and had
the distinction of holding the world record for
continuous broadcasting. In 1957, he broke the
record for continuous on-air broadcasting by
playing 1,821 records, spanning 122 hours and
8 minutes. That was five days, two hours and
eight minutes that he spent at his mike.
Known to his friends as Jiles, "Jape" or "the
Bopper," he had the foresight to recognize
the future importance of video to the music
industry. In fact, it was The Big Bopper who
coined the term "music video" in a 1959 article.
At the time of his death in a plane crash, it
was reported that he was preparing to start
production on music videos specifically intended
for television. He even had hopes of producing
a specially designed jukebox which would play
music videos. He had hoped his singing would
generate the money needed for all his music
business plans. In light of his experience as
a disc jockey and programming director at KTRM,
in Beaumont, Texas, he'd also planned to purchase
his own radio station.
The plane in which he was killed was a single engine,
four-passenger Beechcraft Bonanza. Investigations
showed the plane was properly maintained, and in good
operating order at the time of the crash. The Civil
Aeronautics Board concluded that the probable cause
of the accident, "…was the pilot's unwise decision to
embark on a flight which would necessitate flying
solely by instruments when he was not properly
certificated or qualified to do so. Contributing
factors were serious deficiencies in the weather
briefing, and the pilot's unfamiliarity with the
instrument which determines the attitude of the
aircraft."
As a result of the plane crash that also killed
Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens, we can only
speculate what heights he may have reached with
his talent for novelty singing/songwriting, and
his truly innovative business plans for the music
industry.
In March 2007, The Big Bopper's body was exhumed to
investigate incessant rumors 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 rumors 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. "There was
no indication of foul play," Dr. Bass concluded
following his examination. "There are fractures from
head to toe. Massive fractures...(He) died immediately."
"He didn't crawl away. He didn't walk away from the
plane." The finding confirms the conclusions made by
earlier investigations.
Selected singing credits:
Chantilly Lace
Big Bopper's Wedding
Little Red Riding Hood
Beggar to a King
Walking Through My Dreams
Crazy Blues
Preacher and the Bear
Purple People Eater Meets the Witch Doctor
It's the Truth Ruth
Bopper's Boogie Woogie
Monkey Song (You Made A Monkey Out Of Me)
That's What I'm Talking About
Teenage Moon
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Sources |
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More than two dozen sources were consulted in preparing
this profile.
The most in-depth of these was the 1995 book,
Buddy Holly: A Biography, by Ellis Amburn.
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