Big Bopper

Richardson was born in the town of Sabin Pass, Texas , in the family of Giles Perry Richardson Sr. and Eliza (Stolsby) Richardson. His father worked as a driller in an oil field . Giles had two younger brothers - Cassil and James. As a child, he moved with his family to Beaumont, Texas. In 1947 he graduated from Beaumont High School . At school, Richardson was a lineman on the football team and played at number 85. Continuing his studies at Lamar College, Richardson sang in the choir and was a member of the music group.

As a teenager, Richardson got a job at the KTRM radio station ( Eng. KTRM , now KZZB ). In 1949, he was hired on a full-time basis, and Richardson left college. On April 18, 1952, he married Adrian Joy Frew, and in December 1953 they had a daughter, Debra Joy.

In March 1955, he was drafted into the army and spent 2 years as an instructor in radar installations at Fort Bliss, near the city of El Paso , Texas. Demobilized in the rank of corporal in March 1957 , Richardson returned to the KTRM radio station, where he directed the program “Dishwasher Serenade”, which was broadcast from 11:00 to 12:30 every weekday. After one of the sponsors of the radio station suggested Richardson to host the show, he chose the pseudonym Big Bopper ( The Big Bopper - from the English The Bop - the name of the dance popular among college students in the 1950s ). A new show came out from 15:00 to 18:00. Soon Richardson became the program director of the radio station.

In May 1957, Big Bopper broke the record of non-stop broadcasting, exceeding the previous time by 8 minutes. Struggling with sleep, Big Bopper took a cold shower during 5-minute roundups ^[1] . As a result, he spent 122 hours (that is, 5 days and 2 hours) and 8 minutes at the microphone, losing 16 kilograms of weight ^[2] and putting a total of 1821 songs ^[3] .

Big Bopper began his musical career as a songwriter. His country-style song , White Lightning , was one of George Jones' first hits, which later became the legendary country singer. Big Bopper himself did not know about the success of his song, since 2 months had already passed since his death by the time when in April 1959 the single was released and reached the top of the charts. Richardson also wrote the song “Running Bear” for his friend Johnny Preston from Port Arthur, Texas. The song was inspired by stories heard by Giles in childhood about Native American tribes. When recording the song, Richardson sang along, but as with White Lightning, the song was released after his death. In 1960, the song reached the top of the charts of the United States and Great Britain.

The producer of Big Bopper as a performer was Harold "Papi" Daily ( English Harold "Pappy" Daily ), who signed a contract with him for Mercury Records . The first single “Beggar To A King” was not charted. The same fate awaited the song “Crazy Blues” - both had a country sound and were signed by Richardson's real name ^[4] . The next single, recorded by Big Bopper on Daley's personal label, D Records , was purchased by Mercury Records and released in the summer of 1958 . It was the song “Chantilly Lace” , which reached 6th place on the pop charts and lasted a total of 22 weeks in the American Top 40. The song, in which the singer speaks with her girlfriend on the phone, inspired Jane Mansfield to record the response song “That Makes It . " A little later, in 1958, Big Bopper recorded his second hit - the humorous song “The Big Bopper's Wedding” .

Richardson foresaw the importance of video in the music industry. In 1959, he was the first to use the term music video ^[3] or rock video ^[5] . Earlier, in 1958 , Big Bopper recorded 3 music videos for his songs “Chantilly Lace” ^[6] , “Big Bopper's Wedding” and “Little Red Riding Hood” ; all videos were recorded on the same day ^[5] . As Bill Griggs, editor-in-chief of the Rockin '50s music magazine, points out, before his death, Big Bopper was about to launch production of music video clips on television and even came up with a special jukebox for them ^[5] .

February 3, 1959 in the USA is called the Day When Music Died . On the eleventh day of the Winter Dance Party tour, Buddy Holly , Richie Valens and Big Bopper, young musicians whose career had barely begun, crashed on a charter plane. Don Maclean called this tragedy "The Day the Music Died ."

• Chantilly lace
• Big Bopper's Wedding
• White Lightnin '- hit by George Jones
• Running Bear - hit by Johnny Preston
• Purple People Eater Meets the Witch Doctor
• Little Red Riding Hood
• Walking Through My Dreams
• Beggar to a King (as JP Richardson)
• Crazy Blues (under the name JP Richardson)
• Bopper's boogie woogie
• That's What I'm Talking About
• Pink petticoats
• Monkey Song (You Made a Monkey out of Me) (imitation of Buddy Holly )
• It's the Truth, Ruth
• Preacher and the bear
• Someone watching over you
• Old maid
• Strange kisses
• Teenage moon
• The clock

• The song “Chantilly Lace” by Big Bopper was the last song performed on the “Winter Dance Party” tour before Big Bopper, Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valence died. ^[5] This song can be heard in The Buddy Holly Story , La Bamba, and American Graffiti .
• Shortly after the terrible plane crash, Tommy Dee wrote the song “Three Stars” in memory of the dead musicians.
• In January 2007, Richardson's body was exhumed in order to dispel the rumors that he had survived a plane crash.
• In 1997, Big Bopper was inducted into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame. ^[7]
• Gaylard Sartain played Big Bopper in The Buddy Holly Story , Stephen Lee in La Bamba , and John Ennis in Rises and Falls: The Dewey Cox Story ( Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story ).
• In the musical "Buddy - The Buddy Holly Story" in London, his role is played by John Simon Rollings.
• A film is expected to shed light on Big Bopper's biography. Read more: www.bigboppermovie.com
• Giles' son Perry Richardson - Jay Perry Richardson, who was born two months after the death of his father, chose a musical career for himself and performs under the pseudonym Big Bopper Jr.

• Official site