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The Big Bopper

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" Chantilly Lace " is a 1958 rock and roll song by The Big Bopper . It was produced by Jerry Kennedy , and reached No. 6 on the US Billboard Hot 100 . Bruce Channel covered the song on his 1962 album, Hey! Baby . The song was also covered by Jerry Lee Lewis in 1972.

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54-592: Jiles Perry Richardson Jr. (October 24, 1930 – February 3, 1959), better known by his stage name The Big Bopper , was an American musician and disc jockey. His best-known compositions include " Chantilly Lace ," " Running Bear ", and " White Lightning ", the latter of which became George Jones 's first number-one hit in 1959. Richardson was killed in an airplane crash in Clear Lake, Iowa , in February 1959, along with fellow musicians Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens , and

108-526: A " Uranium disc" granted by Hispavox and SGAE in 1980, Luis Miguel received in 1999 a " Lapislazuli disc" for his sales of over 1.7 million in Chile, and Luis Fonsi received the " Plutonium disc" from Universal Music Group recognizing the global sales of " Despacito " in 2017. The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) was founded in 1933, and since 1996, has granted

162-759: A Big Bopper impersonator, touring with the Winter Dance Party. In 2019, the Winter Dance Party debuted the film Bopper and Me. In Not Fade Away , a turbulent road novel taking place at the end of the fifties, Jim Dodge narrates an eventful trip to the Big Bopper's grave. Richardson was portrayed by Gailard Sartain in The Buddy Holly Story , Stephen Lee in La Bamba , and John Ennis in Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story . "Chantilly Lace"

216-413: A Wisconsin fan of the 1950s era, erected a stainless steel monument at the crash site depicting a guitar and a set of three records bearing the names of each of the three performers. It is located on private farmland, about one-quarter-mile west of the intersection of 315th Street and Gull Avenue, about eight miles north of Clear Lake. Paquette also created a similar stainless steel monument to the three near

270-409: A barbed-wire fence, while Peterson's body remained entangled in the wreckage. The bodies of Holly and Valens came to rest several feet away from the wreckage on open ground; Richardson was thrown approximately 100 feet (30 m) beyond the wreckage across the fence line and into the next cornfield. All three died instantly of head and chest injuries. Richardson was 28 years old. In 1988, Ken Paquette,

324-407: A defensive lineman, wearing number 85. Richardson later was a radio disc jockey while at Lamar College , where he studied prelaw and was a member of the band and chorus. Richardson worked part-time at Beaumont, Texas radio station KTRM (now KZZB ). He was hired by the station full-time in 1949 and quit college. Richardson married Adrianne Joy Fryou on April 18, 1952, and their daughter Debra Joy

378-425: A fictional daughter of the Big Bopper, played by Catherine O'Hara . The character was a part-time real estate agent who appeared in a musical titled I'm Taking My Own Head, Screwing It on Right, and No Guy's Gonna Tell Me That It Ain't . Shortly after the fatal plane crash, Tommy Dee wrote and recorded a song titled " Three Stars " in tribute to Richardson, Holly, and Valens. It was later recorded by Eddie Cochran ,

432-526: A friend of the three musicians who himself would die prematurely a year later in an automobile crash. The accident was referred to as " The Day the Music Died " in Don McLean 's 1971 song " American Pie ". Van Halen 's song "Good Enough" from their 1986 album 5150 begins with singer Sammy Hagar calling out "Hello Baby!", imitating the Big Bopper's hook in "Chantilly Lace". Phil Lewis of L.A. Guns does

486-515: A giggle in her talk Make the world go 'round. In January 1972, Jerry Lee Lewis recorded a version of "Chantilly Lace" at the Mercury studio in Nashville. The recording was done with everyone (10 musicians and 6 backing singers) crowded into the studio as Lewis did not want any overdubbing on the record. The single (with B-side "Think About It Darlin'") was released 6 weeks after it was recorded. It

540-539: A hit. The song reached No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 and spent 22 weeks on the national Top 40. It was the third most played song of 1958. On the Cash Box chart, "Chantilly Lace" reached No. 4. The song depicts a young man flirting with his girlfriend on the telephone and listing things about her that he likes, including: Chantilly lace and a pretty face And a ponytail hangin' down A wiggle in her walk and

594-469: A ladies' man. In November 1958, 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. Both "Chantilly Lace" and "Big Bopper's Wedding" were receiving top 40 radio airplay through January 1959. C3 Entertainment handles the rights to the Richardson estate, through an agreement with Jay's widow Patty. Richardson

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648-420: A musical career and was known professionally as "The Big Bopper, Jr.", performing around the world. He toured on the "Winter Dance Party" tour with Buddy Holly impersonator John Mueller on some of the same stages where his father had performed. In January 2007, Richardson's son Jay requested that his father's body be exhumed and an autopsy be performed in response to an internet rumor about guns being fired aboard

702-416: A parody on the memorable hook reading "Gooooodbye, baby". He also appeared as a vampire holding a telephone in an Itchy and Scratchy cartoon during the episode " C.E.D'oh ". An episode of The X-Files entitled " Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose " alludes to the deaths of Buddy Holly and the Big Bopper. The episode's title character, played by Peter Boyle , explains that he had a ticket to see them perform

756-466: A songwriter. George Jones later recorded Richardson's " White Lightning ", which became Jones's first No. 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. Preston's recording

810-466: Is used in the movies True Romance and American Graffiti as well as "High Spirits" and "Cocktail". In the animated series The Venture Bros. , it is implied that the elderly villains Dragoon and Red Mantle are actually Richardson and Buddy Holly, who were recruited into the supervillain organization the Guild of Calamitous Intent on the night of their supposed deaths. In 2016, the rock and roll legend

864-457: Is with great sadness that we must tell you that Jay P Richardson has passed away. After a long hard fight, JP succumbed on the morning of August 21, at the age of 54". With the success of "Chantilly Lace", Richardson took time off from KTRM radio 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

918-741: The RIAA certification categories, which are named after precious materials ( gold , platinum and diamond ). The threshold required for these awards depends upon the population of the territory where the recording is released. Typically, they are awarded only to international releases and are awarded individually for each country where the album is sold. Different sales levels, some perhaps 10 times greater than others, may exist for different music media (for example: videos versus albums, singles, or music download ). The original gold and silver record awards were presented to artists by their own record companies to publicize their sales achievements. The first silver disc

972-499: The Recording Industry Association of America introduced its gold record award program for records of any kind, albums or singles , which achieved one million dollars in retail sales. These sales were restricted to U.S.-based record companies and did not include exports to other countries. For albums in 1968, this would mean shipping approximately 670,000 units; for singles the number would be 1,000,000. In 1976,

1026-443: The "Dishwashers' Serenade" shift from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Monday to Friday. One of the station's sponsors wanted Richardson for a new time slot, and suggested an idea for a show. Richardson had seen college students doing a dance called The Bop, and he decided to call himself "The Big Bopper". His new radio show ran from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m., and he soon became the station's program director. In May 1957, Richardson broke

1080-630: The IFPI Platinum Europe Award for album sales over one million within Europe and (as of October 2009) the Middle East. Multi-platinum Europe Awards are presented for sales in subsequent multiples of one million. Eligibility is unaffected by time (from date of release), and is not restricted to European-based artists. The Independent Music Companies Association (IMPALA) was founded in April 2000 to grow

1134-549: The Mason City Airport, loaded their luggage and boarded the red and white single-engine Beechcraft Bonanza . Peterson received clearance from the control tower around 12:55 a.m. on February 3, 1959, and they took off—but the plane remained airborne for only a few minutes. It crashed at full throttle shortly after takeoff about 5 miles outside Mason City in the middle of farm country. The reason remains unknown but Peterson may have lost his visual reference and thought that he

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1188-533: The Moorhead show, do their laundry, and get some rest. Local pilot Roger Peterson of Dwyer Flying Service (age 21) had agreed to take them. The weather forecast for the Clear Lake area was 18 °F (−8 °C) that night with moderate gusty winds and light scattered snow, and Peterson was fatigued from a 17-hour workday, but he agreed to fly the trip. Frankie Sardo went to meet the crowd while Holly went into one of

1242-531: The RIAA certified its first gold record, Perry Como 's hit single " Catch a Falling Star ". The Oklahoma! soundtrack was certified as the first gold album four months later. In 1976, RIAA introduced the platinum certification, first awarded to the Eagles compilation album Their Greatest Hits (1971–1975) on 24 February 1976, and to Johnnie Taylor 's single " Disco Lady " on 22 April 1976. As music sales increased with

1296-548: The RIAA introduced the platinum certification for the sale of one million units for albums and two million for singles, with the gold certification redefined for sales of 500,000 units for albums and one million for singles. No album was certified platinum prior to this year. The 1958 RCA Victor recording by Van Cliburn of the Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto would eventually be awarded a platinum citation, but this did not occur until two decades after its release. In 1999,

1350-579: The Riverside Ballroom in Green Bay, Wisconsin . The memorial was unveiled on July 17, 2003. 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. In 2010, Richardson

1404-583: The US since 2013, and the UK and Germany since 2014. In the US and Germany, video streaming services like YouTube, VEVO , and Yahoo! Music also began to be counted towards the certification, in both cases using the formula of 100 streams being equivalent to one download. Other countries, such as Denmark and Spain, maintain separate awards for digital download singles and streaming. Other recording artists have received special and symbolic recognitions, including Raphael with

1458-460: The United States, United Kingdom, Canada and France. The numbers in the tables are in terms of "units", where a unit represents one sale or one shipment of a given medium. Certification is often awarded cumulatively, and it is possible for one release to be certified silver, gold, and platinum in turn. An album that becomes Platinum twice over, for example, an album which has sold 2,000,000 copies in

1512-592: The United States, is said to be "Double Platinum", or sometimes "Multi-Platinum". Since 2013 in the U.S., and 2014 in the UK and Germany, streaming of songs counts towards certification of singles with 150 streams being the equivalent of 1 unit sold. Since February 2016, RIAA includes on-demand audio and video streams and a track sale equivalent in Gold and Platinum Album Award. The program count both sales and streams for single and album certifications. The plaques themselves contain various items under

1566-548: The actual final retail sales figures. This became much less common once the majority of retail sales became paid digital downloads and digital streaming. In most countries, certifications no longer apply solely to physical media but now also include sales awards recognizing digital downloads (in the US and UK since 2004). In June 2006, the RIAA also certified the ringtone downloads of songs. Streaming from on-demand services such as Apple Music , Spotify , Tidal and Napster has been included into existing digital certification in

1620-491: The aircraft and Richardson initially surviving the crash. The autopsy was performed by William M. Bass , a forensic anthropologist at the University of Tennessee , Knoxville . Richardson was present throughout the autopsy and observed the casket as it was opened; both men were surprised that the remains were well enough preserved to be recognized as those of the late rock star. "Dad still amazes me 48 years after his death, that he

1674-485: The diamond certification was introduced for sales of ten million units. In the late 1980s, the certification thresholds for singles were dropped to match that of albums. The first official designation of a "gold record" by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) was established for singles in 1958, and the RIAA also trademarked the term "gold record" in the United States. On 14 March 1958,

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1728-798: The dressing rooms at the Surf Ballroom where he notified Allsup and Jennings that he had chartered a plane to take them to Fargo, North Dakota (which is directly adjacent to Moorhead, Minnesota). On a friendly wager, Valens flipped a coin with Allsup for his seat on the plane—and won. Meanwhile, J.P. Richardson was suffering from the flu and was complaining that the bus was too cold and uncomfortable for him, so Jennings voluntarily surrendered his seat. Upon hearing that his bandmates had given away their plane seats, Holly joked, "Well, I hope your ol' bus freezes up again." Jennings jokingly replied, "Well, I hope your ol' plane crashes." The Clear Lake show ended at around midnight and Holly, Valens, and Richardson drove to

1782-672: The glass. Modern awards often use CDs instead of records. Most gold and platinum records are actually vinyl records which have been vacuum metallized and tinted, while trimmed and plated metal "masters", "mothers", or "stampers" (metal parts used for pressing records out of vinyl) were initially used. The music in the grooves on the record may not match the actual recording being awarded. Individual plaque-makers produced their awards according to available materials and techniques employed by their graphic arts departments. The plaques, depending on size and elaborateness of design, cost anywhere between US$ 135 and $ 275, most often ordered and purchased by

1836-425: The gold records awarded in 1956 by RCA Victor to Harry Belafonte for his album Calypso for being the first LP record album to sell more than one million copies and Elvis Presley for one million units sold of his RCA Victor single " Don't Be Cruel ". Also in 1956, Decca 's presented a gold record award to Jerry Lewis for the single " Rock-a-Bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody ". At the industry level, in 1958

1890-501: The independent music sector and promote independent music in the interests of artistic, entrepreneurial and cultural diversity. IMPALA launched sales awards in 2005 as the first sales awards recognising that success on a pan-European basis begins well before sales reach one million. The award levels are Silver (20,000+), Double Silver (40,000+), Gold (75,000+), Double Gold (150,000+), Diamond (200,000+), Platinum (400,000+) and Double Platinum (800,000+). Below are certification thresholds for

1944-501: The introduction of compact discs, the RIAA created the Multi-Platinum award in 1984. Diamond awards, honoring those artists whose sales of singles or albums reached 10,000,000 copies, were introduced in 1999. In the 20th century, and for a part of the first decade of the 21st, it was common for distributors to claim certifications based on their shipments – wholesale to retail outlets – which led to many certifications which outstripped

1998-418: The night after they died and received the psychic ability to predict people's deaths by calculating the odds that it took for the Big Bopper to be on the flight that killed him. The Big Bopper's estate is currently owned by his daughter-in-law, Patty Richardson, and managed by C3 Entertainment , a company that specializes in classic brands. C3 Entertainment currently manages an official tribute band featuring

2052-630: The original and was reburied next to his wife in Beaumont's Forest Lawn Cemetery. His son Jay Richardson allowed the old casket to be displayed at the Texas Musicians Museum . In December 2008, he announced that he would be placing the old casket up for auction on eBay, donating a share of the proceeds to the Texas Musicians Museum, but Jay downplayed the suggestion in later interviews. He died of heart failure in 2013. The family announced "It

2106-492: The pilot, Roger Peterson. Richardson was born on October 24, 1930, in Sabine Pass, Texas , the oldest son of oil-field worker Jiles Perry Richardson (1905–84) and his wife Elise (née Stalsby) Richardson (1909–83). They had two other sons, Cecil (1934–89) and James (1932–2010). The family soon moved to Beaumont, Texas . Richardson graduated from Beaumont High School in 1947 and played on the "Royal Purple" American football team as

2160-510: The record for continuous on-air broadcasting by eight minutes. He performed for a total of five days, two hours, and eight minutes from a remote setup in the lobby of the Jefferson Theatre in downtown Beaumont, playing 1,821 records and taking showers during five-minute newscasts. Richardson is credited for creating the first music video in 1958, and recorded an early example himself. Richardson, who played guitar, began his musical career as

2214-499: The recording and released it at the end of June 1958. It slowly began picking up airplay through July and August, and reached No. 6 on the pop chart spending 22 weeks in the national Top 40. The disc sold in excess of one million copies by the end of 1958 and was awarded a gold disc . In "Chantilly Lace", Richardson pretends to have a flirting phone conversation with his girlfriend; the record was comical in nature, with The Big Bopper presenting an exaggerated, but good-natured caricature of

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2268-412: The same chord progression. The song was originally released as the flip side to "The Purple People Eater Meets The Witch Doctor", which parodied " The Purple People Eater " by Sheb Wooley and " Witch Doctor " by David Seville . This was J.P. Richardson's first release under the moniker The Big Bopper. However, DJs and the public preferred the flip side "Chantilly Lace", and it was this song that became

2322-504: The same in their song "17 Crash" from their 1989 album Cocked & Loaded . The Simpsons episode " Sideshow Bob Roberts " features a gravestone of The Big Bopper in Springfield that Sideshow Bob ( Kelsey Grammer ) used to help commit voter fraud and become elected for mayor. The gravestone is a bust of the Big Bopper holding a telephone receiver, with the epitaph reading "The Big Bopper", his birth and death years (1930–1959), then

2376-435: The song in the 1966 film The Las Vegas Hillbillys . Music recording certification Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see List of music recording certifications ). Almost all countries follow variations of

2430-733: The tour (February 2, 1959), they played at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa . That night, Holly chartered an airplane from Dwyer Flying Service in Mason City, Iowa , intending to fly himself and his bandmates Waylon Jennings and Tommy Allsup to their next tour venue in Moorhead, Minnesota . The musicians had been traveling by bus for over a week, and it had already broken down twice. They were tired, they had not been paid yet, and all of their clothes were dirty. The chartered flight would allow them to avoid another arduous bus ride, arrive early before

2484-459: Was ascending while he was actually descending. The right wingtip of the Bonanza hit the frozen ground and sent the aircraft cartwheeling across a cleared cornfield at approximately 170 miles per hour (270 km/h). Holly, Valens and Richardson were thrown from the airplane on impact and likely tumbled along with the wreckage across the icy field before the wreckage of the aircraft came to rest against

2538-478: Was awarded by Regal Zonophone to George Formby in December 1937 for sales of 100,000 copies of " The Window Cleaner ". The first literal gold record award was presented to Glenn Miller and His Orchestra by RCA Victor (for subsidiary label Bluebird Records ) on February 10, 1942, celebrating the sale of 1.2 million copies of the single, " Chattanooga Choo Choo ". Further examples of company awards are

2592-540: Was born in December 1953, soon after Richardson was 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. Richardson spent the rest of his two-year service as a radar instructor at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas . In March 1957, following his discharge as a corporal, Richardson returned to KTRM radio, where he held down

2646-519: Was for three weeks a No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart and a top fifty pop hit in the US and a Top 40 pop hit in the UK. The song was included in the album The Killer Rocks On The song inspired an answer song titled "That Makes It", recorded by actress Jayne Mansfield in 1964, and released as the B-side to " Little Things Mean A Lot ". Mansfield performed

2700-539: Was immortalized by software studio Realtime Gaming in a slot game named appropriately - The Big Bopper . Chantilly Lace (song) The song was recorded at the Gold Star Studios in Houston, Texas. Originally cut for Pappy Daily 's D label , the recording was purchased by Mercury Records and reissued in the summer of 1958, just over six months after Chuck Berry released " Sweet Little Sixteen ", which uses

2754-461: Was in remarkable shape," Richardson told the Associated Press. "I surprised myself. I handled it better than I thought I would." Bass's findings indicated no signs of foul play. "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." Richardson's body was placed in a new casket made by the same company as

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2808-484: Was inducted into the Iowa Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame . Richardson's 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. The Canadian television comedy show SCTV featured a character named "Sue Bopper-Simpson",

2862-498: Was married to Adrianne Joy "Teetsie" Richardson Wenner (1936–2004) and had a daughter, Debra (1953–2006). His son, Jay Perry Richardson, was born two months after his death, in April 1959. Richardson had been building a recording studio in his home in Beaumont, Texas , and was planning to invest in a radio station. Richardson had written 20 new songs that he planned to record himself or with other artists. Jay Perry Richardson also followed

2916-590: Was not released until August 1959, six months after Richardson's death. The song became a No. 1 hit for three weeks in January 1960. The man who launched Richardson as a recording artist was Harold "Pappy" Daily from Houston . 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. Richardson soon cut " Chantilly Lace " as "The Big Bopper" for Pappy Daily's D label . Mercury bought

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