The Big Bopper

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. Other singles include:. That memorial was unveiled on July 17, 2003. To this day, along with ABBA, they are the most widely known western music acts in these regions. He also created a similar stainless steel monument to the three musicians near the Riverside Ballroom in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Boney M, with their sensuous tunes and catchy rythms became one of the few western bands that became well-known in the non-European world including Africa, India and South-East Asia. It is located on private farmland, about one quarter mile west of the intersection of 315th Street and Gull Avenue, approximately eight miles north of Clear Lake. They are the only act to appear twice in the Top 10; not even the Beatles were able to achieve this.

In 1988, Ken Paquette, a Wisconsin fan of the ’50s era, erected a stainless steel monument depicting a steel guitar and a set of three records bearing the names of each of the three performers. As of the list of the best selling singles in the United Kingdom, issued in 2002, Boney M appear 5th and 10th places respectively, with the two above singles. Richardson was a well-loved figure who was known to care deeply about his family. They also achieved a second UK million seller with their version of calypso classic Mary's Boy Child which was previously a million seller for Harry Belafonte. In addition, he had written twenty new songs with plans to record by himself and with other artists. It sold 500 copies short of 2 million. Richardson had been building a recording studio in his home in Beaumont, Texas before that last tour and was also planning to invest in the ownership of a radio station. Rivers of Babylon became the second highest selling single of all time in the UK in 1978 when the B-side Brown girl in the Ring was given extensive airplay on radio.

Richardson. (The vocal contributions of Barrett and Williams are not in doubt.). At the time of his death, Richardson, 28, left behind his wife Adrianne Joy, four-year-old Debra Joy, and a baby son who was born after his death, Jay P. He finally admitted to this on German television in 2003, saying that Farrell had been chosen for his personality and innovative dancing. This event would become known as "The Day the Music Died". The mostly spoken male voice was that of Farian. The crash killed Holly, Valens, Richardson and pilot Roger Peterson. Foreshadowing Farian's involvement in the Milli Vanilli controversy a decade later, Williams and Farrell sang very little, or not at all, on Boney M's records.

In the early morning of February 3, following a February 2nd performance at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa, the small four-passenger Beechcraft Bonanza took off into a blinding snow storm and crashed into Albert Juhl’s corn field several miles after takeoff at 1:05 a.m. When Frank Farian first released "Baby Do You Wanna Bump?" in 1974, under the Boney M name, he did the singing himself (there were very few words), and only when the song became a hit he decided to hire a team of dancers and vocalists to 'man' the group. The line-up changed several times; only Maizie Williams was there from the very beginning. They flipped a coin, and Valens called heads and won the toss. The group was created by producer Frank Farian in 1976 and was composed of four West Indian artists working in London, Germany and Netherlands: singers Marcia Barrett and Liz Mitchell, model Maizie Williams and DJ Bobby Farrell. Valens had never flown on a small plane and requested Allsup's seat. Boney M. is a Eurodance and disco group, which was phenomenally successful during the 1970s. Richardson came down with the flu and didn't feel comfortable on the bus, so Waylon gave his plane seat to him. Painter Man (about Andy Warhol).

On February 2nd, 1959, Buddy Holly chartered a Beechcraft Bonanza to take him and his new Crickets band (Tommy Allsup and Waylon Jennings) to Fargo, North Dakota. Rasputin. With the success of "Chantilly Lace," Richardson took some time off from KTRM radio and joined Buddy Holly and The Crickets, Ritchie Valens, and Dion & the Belmonts for a "Winter Dance Party" tour. Nightflight to Venus. It reached 16 on the pop charts and spent 22 weeks on the national Top 40. Belfast. Mercury bought the recording and released it during the summer of 1958. Ma Baker.

He soon cut "Chantilly Lace" as "The Big Bopper" for Pappy Dailey's D label. Sunny. Richardson's first single "Beggar To A King" had a country flavor, but failed to gain any chart action. El Lute. Dailey was promotion director for Mercury and Starday records and signed Richardson to Mercury. Daddy Cool. The man who launched Richardson as a recording artist was Harold "Pappy" Dailey from Houston. Baby Do You Wanna Bump?.

Within several months it went to #1. Jape sang background on "Running Bear", but it wasn't released until September 1959, after his death. Inspiration for the song came from Richardson's childhood memory of the Sabine river, where he heard stories about Indian tribes. Richardson also wrote "Running Bear" for his friend from Port Arthur, Texas, Johnny Preston.

Around this time, Richardson -- who played guitar-- started writing more songs. George Jones later recorded Richardson's "White Lightning", which became his first #1 country hit in 1959 (#73 on the pop charts). KTRM paid Richardson $746.50 for his overtime and he quickly hit the sack for 20 hours. During the marathon, he lost 35 pounds (16 kg). He went a total of five days, two hours and eight minutes, playing 1,821 records and taking showers during five-minute newscasts.

In May of 1957, Jape Richardson broke the record for continuous on-the-air broadcasting by eight minutes. Richardson noticed all the college kids doing a dance called The Bop, so he decided to become known as "The Big Bopper!" He kicked off a new radio show from 3 to 6 p.m., and soon The Big Bopper became the station's program director. One of the sponsors wanted Richardson for a new time slot and suggested a gimmick for the show. to 12:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Upon his discharge, he began working at KTRM radio, where he held down the "Dishwashers' Serenade" shift from 11 a.m. On April 18, 1952, Richardson married Adrianne Joy Fryou from Montegut, Louisiana, and by 1955 he had joined the United States Army, where he spent two years as a radar instructor at Fort Bliss. During this time he worked part time at KTRM radio. Richardson later studied law at Lamar College, and was a member of the band and chorus.

He graduated from Beaumont High School in 1947 and was a member of the "Royal Purple" football team, wearing number "85" as a defensive lineman. Within a short time the family moved to Beaumont, Texas. He had two younger brothers, Cecil and James. His father was an oil field worker and driller.

and Elise (Stalsby) Richardson. He was born in Sabine Pass, Texas, the oldest son of Jiles Perry, Sr. Richardson, was a disc jockey who parlayed a big voice and exuberant personality into a career as an early rock and roll star. Jiles Perry Richardson, Jr. (October 24, 1930 - February 3, 1959), better known as The Big Bopper but called Jape by his friends and who wrote songs as J.P.