Richardson was born in Sabine Pass, Texas, the oldest son of Jiles Perry, Sr. and Elise (Stalsby) Richardson. His father was an oil field worker and driller. He had two younger brothers, Cecil and James. Within a short time the family moved to Beaumont, Texas. 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.
Richardson later studied law at Lamar College, and was a member of the band and chorus. During this time he worked part time at KTRM radio, where in 1949 he was hired full-time and left school. On April 18, 1952, Richardson married Adrianne Joy Fryou from Montegut, Louisiana; in December 1953 their daughter, Debra Joy, was born. Earlier that year Richardson was promoted to Supervisor of Announcers at KTRM. In March 1955 he was drafted into the United States Army. His basic training was at Fort Ord, California after which Richardson spent two years as a radar instructor at Fort Bliss, Texas. Upon his discharge at the rank of Corporal in March 1957, Richardson returned to KTRM radio, where he held down the "Dishwashers' Serenade" shift from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.
One of the station's sponsors wanted Richardson for a new time slot and suggested a gimmick for the show. 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.
In May of 1957, he broke the record for continuous on-the-air broadcasting by eight minutes. He went a total of five days, two hours and eight minutes, playing 1,821 records and taking showers during five-minute newscasts. During the marathon, he lost 35 pounds (16 kg). KTRM paid Richardson $746.50 for his overtime and he quickly hit the sack for 20 hours.
According to the Internet Accuracy Project website, Richardson is credited with coining the term "rock video".
Around this time, Richardson -- who played guitar -- started writing more songs. George Jones later recorded Richardson's "White Lightning", which became Jones' first #1 country hit in 1959 (#73 on the pop charts). Richardson also wrote "Running Bear" for Johnny Preston, his friend from Port Arthur, Texas. Inspiration for the song came from Richardson's childhood memory of the Sabine river, where he heard stories about Indian tribes. Jape sang background on "Running Bear", but it wasn't released until September 1959, after his death. Within several months it went to #1.
The man who launched Richardson as a recording artist was Harold "Pappy" Dailey from Houston. Dailey 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. He soon cut "Chantilly Lace" as "The Big Bopper" for Pappy Dailey's D label. Mercury bought the recording and released it during the summer of 1958. It reached #6 on the pop charts and spent 22 weeks on the national Top 40. It also inspired an answer record by Jayne Mansfield titled "That Makes It". In "Chantilly Lace", Richardson pretends to have a flirting phone call with his girlfriend; the Mansfield record suggests what his girlfriend might have been saying at the other end of the line.
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. On February 2, 1959, Buddy Holly chartered a Beechcraft Bonanza to take him and his new Crickets band (Tommy Allsup and Waylon Jennings) to Fargo, North Dakota. Richardson came down with the flu and didn't feel comfortable on the bus, so Jennings gave his plane seat to Richardson. Valens had never flown on a small plane and requested Allsup's seat. They flipped a coin, and Valens called heads and won the toss.
In the early morning of February 3, after a performance at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa, the small four-passenger Beechcraft Bonanza took off from the Mason City airport during a blinding snow storm and crashed into Albert Juhl’s corn field several miles after takeoff at 1:05 a.m. The crash killed Holly, Valens, Richardson and the 21-year-old pilot, Roger Peterson. This event would become known as "The Day the Music Died".
Richardson, 28 when he died, left behind his wife, Adrianne, and 4-year-old daughter Debra Joy; a son, Jay Perry Richardson, was born in April of 1959. At the time of his death, Richardson had been building a recording studio in his home in Beaumont, Texas, and was also planning to invest in the ownership of a radio station. In addition, he had written 20 new songs with plans to record by himself and with other artists. Richardson was a well-loved figure who was known to care deeply about his family.
Son Jay P. Richardson took up a musical career inspired by his late father and is known professionally as "The Big Bopper, Jr." He has performed at venues around the world. Notably, he has toured on the "Winter Dance Party" tour with Buddy Holly impersonator John Mueller on some of the very same stages as his father.
In film, The Big Bopper has been portrayed by Gailard Sartain in The Buddy Holly Story and Stephen Lee in La Bamba.
Monument at Crash Site, September 16, 2003. 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. 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, this is where the plane crash was situated. He also created a similar stainless steel monument to the three musicians near the Riverside Ballroom in Green Bay, Wisconsin. That 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.
It's The Truth Ruth
The Big Bopper Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Man, I ain′t a-been rockin' since I don′t know when
Said the little red hen to the little red rooster
Oh yeah, dad, you don't rock like you use'ta
That′s the truth, Ruth, well that′s the truth, Ruth
Well that's the truth, Ruth
Ev′rybody think I'm crazy, but you′re still my baby, baby
Said the brown alligator to the pink crocodile
Hang around, baby, and I′ll kiss ya after awhile
Said the pink crocodile to the brown alligator
Kiss me now, baby, and I'll hang around later
That's the truth, Ruth, well that′s the truth, Ruth
Well that′s the truth, Ruth
Ev'rybody think I′m crazy, but you're still my baby, baby
That′s the truth, Ruth
Said the polka dot cat to the little grey mouse
Man, I think I'll chase you around the house
Said the little grey mouse to the polka dot cat
Look here, man, how come you act like that
That′s the truth, Ruth, well that's the truth, Ruth
Well that's the truth, Ruth
Ev′rybody think I′m crazy, but you're still my baby, baby
That′s the truth, Ruth
Said the little green frog to the big black snake
Let's go swimmin′ in the middle o' the lake
Said the big black snake to the little green frog
Nah, dad, I′m a-stayin' on a log
That's the truth, Ruth, well that′s the truth, Ruth
Well that′s the truth, Ruth
Ev'rybody think I′m crazy, but you're still my baby, baby
That′s the truth, Ruth
Said the big strong lion to the little lady bear
Come on, baby, let's a-go somewhere
Said the little lady bear to the big strong lion
If a-you got the money, honey, I got the time
That′s the truth, Ruth, well that's the truth, Ruth
Well that's the truth, Ruth
Ev′rybody think I′m crazy, but you're still my baby, baby
That′s the truth, Ruth!
The Big Bopper's song "It's the Truth Ruth" is a playful and whimsical tune that showcases a series of comedic conversations between various animals. Each conversation features clever word play and innuendo, highlighting the subtle flirtation and flirtatious banter between the animals. The opening conversation between the little red rooster and the little red hen sets the tone with the rooster lamenting his lack of rocking and the hen playfully teasing him about his former glory days.
The chorus of the song, "That's the truth, Ruth" is a refrain that emphasizes the playfulness of the lyrics and serves to tie the individual conversations together into a cohesive whole. The song ultimately celebrates the joys of flirting and playful banter, placing the focus on the humor and lightheartedness that comes with romantic pursuit.
Overall, "It's the Truth Ruth" is a fun and entertaining song that showcases the Big Bopper's skill as a songwriter and performer. It illustrates his unique ability to find humor and joy in unexpected places, turning simple conversations between animals into a delightful and engaging tune.
Line by Line Meaning
Said the little red rooster to the little red hen
The male bird conversed with the female bird
Man, I ain′t a-been rockin' since I don′t know when
The male bird hasn't been dancing to music for quite some time
Said the little red hen to the little red rooster
The female bird replied to the male bird's statement
Oh yeah, dad, you don't rock like you use'ta
The female bird agreed that the male bird lost his dancing skills
That′s the truth, Ruth, well that′s the truth, Ruth
The male bird affirmed what the female bird said as the truth
Well that's the truth, Ruth
The male bird acknowledged the female bird as Ruth and repeated his affirmation of the truth
Ev′rybody think I'm crazy, but you′re still my baby, baby
The male bird thinks everyone considers him insane, but the female bird is still his beloved
Said the brown alligator to the pink crocodile
The brown reptile addressed the pink reptile
Hang around, baby, and I′ll kiss ya after awhile
The brown reptile promised to give a kiss to the pink reptile later
Said the pink crocodile to the brown alligator
The pink reptile responded to the brown reptile's statement
Kiss me now, baby, and I'll hang around later
The pink reptile urged the brown reptile to kiss and then wait for a while
Said the polka dot cat to the little grey mouse
The spotted feline addressed the small rodent
Man, I think I'll chase you around the house
The spotted feline plans on running after the small rodent around the dwelling
Said the little grey mouse to the polka dot cat
The small rodent responded to the feline's statement
Look here, man, how come you act like that
The small rodent inquired why the spotted feline is behaving that way
Said the little green frog to the big black snake
The green amphibian addressed the large black reptile
Let's go swimmin′ in the middle o' the lake
The green amphibian proposed taking a dip in the center of the lake
Said the big black snake to the little green frog
The large black reptile replied to the green amphibian's statement
Nah, dad, I′m a-stayin' on a log
The large black reptile refused to go swimming and preferred staying on a log
Said the big strong lion to the little lady bear
The large feline addressed the small female bear
Come on, baby, let's a-go somewhere
The large feline suggested going somewhere together
Said the little lady bear to the big strong lion
The small female bear replied to the large feline's statement
If a-you got the money, honey, I got the time
The small female bear said that she's available to go somewhere with the large feline if he has the funds
That′s the truth, Ruth, well that's the truth, Ruth
The large feline affirmed what the small female bear said as the truth
Well that's the truth, Ruth
The large feline repeated his affirmation that what the small female bear said is true, and referred to her as Ruth
Ev′rybody think I′m crazy, but you're still my baby, baby
The large feline thinks everyone considers him insane, but the small female bear is still his beloved
Writer(s): J.p. Richardson
Contributed by Ian Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@gerrylee6955
First album I ever owned was The Big Bopper. . My daddy bought it for me when I was 5 years old. I played it over and over and knew every word. Less than a year later he was killed. He lived in the town where I was born. In fact we would trick or treat at his house though I never recall seeing him there. He was a DJ at one of our local radio stations and my older brother would have a radio on 24/7 and would listen to his show. I still occasionally drive out to the cemetery and visit my parents grave and will drive past his grave on the way to my parents graves.
@thra5herxb12s
💕💕
@MrJohnny583
Great song! Great man! Give this man his own movie! He deserves it and is way over due!
@kyldy
we need to get someone to do that who made the buddy Holly story and la Bamba
@Mrpachuko13
Lol why?
That would be one boring movie.
It wouldn't make sense to make a movie of the big bopper. It's a bunch of nursery rhymes. What adult would pay to watch it?
They're corny ass songs!!
@ogruckus3001
Mrpachuko13 No, he made alot of #1 hit songs especially Chantilly Lace. Plus he also died with 2 other rock stars. There not corny as he influenced alot of current day rock star
@phaelanjohnston3182
Mrpachuko13 your jelly because he was more successful then you were
@michaelknight8866
I am greatful that people still love to listen to my third cousin on my Mother's side of my Family
@Kaffyboy
More talent died on that small plane on Tuesday, February 3, 1959 than there is in the whole music industry today!!!!
@budlight2969
that's the truth ruth!
12.8.99