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.
White Lightnin'
The Big Bopper Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Me and my old pappy had a hand in a still
We brewed white lightnin' 'til the sun went down
Then he'd fill him a jug and he'd pass it around
Mighty, mighty pleasin', pappy's corn squeezin'
Whshhhoooh... white lightning
[Chorus]
Searchin' for the place where he made his brew
They were looking, tryin to book him,
But my pappy kept cookin'
Whshhhoooh... white lightning
Well I asked my old pappy why he called his brew
White lightning 'stead of mountain dew
I took a little sip and right away I knew
As my eyes bugged out and my face turned blue
Lightning started flashin' and thunder started crashin'
Shhhoooh... white lightnin'
[Chorus]
Well the "G" men, "T" men, revenuers, too
Searchin' for the place where he made his brew
They were looking, tryin to book him,
But my pappy kept a-cookin'
Whshhhoooh . . . white lightning
Well a city slicker came and he said "I'm tough"
I think I want to taste that powerful stuff
He took one g-g-glug and drank it right down
And I heard him a moaning as he hit the ground
Mighty, mighty pleasin', pappy's corn squeezin'
Whshhhoooh... white lightning
[Chorus]
Well the "G" men, "T" men, revenuers, too
Searchin' for the place where he made his brew
They were looking, tryin' to book him,
but my pappy kept cookin'
Whshhhoooh... white lightning...
The Big Bopper's song White Lightnin' is a tale of moonshining, a practice of illegal alcohol distillation that was particularly popular in rural and mountainous regions of the southeastern United States. The song describes the singer's experiences with his father, making the illegal alcoholic beverage in North Carolina. The lyrics are filled with euphemisms for the illegal practice, such as calling the moonshine "white lightnin'" and referring to the agents tasked with enforcing the law as "G" men, "T" men, revenuers, and so on. The song tells of the constant threat of being caught by the authorities but also the pleasures of drinking the potent brew and the pride in continuing to defy the law.
The story of White Lightnin' is one that captures the essence of a time and place, a piece of Americana rooted in a long tradition of distilling. The lyrics are evocative and humorous, capturing the dialect of a specific region and the playful attitudes of those who participate in the making and consuming of illicit alcohol. The message of the song seems to be that sometimes the line between right and wrong is blurry, and those who are willing to take risks can find pleasure in defying convention.
Line by Line Meaning
Well in North Carolina, way back in the hills
The story starts a while back in rural North Carolina.
Me and my old pappy had a hand in a still
Me and my father were involved in producing moonshine.
We brewed white lightnin' 'til the sun went down
We distilled moonshine from dawn to dusk.
Then he'd fill him a jug and he'd pass it around
My father would pour a jug of moonshine and share it with others.
Mighty, mighty pleasin', pappy's corn squeezin'
The moonshine was satisfying and delicious because of the corn mash.
Whshhhoooh... white lightning
The sound effect signifies the sound of the moonshine being poured out of a jug.
[Chorus]
The chorus shows the conflict between us and the authorities who were looking to arrest us for producing moonshine.
Well the "G" men, "T" men, revenuers, too
The people searching for us were federal agents named G-men, Terrorists or Moonshinerss, and revenuers.
Searchin' for the place where he made his brew
They were trying to find the location where we produced our moonshine.
They were looking, tryin to book him,
They were on the lookout for us and trying to arrest us.
But my pappy kept cookin'
But my father continued to make moonshine.
Well I asked my old pappy why he called his brew
I questioned my father about why he named the moonshine 'White Lightning' instead of 'Mountain Dew'.
White lightning 'stead of mountain dew
White Lightning is a metaphor for the strong kick that comes with each sip while 'Mountain Dew' implies something much weaker.
I took a little sip and right away I knew
After taking a sip of it, I understood why it was named White Lightning.
As my eyes bugged out and my face turned blue
The moonshine was so potent that my face turned blue and my eyes popped out in shock.
Lightning started flashin' and thunder started crashin'
The sound of thunder and lightning is a metaphor for the intensity of White Lightning.
Shhhoooh... white lightnin'
This sound effect is associated with the intense reaction White Lightning had on people drinking it.
[Chorus]
The chorus repeats, emphasizing the conflict between authorities and us.
Well a city slicker came and he said "I'm tough"
A 'city slicker,' a person from the city who thought themselves tough, came by and requested White Lightning.
I think I want to taste that powerful stuff
He expressed a desire to try it out and see how it hit.
He took one g-g-glug and drank it right down
The city slicker took a sip of the moonshine in one gulp.
And I heard him a moaning as he hit the ground
The moonshine had a strong effect and caused the city slicker to collapse on the ground.
Mighty, mighty pleasin', pappy's corn squeezin'
The phrase is repeated to remind the listeners how enjoyable the moonshine was.
Whshhhoooh... white lightning
The chorus repeats again with the sound of moonshine pouring out of a jug.
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing, CARLIN AMERICA INC, BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC, GLAD MUSIC CO.
Written by: J.P. RICHARDSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@Rushstone56-Rebirth
Big Bopper is amazing. I'm 25 and have been listening to his music for close on a decade, and he has such energy in his songs. No one can do what he did. Rest in Peace, Bopper
@tabithamclard7248
Nobody does The Big Bopper's songs as good as The Big Bopper himself...
@StephenLuke
RIP
J.P. Richardson Jr.
(1930-1959)
A victim onboard a Beechcraft Bonanza which crashed in Grant Township, Cerro Gordo County, Iowa, U.S. due to following loss of control in poor weather at night.
@argononeya7080
The Big Bopper That's all ya gotta know ! This man is so worthy of his story to be known He contributed so much that I don't where to start .This man should have a movie about his life
@valinormons
I don’t know who’s playing the guitar in this great song, but every rock guitarist that came along afterwards, owes him a thank you!
@9284vr
This original version rocks and with great sound effects! Makes the George Jones cover version sound pretty tame by comparison.
@JMPK23
I cant imagine what music would be like today if the three of them didn't die. World would be so different
@nicksmith6845
Nothing better than the original. Most excellent. Thank you.
@JohnSmith-oj6ir
I was a DJ in Beaumont back in the early 80's and I worked with a couple of older guys who'd known J.P. and worked with him back in the old days. They had some great stories.
@johnperkens600
My father had the pleasure of knowing Bopper. I was so upset when he died.