“Top” Ten Music Aviation Tragedies: The Big Bopper (#8)

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Fitting that I’m in Texas to highlight a Texan today. For most people, today’s entry is an afterthought. As you can tell by his presence in the top ten, I don’t see him that way. The one you always overlook with “The Day the Music Died.” #8: The Big Bopper We’ve had a Buddy Holly movie and a Ritchie Valens movie. Nothing on the Big Bopper, though. He’s the “afterthought” in the “Day the Music Died” crash. And that is wrong. Nationally speaking, Jiles Perry “JP” Richardson had only scored one major hit, “Chantilly Lace.” But that was as a performer. He was also a songwriter. Most prominently, he wrote George Jones’ hit “White Lightnin’.” He also wrote the Johnny Preston hit “Running Bear.” George Jones even played on Preston’s recording, which, sadly, was released six months after JP’s death. Then there was “Beggar to a King,” a gorgeous ballad that doesn’t sound anything at all like the novelty songs. Richardson also didn’t live to see that become a big hit, a #1 country song for Hank Snow. His wife was pregnant, with his son Jay Richardson born two months after the plane crash. Jay toured as “The Big Bopper Jr.” to keep his father’s legacy alive. He passed away from heart disease in 2013. There was a lot more to the Big Bopper than “Chantilly Lace” and the “third person” on the plane in 1959. The Big Bopper Born Jiles Perry Richardson, Jr. October 30, 1930 - February 3, 1959 (age 28) Place of crash: Clear Lake, Iowa Here’s JP doing the song he wrote which later put a turbocharge into George Jones’ career: