Cat. No. VV 1092: THE BIG BOPPER ~ OH, BABY THAT'S WHAT I LIKE. STAR RECORDS STAR-1020.

USED VINYL RECORD. PART OF A COLLECTION NOW UP FOR SALE.

THE STORY OF THE BIG BOPPER (JILES PERRY "J.P." RICHARDSON) IS PRETTY MUCH KNOWN BY EVERYONE IN THE MUSIC INDUSTRY. JILES WAS A DISC JOCKEY AND A MUSICIAN AND HIS BEST-KNOWN COMPOSITIONS INCLUDE "CHANTILLY LACE" (RELEASED UNDER THE NAME "THE BIG BOPPER"), "RUNNING BEAR" ( A MASSIVE HIT FOR JOHNNY PRESTON) AND "WHITE LIGHTNING" THE LATTER OF WHICH BECAME GEORGE JONES'S FIRST NUMBER-ONE HIT IN 1959. BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY REMEMBERED AS HAVING DIED IN THE PLANE CRASH ALONG WITH BUDDY HOLLY AND RITCHIE VALENS ON 3 FEBRUARY, 1959 NEAR CLEAR LAKE, IOWA.

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. IN MARCH 1955, HE WAS DRAFTED INTO THE UNITED STATES ARMY. IN MARCH 1957, FOLLOWING HIS DISCHARGE AS A CORPORAL, HE RETURNED TO KTRM RADIO WHERE HE HELD DOWN THE "DISHWASHERS SERENADE" SHIFT, AS IT WAS KNOWN BY, FROM 11.00AM TO 12.30PM MONDAY TO FRIDAY.

ONE OF THE STATION'S SPONSORS WANTED RICHARDSON FOR A NEW TIME SLOT AND SUGGESTED AN IDEA FOR A SHOW. JILES 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 3.00PM TO 6.00PM AND HE SOON BECAME THE STATION'S PROGRAM DIRECTOR. IN MAY 1957, JILES BROKE THE RECORD FOR CONTINUOUS ON-AIR BROADCASTING BY 8 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 5-MINUTE NEWSCASTS. RICHARDSON IS CREDITED FOR CREATING THE FIRST MUSIC VIDEO IN 1958, AND RECORDED AN EARLY EXAMPLE OF HIMSELF.

RICHARDSON, WHO PLAYED GUITAR, BEGAN HIS MUSICAL CAREER AS A SONGWRITER. THE MAN WHO LAUNCHED RICHARDSON AS A RECORDING ARTIST WAS HAROLD "PAPPY" DAILY WHO WAS PROMOTION DIRECTOR FOR MERCURY AND STARDAY RECORDS AND SIGNED RICHARDSON TO MERCURY. RICHARDSON'S FIRST RECORD, "BEGGAR TO A KING" FAILED TO GAIN ANY CHART ACTION.

RICHARDSON SOON CUT THE SELF-PENNED "CHANTILLY LACE" AS THE BIG BOPPER FOR PAPPY DAILY'S D LABEL. MERCURY BOUGHT THE RECORDING AND RELEASED IT AT THE END OF JUNE 1958. IT SLOWLY BEGAN PICKING UP AIRPLAY AND EVENTUALLY SOLD IN EXCESS OF ONE MILLION COPIES BY THE END OF 1958. IN NOVEMBER 1958, HE SCORED A SECOND HIT ENTITLED "THE BIG BOPPER'S WEDDING". BOTH "CHANTILLY LACE" AND "THE BIG BOPPER'S WEDDING" WERE RECEIVING TOP 40 RADIO AIRPLAY THROUGH JANUARY 1959 AND THIS RESULTED IN THE BIG BOPPER BEING INCLUDED ON THE ILL-FATED "WINTER DANCE PARTY" TOUR WHICH SUFFERED SUCH A TRAGIC EVENT NEAR CLEAR LAKE.

THIS ALBUM WAS RELEASED ON THE "STAR" LABEL, A LABEL OF WHICH WE CAN FIND NO INFORMATION ABOUT, DURING THE 1970s OR EARLY 1980S AND INCLUDES RARE TRACKS AND ALTERNATE TAKES OF HIS RECORDINGS WHICH WERE NOT WELL KNOWN TO THE PUBLIC AT THE TIME OF THIS RELEASE ALONG WITH TWO TRIBUTE SONGS BY RAY CAMPI AND DONNA DAMERON. BOTH THE SLEEVE AND THE RECORD ARE GRADED AS NEAR MINT WITH VIRTUALLY NO SIGN OF WEAR.

TRACK LISTING - Side 1: Boogie Woogie / Crazy Blues / Purple People Eater Meets The Witchdoctor / That's What I'm Talking About / Beggar To A King / It's The Truth Ruth. Side 2: Walking Through My Dreams / Monkey Song / Teenage Moon / The Man I Met (Ray Campi) / Bopper 486609 (Donna Dameron).

12" VINYL RECORD