Born on This Day in 1930, the Rocker Who Was Famous for His Novelty Songs and Inadvertently Saved Waylon Jennings’ Life

On this day (October 24) in 1930, J.P. Richardson Jr. was born in Sabine Pass, Texas. Throughout his all-too-short career, he was a popular radio DJ, a recording artist, and a songwriter. The Big Bopper was just starting to see chart success when he died in a plane crash alongside Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens. While he found success as a rock and roll artist, he made an immeasurable mark on country music, writing a song for one legend and inadvertently saving another’s life.

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Before he was the Big Bopper, Richardson grew up in Beaumont, Texas, where he sang in the school choir. According to the Texas State Historical Society, he began working as a disc jockey at KTRM in his hometown while attending Lamar College. Before long, he dropped out of college to focus on his growing radio career.

[RELATED: On This Day in 1959: Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper, and Ritchie Valens Tragically Died, Inspiring Don McLean’s “American Pie”]

While mild-mannered in his personal life, Richardson’s on-air persona was larger-than-life. This made him popular among listeners and helped him rise through the ranks. Before long, he became the program director at KTRM. At the time, he wasn’t just spinning records on the radio. Richardson was also writing songs.

Then, in the mid-1950s, just a few years after finishing high school, Richardson made the trip from Beaumont to Houston to begin his recording career.

J.P. Richardson: Country Singer

A year before he became the Big Bopper, J.P. Richardson recorded his first single for Pappy Daily’s D Records. “Beggar to a King” and its B-side, “Crazy Blues,” were country songs. However, they failed to chart. The same could be said for his next single, a rock and roll tune titled “Monkey Song (You Made a Monkey Out of Me).”

At the time, novelty songs were popular. So, Richardson co-wrote “The Purple People Eater Meets the Witch Doctor” with Ramone Johnson. He recorded the rocking novelty song as the Big Bopper. He backed it with “Chantilly Lace,” a song he wrote on the way to a recording session and didn’t think much about.

“Chantilly Lace” caught the attention of radio programmers, disc jockeys, and, more importantly, listeners. The song became his biggest hit, peaking at No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100. He followed that with another top 40 hit, “The Big Bopper’s Wedding,” which peaked at No. 38.

At the time, Daily was also working with an up-and-coming country singer named George Jones. In 1959, Jones found his first No. 1 with the Richardson-penned “White Lightning.”

The Big Bopper Inadvertently Saved Waylon Jennings

The Big Bopper’s popularity exploded, allowing him to quit his radio job and become a full-time performer. This landed him a spot on the Winter Dance Party tour with Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens. On February 2, 1959, the three rising stars died in a plane crash while traveling from Iowa to North Dakota.

Valens and Holly had chartered the plane so they could get to the next stop and have some downtime before taking the stage. Richardson, the bands, and other tour personnel planned to make the trip on a bus. However, Richardson had the flu, and the heater on the bus was broken. So, Waylon Jennings, Holly’s friend and bassist, traded places with the Big Bopper.

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