Who was/is Jape Richardson ? - CDs, Vinyl LPs, DVD and more
If not for his on-air duties at KTRM radio in Beaumont, Texas, Jape Richardson might never have developed his jivey deep-voiced Big Bopper alter ego. The classic 1958 rocker Chantilly Lace was the end result. Born Jiles Perry Richardson on October 24, 1930 in Sabine Pass, Texas, he grew up mostly in Beaumont and was hired at KTRM as a full-time deejay in 1949. The Big Bopper was created in 1953. He took his first loose-limbed shot at recording at J.D. Miller’s studio in Crowley, Louisiana the following year, but the Army snatched him up in 1955 for two years.
‘Pappy’ Daily was behind Jape’s entry into recording. He produced Jape’s first session at Gold Star in late summer of 1957; with either Sonny Burns or Hal Harris on lead guitar and Herb Remington on steel, he rolled through the self-penned swinger Crazy Blues with supreme confidence. Paired with Beggar To A King, the single was released on Mercury as by Jape Richardson and The Japetts. His next outing, Monkey Song (You Made A Monkey Out Of Me), changed the name of the group to The Echoes. Chantilly Lace initially came out on Daily’s D logo as by The Big Bopper in mid-’58 before Mercury picked it up. It became a #6 pop smash.
The Bopper only had enough time to post one two-sided chart entry (Big Bopper’s Wedding b/w Little Red Riding Hood) before the tragic February 3, 1959 plane crash that also killed Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens ended his life. His writing talent outlived him; George Jones and Johnny Preston each scored huge hits with his compositions later that year (White Lightning and Running Bear respectively).
Copyright © Bear Family Records®. Copying, also of extracts, or any other form of reproduction, including the adaptation into electronic data bases and copying onto any data mediums, in English or in any other language is permissible only and exclusively with the written consent of Bear Family Records® GmbH.