# Born 96 Years Ago Today on the Texas Gulf Coast, the 50s Rock Legend Behind Novelty Hits and George Jones’ First No. 1

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/born-96-years-ago-today-on-the-texas-gulf-coast-the-50s-rock-legend-behind-novelty-hits-and-george-jones-first-no-1/
- Published: 2026-10-24T09:30:00+00:00
- Updated: 2026-10-24T10:09:44+00:00
- Original publisher: American Songwriter
- Original article: https://americansongwriter.com/born-96-years-ago-today-on-the-texas-gulf-coast-the-50s-rock-legend-behind-novelty-hits-and-george-jones-first-no-1/
- Topics: Entertainment, Music

## Key points

- The Big Bopper was born 96 years ago in Texas.
- “Chantilly Lace” reached number six on the pop chart.
- His songs also brought early chart success to George Jones and Johnny Preston.

## Summary

Jiles Perry “J.P.” Richardson Jr., known as The Big Bopper, was born in Texas on 24 October 1930. A rock and roll pioneer, he became famous for novelty songs including “Chantilly Lace”, and also wrote “White Lightnin’”, George Jones’ first number-one hit. His songwriting helped shape the early careers of Jones and Johnny Preston.

Richardson began in radio, adopted his stage name after seeing students dance the Bop, and set a record by broadcasting continuously for more than five days in 1957. “Chantilly Lace” reached number six on the Billboard pop chart and spent 22 weeks in the top 40; he also wrote “Running Bear”, a number-one hit for Preston. Richardson died aged 28 in the 1959 plane crash that also killed Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.