Big Bopper's family wants statue, Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame Induction

He’s best known for his 1958 hit “Chantilly Lace,” with the signature opening, “Heeelllooo, Baaaby,” and as the third singer to die in a 1959 plane crash that also took the lives of legends Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens. The Big Bopper -- a Beaumont, Texas native whose real name was J.P. Richardson,"Jape" to his friends -- often is labeled a one-hit-wonder. But his family wants the world to know he's more than one song and one of the four fatalities in the tragic Iowa crash that is the main subject of Don McLean’s “American Pie." A statue erected in Beaumont is one way the family wants to bring that history to light. He wrote No. 1 songs for George Jones and Johnny Preston and Sonny James, White Lightning and Running Bear, respectively, Country music artist Kevin Ray Adams emphatically points out. He also wrote one of the first five songs ever recorded on music row -- "Beggar to a King," sung by Hank Snow. “People don’t know the history," Adams said. "They don’t know that he did all these things.” Adams is married to The Big Bopper’s granddaughter Ashlyn. Her father, Jay P. Richardson, was still in his mother's womb at the time of the plane crash. And when he died, he passed to Adams the mission to push forward The Big Bopper's legacy. “I have people that want to give money already, but we’ve got to figure it out,” Adams said of the statue. He’s hoping to work with city leaders and plans to submit an official proposal to the mayor’s office to get things going. It could cost nearly $70,000 and take up to eight months to make the statue, according to a proposal from Big Statues, a Utah-based company that specializes in bronze monuments. Renderings of the statue depict Richardson as his Big Bopper character. He's dressed in a leopard-patterned sport coat, holding a rotary phone with a guitar strapped around him -- a nod to his appearance on “American Band Stand.” The idea alone has the support of Beaumont Mayor Robin Mouton and Beaumont Heritage Society executive director Shelby Brannan. “I welcome it, I do. I think it would be awesome to have a statue here of The Big Bopper. I think it’s awesome that a native Beaumonter and their family would want to come back and recognize him,” Mouton said. “I could see it weighing in on tourist attractions big time. It would be something for our (Convention and Visitors Bureau) to get involved in. So, I’m all for it.” “A statue in his memory would help get people curious in his legacy,” Brannan adds. “I don’t think his history and all of the facts about his life are well known. And I think that contributes to people today not realizing what a prolific artist he was.” His history goes beyond songs on the radio. Richardson, a US Army veteran, coined the phrase, “music video" and as the Big Bopper shot the first music videos in November 1958 just before he headed out for the fateful Winter Dance Party Tour that came to a tragic end in Clear Lake, Iowa. Just a couple days after passing through Michigan. “He’s the first person to create that type of content — for promotion is what he wanted it for — he’s not being recognized for that either. He’s the father of music videos,” Adams said. “He was in the process of buying a TV station so he could produce music videos for other artists, he created Bopper Vision, which would’ve been like MTV 32 years before MTV. “It blows my mind this guy is not being recognized for the major music accomplishments for his time. He even mentioned a tape device you hook to your TV -- long before VCRs -- and watch your favorite music video by your favorite music artist. He was far ahead of us all.” Richardson, Holly, and Valens and the band members all stayed the night in Ironwood, Michigan Feb. 1. One of those band members was Waylon Jennings. It was also in Michigan that Holly's drummer, Carl Bunch, was struck by frost bite and stayed there in the hospital for several days. Before Richardson made it big as a singer on the radio under the guise of his stage name, he was already familiar with listeners as a Beaumont DJ. He had the No. 1 country music program — where he went on air as himself — and the No. 1 rock ’n roll program. Although he still left some mystery for teenagers listening to KTRM, as it was The Big Bopper who was telling all the cool cats, teenyboppers and rock ’n rollers to keep on “swinging and singing.” With all this history, the bronze statue would just be a beginning. The family’s goal, now in its second generation, is to get Richardson inducted into the Rock ’n Roll Hall of Fame. He’s been inducted into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame and is honored in halls of fame in Texas and Iowa, but the biggest honor in Cleveland has yet to come his way. The Rock ’n Roll Hall of Fame could not be reached for comment. “J.P.’s in all these places, but he’s not in the Rock ’n Roll Hall of Fame with Buddy and Ritchie. And that really bothered my father-in-law, and he wore his feelings on his shoulder,” Adams said. Richardson’s “behind-the-scenes” contributions are reflective of early rock ’n roll advocates Alan Freed and Sam Phillips. Some may say Richardson did Phillips a favor when he set up shows and promotions in Texas for Elvis Presley in the early 1950s. Phillips produced Presley and fellow Rock ’n Roll Hall of Famers Johnny Cash and Roy Orbison at the famous Sun Records in Memphis. “Why would Elvis make a flower arrangement for him at his funeral, and send a personal telegram? J.P. booked all those high school shows promoting Elvis back in 1955,” Adams said. “During that time he also played his records, he supported Elvis in that way of booking him on gigs and supporting him by playing his music in the southeast part of Texas." Rock ’n roller Johnny Preston also owes much of his fame to Richardson. Richardson wrote Preston’s 1960 hit “Running Bear,” which cleared the way for a lifetime career of rock ’n roll fame. Richardson and George Jones provided the background vocals. “That really was his defining moment that exploded his popularity,” said granddaughter Karli Stansbury. “It put him on top for a while, and I know that he got very, very popular in Europe.” Stansbury also works at the Beaumont Heritage Society. Richardson even set a world record during his DJ years. He broadcasted 122 hours and 8 minutes in 1957 from April 29 to May 4 from the lobby of Beaumont’s historic Jefferson Theater. He reportedly played 1,821 songs and finished with “Cattle Call” by Dinah Shore. The record has since been broken and is currently held by Mario Blanco Real, a DJ in Spain who went 207 hours, 1 minute and 16 seconds. A wristwatch commemorating Richardson’s world record was found at the plane crash site in the spring of 1959 after the snow melted, along with a dice and a pair of Holly’s notable glasses. But not everything was returned, and family members are praying that a few items will turn up as more awareness of Richardson goes public. Adams said items left on the tour bus included Richardson’s Stetson and his leopard and zebra patterned sport coats and a striped jacket. Richardson's family particularly hope to receive his guitar strap embroidered with "The Big Bopper" down the center. Adams said believes he knows who has the strap but hasn’t communicated with him in regard to returning it. Today, some Beaumont visitors make their way to Forest Lawn Memorial Park to pay their respects to Richardson and leave mementos, notes and flowers at his gravesite. Forest Lawn Director Danny Blanchard said visitors come to the cemetery office two to three times a month looking for directions to The Big Bopper’s final resting place. Adams and Richardson’s grandchildren, which includes his brothers-in-law Jay Richardson, Jr. and Thomas Richardson, are hoping the bronze statue of their family patriarch will give Beaumont visitors more than just a grave site to visit. A prominent, high traffic location in Beaumont would be ideal for a lasting rock ’n roll memorial for generations to come. “There’s nothing nowhere — and that’s why everyone goes to the gravesite,” Adams said. “Hopefully someone will have their heart involved and want to help us.” But everyday the mission continues, every action taken to spread the knowledge that The Big Bopper was more than a man that would “act so funny,” and “feel real loose like a long-neck goose,” is another step closer to a statue and enshrinement in Ohio. “We recently wrote a check to the music program where our kids go to school — these people don’t know that The Big Bopper’s great-grandchildren are going to school here and we want to support the music program,” Adams said. “All in honor of The Big Bopper and my father-in-law.”

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