"The Big Bopper"

Jiles Perry "J. P." Richardson, Jr.
October 24, 1930 – February 3, 1959
also known as "The Big Bopper"

Was an American disc jockey, singer, and songwriter whose big voice and exuberant personality made him an early rock and roll star. He is best known for his recording of "Chantilly Lace". On February 3, 1959, a day that has become known as The Day the Music Died (from Don McLean's song "American Pie"), Richardson was killed in a plane crash in Iowa, along with Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens.

Genres:

Rock and Roll, Rockabilly, Country and Western, Novelty

Instruments:

Vocals

Contributions to music:

• One of rock's first "novelty" artists, and one of the first DJs to cross over into rock stardom
• His 1958 hit "Chantilly Lace" remains a classic of the era
• Wrote hit songs for George Jones and Johnny Preston, among others
• Showed signs of morphing into a witty rockabilly mainstay before his death
• A pioneer in the development of music video
• Will be forever immortalized in the plane crash that took his life as well as those of Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens

Early years:

The son of a Texas oilfield worker, the man born Jiles P. Richardson grew up with the nickname "Jape" (due to his first two initials) and dreamed of becoming a lawyer, enrolling at Lamar College. A natural musician, he also hosted a country music show on Beaumont's KTRM; when that station hired him fulltime, his college dreams were immediately pushed aside. After getting the afternoon slot, Richardson decided to pursue a rock format, retooling himself as "The Big Bopper" to capitalize on the latest slang and to match his imposing physical frame.

Success:

Like many influential DJs of his time, Richardson also got into other areas of the business, penning a song called "White Lightning" that George Jones would eventually take to #1, and another song, "Running Bear," that he recorded with Johnny Preston (the "Indian" background chanting is done by Richardson and Jones). Yet only when Mercury PR man Harold "Pappy" Daily took interest in Jape did he think of becoming a recording artist. His first hit was his biggest: "Chantilly Lace," a salacious one-sided phone call that rocketed up the charts. Soon, the Big Bopper was a star.

Death:

Richardson joined up with Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and Dion and the Belmonts for a miserable "Winter Dance Party" tour that found the musicians practically freezing to death in their tour bus. After a gig in Clear Lake, IA, Holly decided to charter a warm plane to get to their next gig in Duluth, MN; Richardson, who had come down with the flu, petitioned Waylon Jennings (a then-unknown in Holly's band) for his seat. The plane crashed, killing everyone aboard. Richardson has written 20 more songs to record, and had also made plans to invest heavily in what he saw as the future of the business -- music videos.

Other facts:

• Set a world record as a DJ in 1957 by playing 1,821 records nonstop for over five days -- during which time he reportedly began hallucinating and visualized his own death
• Reportedly based "Running Bear" on a story he'd heard from Native American friends
• Actress/bombshell Jayne Mansfield recorded an "answer song" to "Chantilly Lace" entitled "That Makes It"
• A notorious bad-check passer who kept checks pinned to his DJ booth
• The Bopper's son, Jay Richardson, is a professional Bopper impersonator
• Jay had his father's grave exhumed in 2007 to dispel rumors that he was shot before the crash or had initially survived it

Awards/Honors:

• Rockabilly Hall of Fame (1997)
• Texas Country Hall of Fame (2004)
• Texas Radio Hall of Fame (2008)

Recorded work:

Top 10 hits:
Pop:

"Chantilly Lace" (1958)

R&B:

"Chantilly Lace" (1958)

Other important recordings: "Big Bopper's Wedding," "Little Red Riding Hood," "Walking Through My Dreams," "Beggar To A King," "Crazy Blues," "White Lightnin'," "Bopper's Boogie Woogie," "That's What I'm Talking About," "Pink Petticoats," "Monkey Song (You Made A Monkey Out Of Me)," "It's The Truth, Ruth" "Preacher And The Bear," "Someone Watching Over You," "Old Maid," "Strange Kisses," "The Clock," "Purple People Eater Meets The Witch Doctor," "Teenage Moon"

Covered by: Buddy Holly, Joe Barry, Cat Mother & the All Night News Boys, Roy Clark, Shorty Long, Trini Lopez, R. Stevie Moore, The Nashville Teens, Bruce Channel, Jerry Lee Lewis, Louis Prima, Sha Na Na, Bill Wyman, Mitch Ryder, Glen Campbell

The Ventures

The Ventures is an American instrumental rock band formed in 1958 in Tacoma, Washington. Founded by Don Wilson and Bob Bogle, the group in its various incarnations has had an enduring impact on the development of music worldwide. With over 100 million records sold it is the best-selling instrumental band of all time. In 2008, the Ventures were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Their instrumental virtuosity, experimentation with guitar effects, and unique sound laid the groundwork for innumerable groups, earning them the moniker "The Band that Launched a Thousand Bands". While their popularity in the United States waned in the 1970s, the group remains revered in Japan, where they still tour regularly to this day.

Formed :

1959 (Tacoma, WA)

Genres:

Instrumental rock, Surf, Rock and roll

Principal Members:

Bob Bogle (b. Robert Lenard Bogle, January 16, 1934, Wagoner, OK): bass guitar, lead guitar
Don Wilson (b. February 10, 1933, Tacoma, WA): rhythm guitar
Nokie Edwards (b. Nole Floyd Edwards, May 9, 1935, Nahoma, OK): lead guitar, bass guitar
Mel Taylor (b. September 24, 1933, New York, NY (Brooklyn); d. August 11, 1996, Tarzana, CA): drums

Contributions to music:

• The world's most popular instrumental rock group of all time
• One of the crucial elements in the development of and popularizing of surf music
• Have covered thousands of songs from all areas of the modern musical landscape
• Important in popularizing the guitars/bass/drums combo as the standard for rock music
• Helped popularize the lead guitar as a crucial component of rock and roll
• A major influence on surf, hard rock, punk, and metal guitarists

Early years:

Seattle guitarists Bob Dogle and Don Wilson originally got together, ironically enough, to cut a vocal record, an ultra-rare 45 called "Cookies and Coke" that went nowhere in 1959. The next year, however, they recorded a version of Chet Atkins' album track "Walk Don't Run," done in the new surf-rock style, and pressed it on their own Blue Horizon label, started with money from Wilson's mother. It originally went nowhere, too, but they convinced DJ Pat O'Day, of local station KJR, to use "Walk" as a lead-in to news broadcasts. Before long, local Dolton Records -- which had turned down their vocal 45 -- picked it up.

Success:

The record was an instant national smash, and the Ventures began cranking out album after album of similar instrumentals, all built around popular fads and tunes of the day -- surfing, twisting, country, whatever. At their peak they recorded five or sis albums a year, and they all sold well: 1963 saw the group with five albums in the Billboard Hot 100 simultaneously. In 1962, Howie Johnson left the group due to injuries suffered from a car accident and was replaced by session man Mel Taylor, who'd played on Bobby "Boris" Pickett's "Monster Mash" and other big hits of the day. This solidified their '60s lineup.

Later years:

In 1969, the group scored another huge single with their version of the "Hawaii Five-O" theme, which also got its initial notice when a radio station began using it as background music in commercials for the popular CBS detective show. But by the early Seventies, their style of music had begun to wane in popularity (albeit only in their homeland). Although recognized as masters by guitar aficionados, most of their touring today centers around Europe and Japan, where they remain a wildly popular draw, with Bob and Don still leading the group after almost fifty years.

Other facts:

• Other members have included: Skip Moore, drums (1960); Howie Johnson, drums (1960-1962); Gerry McGee, guitar (1968-1972, 1985-present); John Durrill, keyboards (1969-1973); Leon Taylor, drums (1996-present)
• "Walk Don't Run" is the only song to hit the US Top 40 in two different versions by the same band
• "The 2000 Lb. Bee" was the first recording to use a "fuzz box" on guitar, and was played at John Belushi's funeral
• The group has sold over 40 million records in Japan, and sold twice as many records as the Beatles there in the Sixties
• Made four "instructional" albums, each with a different member's instrument deleted

Awards/Honors:

• GRAMMY Hall of Fame (2006)
• Pacific Northwest Hall of Fame (1999)
• Guitar Player Magazine Lifetime Achievement Award (1993)

Recorded work:

Top 10 hits:
Pop:

• "Walk -- Don't Run" (1960)
• "Walk-Don't Run '64 (1964)
• "Hawaii Five-0" (1969)

Top 10 albums:
Pop:

• The Ventures Play Telstar, The Lonely Bull (1963)
• The Ventures' Christmas Album (1965)

Other notable recordings: "No Trespassing," "Perfidia," "Ram-Bunk-Shush," "Lullaby Of The Leaves," "Yellow Jacket," "Driving Guitars (Ventures Twist)," "Roadrunner," "Twisted," "Spudnik," "Night Drive," "2000 Pound Bee, Pts. 1 & 2," "The Savage," "Moon Child," "Journey To The Stars," "Fugitive," "Pedal Pusher," "Slaughter On Tenth Avenue," "Diamond Head," "Action Plus," "Dick Tracy," "Flights Of Fantasy," "Underground Fire"

Covered by: The Shadows, Everclear

Behind 50s "Doo wop" Music

Doo wop was one of the most popular forms of 1950s rock and roll, with an emphasis on multi-part vocal harmonies and meaningless backing lyrics (from which the genre later gained its name), which were usually supported with light instrumentation.

Its origins were in African American vocal groups of the 1930s and 40s, like the Ink Spots and the Mills Brothers, who had enjoyed considerable commercial success with arrangements based on close harmonies. They were followed by 1940s R&B vocal acts like The Orioles, The Ravens and The Clovers, who injected a strong element of traditional gospel and, increasingly, the energy of Jump blues.

By 1954, as rock and roll was beginning to emerge, a number of similar acts began to cross over from the R&B charts to mainstream success, often with added honking brass and saxophone, with The Crows, The Penguins, The El Dorados and The Turbans all scoring major hits. Despite the subsequent explosion in records from doo wop acts in the later 50s, many failed to chart or were one-hit wonders. Exceptions included The Platters, with songs including "The Great Pretender" (1955) and The Coasters with humorous songs like "Yakety Yak" (1958), both of which ranked among the most successful rock and roll acts of the era.

Towards the end of the decade there were increasing numbers of white, particularly Italian American, singers taking up Doo Wop, creating all-white groups like The Mystics and Dion and the Belmonts and racially integrated groups like The Dell Vikings and The Impalas. Doo wop would be a major influence on vocal surf music, soul and early Merseybeat, including The Beatles.

Ritchie Valens

Ritchie Valens
(born Ricardo Esteban Valenzuela Reyes
May 13, 1941 – February 3, 1959

Was a Mexican-American singer, songwriter and guitarist. A rock and roll pioneer and a forefather of the Chicano rock movement, Valens' recording career lasted only eight months. During this time, however, he scored several hits, most notably "La Bamba", which was originally a Mexican folk song that Valens transformed with a rock rhythm and beat that became a hit in 1958, making Valens a pioneer of the Spanish-speaking rock and roll movement.

Genres:

Rockabilly, Rock and Roll, Tex-Mex

Instruments:

Vocals, Guitar

Contributions to music:

• The first Latin-American to make significant inroads into the rock and roll scene
• Among the first rock and rollers to blend traditional Latin music with the new beat
• Instrumental in introducing the Danelectro bass into rock
• Perfected an image that was tough yet vulnerable in his songs
• His ebullient vocals garnered him the nickname "The Little Richard of San Fernando"
• Combined the tremelo urgency of Bo Diddley with Buddy Holly's romanticism
Subject of one of rock's first live albums

Early years:

Richie was born into a family that loved blues and R&B as much as it did the traditional Latin songs that made up its culture, and this would prove to be a profound influence on him. Unfortunately, his parents were separated, and his father died when he was ten. By seventh grade the young Valens was playing the guitar and imitating the latest rock performers for his classmates. By high school, he was performing with local garage rockers The Silhouettes as their main singer and guitarist.

Success:

Neophyte entertainment manager Bob Keane was tipped off to Valens by a printer's assistant, and the 17-year-old Richie was soon recording demos of songs in Keane's basement. Eventually they graduated to Gold Star studios on Santa Monica Boulevard, where Valens recorded his first hit, "Come On, Let's Go." It was a huge regional hit and made some noise nationally, prompting the release of a second single, "Donna" b/w "La Bamba." Valens, a shy kid, was suddenly touring and learning the ropes.

Death:

During the infamous Winter Dance Party Tour of 1959, just one year after the success of "Come On, Let's Go," Ritchie Valens was killed, along with Buddy Holly and The Big Bopper, in a plane crash near Clear Lake, IA. (You can read the full details of the crash at this site's Buddy Holly FAQ. Although his untimely demise makes him necessarily one of rock's more tragic figures, it is his musical legacy which survives him, specifically, his groundbreaking mix of musical styles and his honesty.

Other facts:

• Manager Bob Keane convinced Richie to shorten his last name and add a distinctive "t" to his first
• Keane was also the first to suggest Valens make a rock song out of the traditonal "La Bamba"
• Valens wrote "Donna" for fellow San Fernando High classmate Donna Ludwig, and even played an early version of it over the phone
• The movie La Bamba is ostensibly about Valens' life, even though many parts are inaccurate

Awards/Honors:

• Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (2001)
• GRAMMY Hall of Fame (2000)
• Rockabilly Hall of Fame (1999)
• Hollywood Walk of Fame (6733 Hollywood Blvd.)

Songs, Albums, and Charts:

Top 10 hits:
Pop:

• "Donna" (1959)

Other important recordings: "La Bamba," "Come On, Let's Go," "That's My Little Suzie," "Ooh! My Head," "Cry Cry Cry," "Rockin' All Night," "We Belong Together," "Malaguena," "Bluebirds Over The Mountain," "Big Baby Blues," "In A Turkish Town," "Framed," "Dooby Dooby Wah," "Little Girl," "Fast Freight"

Covered by: Los Lobos, Led Zeppelin, The Ramones, The McCoys, Cliff Richard, Bobby Vee, Freddy Fender, David Johansen, Gary Glitter, The Youngbloods, Bobby Fuller, Jose Feliciano, Mongo Santamaria, Harry Belafonte, Chubby Checker

Appears in the movies: "Go, Johnny, Go!" (1959)

Bobby Darin

Bobby Darin
May 14, 1936 – December 20, 1973
born Walden Robert Cassotto
Was an American singer, actor and musician.

Genres:

Rock and Roll, Teen Idol, Jazz Vocal, Pop Vocal, Folk-rock

Instruments:

Vocals

Contributions to music:

• Scored huge hits in a variety of genres at a time when popular music was rigidly compartmentalized
• The most musically talented by far of the early-Sixties teen idols
• Arguably the most credible and successful musical artist of his time to gravitate towards acting
• Helped advance the protest movement and folk-rock genre with his abrupt musical and political left turn in the mid-Sixties
• As important in his own way to the development of Las Vegas entertainment as any member of the Rat Pack
• One of the era's most gifted jazz vocalists and a fine arranger and interpreter of others' material

Early years:

A fatherless only child born into poverty and suffering from a rhuematic fever-induced heart defect that virtually ensured his early demise, Bobby Darin had no reason not to try and become rich and famous as fast as possible. And even so, the depth of his talent was noticable early on: by the age of 18, he played five instruments, gigged in the Catskills and tried his hand at theater. After a disastrous stint with Decca, Bobby signed with Atlantic, and after three flops, scored with "Early In The Morning" (released on Brunswick as the Rinky Dinks to avoid lawsuits) and a song he'd written called "Splish Splash."

Success:

That song, written on a bet with New York DJ Murray the K that he couldn't form a song around the words, turned Darin into a teen idol overnight. Yet Darin never strayed from pop, either, as evidenced by his hit recording of "Mack The Kinfe" (from Kurt Weill's Threepenny Opera), recast in hipster swing. For the next few years, Darin would move easily between rock singles like "Queen Of The Hop" and swinging pop like "Beyond the Sea", an English-language version of Charles Trenet's "La Mer." He was the star of the New York, and, later, the Vegas nightclub scene, and like many teen idols, soon moved into acting.

Later years:

In the Sixties, Darin focused on his movie career as music changed. He also married America's sweetheart, actress Sandra Dee, whom he met on the set of his first starring role, Come September. By the mid-Sixties, however, Darin was becoming disillusioned with modern American life, a feeling which came to a head when he saw his friend Robert Kennedy assassinated in 1968. Shaken, Darin retreated, only to return as a protest singer; by the early Seventies, he was back on board with a TV variety show and more concerts. But his defect caught up with him, and Bobby Darin died from a heart infection on December 20, 1973.

Other facts:

• Rumored to have chosen his stage surname from a Mandarin restaurant sign whose first three letters were burned out
• Met and romanced Connie Francis for a time in the early Sixties
• Signed a young Wayne Newton and gave him a song called "Danke Schoen," originally meant for Darin
• Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1963's Captain Newman, M.D.
• Once claimed "Splish Splash" took only 12 minutes to write
• Discovered near the end of his life that his "sister" was actually his biological mother, and his "mother" actually his grandmother
• Willed his body to medical science, specifically, the UCLA Medical Center

Awards/Honors:

• Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1990)
• GRAMMY Awards (1959)
• GRAMMY Hall of Fame (1999)
• Songwriters Hall of Fame (1999)

Recorded work:

#1 hits:
Pop:

• "Mack The Knife" (1959)

R&B:

• "Splish Splash" (1958)

Top 10 hits:
Pop:

• "Splish Splash" (1958)
• "Queen Of The Hop" (1958)
• "Dream Lover" (1959)
• "Beyond The Sea" (1960)
• "You Must Have Been A Beautiful Baby" (1961)
• "Things" (1962)
• "Eighteen Yellow Roses" (1963)
• "You're The Reason I'm Living" (1963)
• "If I Were A Carpenter" (1966)

R&B:

• "Queen Of The Hop" (1958)
• "Early In The Morning" (1958)
• "Dream Lover" (1959)
• "Mack The Knife" (1959)

Top 10 albums:
Pop:

• This Is Darin (1960)
• That's All (1960)
• Darin At The Copa (1960)

Other popular recordings: "Mighty Mighty Man," "She's Tanfastic," "Moment Of Love," "Similau," "Lovin' You," "Plain Jane," "Artificial Flowers," "Beachcomber," "Child Of God," "Christmas Auld Lang Syne," "Clementine," "I'll Be There," "Somebody To Love," "Lazy River," "Nature Boy," "Baby Face," "If A Man Answers," "Irresistible You," "Multiplication," "What'd I Say (Part 1)," "Be Mad Little Girl," "Treat My Baby Good," "That's The Way Love Is," "Was There A Call For Me," "I Guess I'm Good For Nothing But The Blues," "Don't Dream Of Anybody But Me," "Guys And Dolls," "Down With Love," "Black Coffee," " Pete Kelly's Blues," "Bill Bailey, Won't You Please Come Home," "I Didn't Know What Time It Was," "What A Diff'rence A Day Made," "Skylark," "Just Friends," "Don't Get Around Much Anymore," "I Guess I'll Have To Change My Plan," "I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now," "The Things In This House," "Hello, Dolly!," "Mame," "The Girl That Stood Beside Me," "Darling Be Home Soon," "Lovin' You," "The Lady Came From Baltimore," "Long Line Rider," "Simple Song Of Freedom," "The Curtain Falls"
Covered by: Showaddywaddy, The Beautiful South, Robbie Williams, Gene Vincent, Buddy
Holly, Elvis Presley, Will Young, Daniel Johnston, Tim Hardin, The Paris Sisters

Appears in the movies: "The Sad Sack" (1957), "Shadows" (1959), "Heller In Pink Tights" (1960), "Come September" (1961), "Too Late Blues" (1961), "State Fair" (1962), "Hell Is For Heroes" (1962), "If A Man Answers" (1962), "Pressure Point" (1962), "Captain Newman, M.D." (1963), "That Funny Feeling" (1965), "Gunfight In Abilene" (1967), "Stranger In The House" (1967), "The Happy Ending" (1969), "Happy Mother's Day, Love George" (1973)