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The 1973 film American Graffiti's success confirmed what many knew all along, namely the connection rock 'n roll has with automobiles. Biographical books about B. Holly and R. Valens have stated that Holly owned a coral '58 Impala and Valens a '58 T-bird convertible @ the time of their deaths (although automotive historians have questioned whether the specific vehicles that showed up a major auction, such as Barret-Jackson, are in fact the ones owned by Holly and Valens).
Question: What vehicle did J. P. Richardson own on or about Feb. 3, 1959? He was a big fellow so his vehicle may have itself been a "big bopper". Perhaps a Lincoln or a Cadillac. Thoughts?
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The first thing that came to my head was a Cadillac.
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M.L. (Moderator Lorne) is excellent at digging up obscure material.
S-a-a-a-y where is M.L. today?
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Who knows? Maybe he was behind the wheel of this baby. Probably wouldn't impress a girl in Chantilly lace, but lots of leg room for sure.
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THAT is way too kewl, Roman
Clearly a "tribute" effort (not a vehicle that was used as indicated in 1958). The restoration hobby is enormous around Greater Portland/Seattle/Victoria/Vancouver
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I tried searching about this, but didn't find anything. However, my search did turn up this bit of car-related trivia regarding Chantilly Lace at
that may be of interest.
" ... Marge Hall, the wife of Bill Hall, Richardson’s manager, recalls this story: The Halls and Richardson were driving from Beaumont to Houston on Highway 90 and discussed what to put on the flip side. A Hank Williams song was suggested; everyone loved those. But Hall and J.P. discussed a concept for another song the Bopper had in mind: It was about “a guy talking to a chick on the telephone.” Marge Hall told Monroe that “Chantilly Lace” was completed before they reached Houston. Then Richardson, who was car sick, swapped seats with Marge, who’d been riding in front."
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Thx for finding that, Lorne. Maybe the Bopper didn't own a car. He was also ill on the tour bus. Wondering if he suffered from motion sickness. So many (trivial) questions.
By the way, here's a tip for trivia fans. An obscure answer is often found in (generally small town) libraries. I have initiated that and will report back if anything meaningful surfaces (unless the Beaumont librarian ignores my question)
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Lorne wrote:
, , , there was a car in the original Mad Max movie with the call sign "Big Bopper"
Unrelated, to the best of my knowledge
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Definitely unrelated, and that's why I had bypassed any search results mentioning it originally. But I thought that it was an interesting bit of trivia as well ... I presume that whoever decided to use that name was a fan of J.P., and I thought that it was a pretty good use of his nickname.
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Is now in the hands of Paul Eddy (presumably no relation to Duane), library administrator, Beaumont TX
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A message just arrived from Bill Grace of the Beaumont TX library system. They have nothing on file except J. P. Richardson's published obit. Stay tuned; the Bopper's memory should not be overshadowed by memories of Buddy Holly's Impala and Ritchie's T-Bird
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G, thinking more of this and sticking with my opinion of his car being a Cadillac, I also picture this Caddy with a huge hood ornament and steer antlers. Don't know where they would go, but the more flamboyant the better.
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It's me Karen wrote:
G, thinking more of this and sticking with my opinion of his car being a Cadillac, I also picture this Caddy with a huge hood ornament and steer antlers. Don't know where they would go, but the more flamboyant the better.
Is a good guess, as Webb Pierce and Hank Snow among others had steer horns mounted on their vehicle's grill or front bumper. However if the Bopper had such a distinctive car, photos would likely have survived.
The search is currently heading to vintage (so-called classic) car clubs in Beaumont and Houston, for leads.
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Via Wikipedia, I found out that the following company handles the rights to his estate. It could be worth contacting them to see if they would have any info about this.
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PROGRESS REPORT: A contact has provided the following gem: The Highway Beautification Act of 1965, nicknamed "Lady Bird's Bill" was a pet project of Lady Bird Johnson. The act required junkyards along Interstate and primary highways to be removed. The source goes on to state that as Pres. Lyndon Johnson was a prominent Texan, that the First Lady got considerable attention for her campaign which likely resulted in more compliance in Texas than elsewhere.
The source goes on to speculate that if the Bopper drove a common "beater' it would have been at least or 7 model years old when this bill was passed, and could have unceremoniously gone to the crusher, its provenance unrecognized
Last edited by G. (December 16, 2020 8:05 am)