February 3, 1959, is remembered as “The Day the Music Died.” On that day, Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, and J.P. Richardson, also known as The Big Bopper, tragically died in a plane crash near Mason City, Iowa.
Buddy Holly is the most remembered of the three. He was very popular in the UK, and even after his death, his records continued to do well. There was a movie made about his life, as well as one about Richie Valens.
Although he’s not completely forgotten, there hasn’t been a movie made about The Big Bopper’s life yet. Here’s a picture of him in 1955 with his wife, Adrienne (sometimes spelled “Adrianne” in biographies). He’s holding a Schlitz beer, for which he did commercials. His biggest hit was “Chantilly Lace,” a fun, brassy song full of humor. In real life, though, he was said to be quiet and shy until he got behind a microphone, where he took on a different persona. He was also a radio DJ.
When he died, he was at the peak of his fame but had no royalties yet. He only had $8 in the bank, a car worth $400, and a $100 guitar. His wife had to pay over $2,000 for his funeral. Just a short time after his death, his estate would have been earning $100,000 a year in royalties. At the time of the crash, his wife was pregnant with their son, Jay, who was born 80 days later.
Jay grew up to become a performer and kept his father’s memory alive by doing tribute acts. As he grew older, he had one question: Did his father survive the crash for a while? There were rumors that Buddy might have survived for a bit after the crash. A gun belonging to Buddy was found at the scene, and Buddy’s body was found a distance away, as if he had tried to crawl. There were even rumors of a shooting on the plane before the crash.
In 2007, Jay decided to have his father’s grave opened and his body examined. Surprisingly, the body was well preserved, and The Big Bopper’s face was still recognizable. But the autopsy revealed that the body had so many fractures that movement would have been impossible. It showed that he had died on impact, and there were no signs of a bullet wound.
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