On this day (October 24) in 1930, J.P. Richardson Jr. was born in Sabine Pass, Texas. Throughout his all-too-short career, he was a popular radio DJ, a recording artist, and a songwriter. The Big ...

Jiles Perry "J.P." Richardson Jr. (October 24, 1930 – February 3, 1959), better known by his stage name The Big Bopper, was an American musician and disc jockey. His best-known compositions include ...

One of the most historic music venues in the country is expanding, and it’s going to feature an exhibit that’s not only dedicated to the three rock ’n’ roll icons that made it famous, but the genre ...

Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens & Big Bopper Exhibit Launches at Final Venue From the Night They Died originally appeared on Parade. Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson were ...

On February 3, 1959, three influential rock and roll performers—Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J.P. Richardson, known as "The Big Bopper"—along with pilot Roger Peterson, tragically lost their lives ...

This essay is adapted from Merrick Morton’s “La Bamba: A Visual History,” published by Hat & Beard Press. “Dance!! Dance!! Dance!! to the music of the Silhouettes Band!!” read the handbill. The ...

Though best known for comedy, he also played serious roles, including a sinister sheriff in “Mississippi Burning.” The director Alan Rudolph cast him in nine films. By Richard Sandomir Gailard Sartain ...

Gailard Sartain on the set of "Roadie" in 1980. (Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images) Gailard Sartain, the character actor best known for his role in “The Buddy Holly Story” and his work on variety ...

Gailard Sartain, the character actor and comedian whose breakthrough role on Hee Haw launched a career of playing Southern good-ol’-boy that included his memorable performance as The Big Bopper in ...

J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson suffered massive fractures and likely died immediately in the 1959 plane crash in Iowa that also killed early rock 'n' rollers Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens, a ...

The second day of the Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Championship was played on Thursday, and all top-four seeds have advanced to the semi-finals, but it wasn't without a scare. The BYU Cougars stunned ...