THE BIG BOPPER, "IT'S THE TRUTH, RUTH" C/W "THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT." MERCURY 71451 (REL. 4/1959)
In the early hours of the morning on February 3rd, 1959, a small commuter plane braved a blizzard so that three exhausted rock 'n' roll stars could get a few hours of comfort in-between the grueling paces of a Winter Dance Party held in the upper Midwest. The plane failed and everyone on board perished. The pilot and his passengers became part of rock 'n' roll legend. Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J. P. Richardson, known to his fans as The Big Bopper, were no more.
The loss of Buddy Holly was felt the deepest. Given what this young songwriter and guitarist had achieved in three years, there's no telling how popular music might have changed its course, had he not been in that prop plane. Valens was just a kid at heart, and might have left music for another career over time. Richardson is considered the ringer here. He trafficked in brash novelties in his leering persona as The Big Bopper. He'd enjoyed a major hit with 1958's "Chantilly Lace," his third single. First recorded for Texas country label D Records, it was picked up by Mercury, who'd issued two prior singles as by Jape Richardson, it soared up the charts and delighted teens (and some more open parents) with its telephonic comedy.
This was classic one-hit-wonder material, and though Richardson lacked the depth of a Buddy Holly, or the teen spirit of Valens, his bearish persona, gruff-but-appealing voice and clever songwriting make him an underestimated figure in early rock 'n' roll. The Big Bopper was never going to write a "Blowin' in the Wind" or a Tommy, but not every performer need be so profound.
Richardson had some stockpiled recordings that Mercury continued to release after his passing. A cult of idolatry didn't develop for him, as it did for Holly and Valens, and he's not in the rock 'n' roll canon. None of these posthumous releases troubled the charts. They're clever, crass and winning songs and performances--what more could one ask from a rock 'n' roll record? Today we'll hear his next-to-last Mercury release.
"It's the Truth, Ruth" has barnyard imagery right out of "Little Liza Jane," a humorous folk song. Richardson broadens the comedic horizons with the presence of a pink alligator, because why not? To a Bo Diddley beat, Richardson rattles off his busy lyrics with an auctioneer's fast diction and the broad strokes of a comedic storyteller. He uses several voices to fine effect. It's got a real swing and the only thing missing is a sax solo; you can sense the sax man is eager to blow an eight-bar blast.
As Sam The Sham and The Pharaohs would do a decade later, Richardson delivers zesty Tex-Mex rock 'n' roll with tongue in cheek and twinkle in eye.
Mercury issued a final single later in 1959. It paired another lingerie novelty, "Pink Petticoats," and a serious ballad in "The Clock," in which Richardson's unusual vocal style attempts to take root in a swamp-pop lost-love ballad. One can see him as a wizened figure in the 1960s; it's likely this is the route he would have taken. That said, the fashions of the mid-1960s might have inspired a raft of new novelty songs. We'll never know. Our buddies at Bear Family Records collected all his sides on a handsome 2010 CD; this, at last, gave Richardson some sort of legitimacy as the class clown of the first student body of rock 'n' roll.
Tomorrow: the debut record of Bobby Hebb; it's intense Nashville r&b that's a far cry from the likes of "Sunny." A Rich Records release from 1960.
Two really infectious fun songs. Richardson really seems to be enjoying himself. Love the Bo Diddly mix with swing of "It's the Truth." 'Ever try kissin' while sitting' on a limb?' is a priceless lyric.
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