Birth Name: Jiles Perry Richardson
Date of Birth: October 24, 1930
Place of Birth: Sabine Pass, Texas, United States
Date of Death: February 3, 1959
Place of Death: Clear Lake, Iowa, United States
Ethnicity: English, small amounts of Welsh, French, French-Canadian, Irish, and Powhatan Native American
The Big Bopper was an American singer, songwriter, disc jockey, and musician. He was the son of Essie Bernice (Stalsby) and Jiles Perry Richardson, Sr.
The Big Bopper’s paternal grandparents were Gilbert Beebe Richardson (the son of Nathan Richardson and Amanda Caroline Walters) and Ruby Middleton (the daughter of Franklin J. Middleton and Ada Hutchins).
The Big Bopper’s maternal grandparents were James Frank/Franklin Stalsby (the son of The Rev. Samuel Christian Stalsby and Eliza Jane Johnson) and Ada A. Johnson (the daughter of Thomas Johnson and Margaret).
Source: Genealogy of The Big Bopper – https://familysearch.org