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Chantilly Lace (song)

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"Chantilly Lace"
Single by The Big Bopper
from the album Chantilly Lace
B-side"The Purple People Eater Meets the Witch Doctor"
ReleasedAugust 1958
StudioGold Star (Houston, Texas)[1]
GenreRock and roll
Length2:20
LabelMercury
Songwriter(s)J.P. Richardson
Producer(s)Jerry Kennedy
The Big Bopper singles chronology
"Chantilly Lace"
(1958) 		"Little Red Riding Hood"
(1958)

"Chantilly Lace" is a 1958 rock and roll song by The Big Bopper. It was produced by Jerry Kennedy, and reached No. 6 on the US Billboard Hot 100. Bruce Channel covered the song on his 1962 album, Hey! Baby.[2] The song was also covered by Jerry Lee Lewis in 1972.

History

[edit]

The song was recorded at the Gold Star Studios in Houston, Texas.[1] Originally cut for Pappy Daily's D label, the recording was purchased by Mercury Records and reissued in the summer of 1958,[3] just over six months after Chuck Berry released "Sweet Little Sixteen", which uses the same chord progression.

The song was originally released as the flip side to "The Purple People Eater Meets The Witch Doctor", which parodied "The Purple People Eater" by Sheb Wooley and "Witch Doctor" by David Seville. This was J.P. Richardson's first release under the moniker The Big Bopper. However, DJs and the public preferred the flip side "Chantilly Lace", and it was this song that became a hit.[4]

The song reached No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 and spent 22 weeks on the national Top 40. It was the third most played song of 1958.[5] On the Cash Box chart, "Chantilly Lace" reached No. 4.[6]

Lyrics

[edit]

The song depicts a young man flirting with his girlfriend on the telephone and listing things about her that he likes, including:

Chantilly lace and a pretty face
And a ponytail hangin' down
A wiggle in her walk and a giggle in her talk
Make the world go 'round.[7]

Charts

[edit]
Chart (1958) Peak
position
Canada (CHUM Hit Parade)[8] 2
UK Singles (OCC)[9] 12
US Billboard Hot 100[10] 6
US Cash Box Top 100[11] 4

Jerry Lee Lewis version

[edit]
"Chantilly Lace"
Single by Jerry Lee Lewis
from the album The Killer Rocks On
B-side"Think About It Darlin'"
ReleasedFebruary 1972 (1972-02)
RecordedJanuary 13, 1972 (1972-01-13)
Length2:50
LabelMercury
Songwriter(s)J.P. Richardson

In January 1972, Jerry Lee Lewis recorded a version of "Chantilly Lace" at the Mercury studio in Nashville. The recording was done with everyone (10 musicians and 6 backing singers) crowded into the studio as Lewis did not want any overdubbing on the record.[12] The single (with B-side "Think About It Darlin'")[13] was released 6 weeks after it was recorded.[12] It was for three weeks a No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart[14] and a top fifty pop hit in the US[15] and a Top 40 pop hit in the UK.[16] The song was included in the album The Killer Rocks On [17]

Charts

[edit]
Chart (1972) Peak
position
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[18] 18
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[19] 50
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[20] 59
Canada Country Tracks (RPM)[21] 1
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[22] 15
UK Singles (OCC)[23] 33
US Billboard Hot 100[24] 43
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[25] 1
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[26] 23
US Cash Box Top 100[27] 56
[edit]

The song inspired an answer song titled "That Makes It", recorded by actress Jayne Mansfield in 1964, and released as the B-side to "Little Things Mean A Lot".[28] Mansfield performed the song in the 1966 film The Las Vegas Hillbillys.[29]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Wood, Roger; Cano, Ray (May 27, 2015). "SugarHill Recording Studios". Texas State History Association. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
  2. ^ "Bruce Channel - Hey! Baby (And 11 Other Songs About Your Baby) Album Reviews, Songs & More | AllMusic". AllMusic.
  3. ^ Evans, Richard (2010). The Golden Age of Rock 'N' Roll. Chartwell Books. pp. 107–109. ISBN 9780785826255.
  4. ^ Cooper, B. Lee; Haney, Wayne S. (1995). Rock Music in American Popular Culture: Rock 'n' Roll Resources. Vol. 1. Haworth Press. p. 258. ISBN 9781560248613.
  5. ^ "The Official Website of 'The Big Bopper'". Officialbigbopper.com. Archived from the original on 2008-06-16. Retrieved 2008-09-02.
  6. ^ "Cash Box Top 100 Singles, October 25, 1958". Archived from the original on August 14, 2014. Retrieved November 5, 2018.
  7. ^ Gilliland, John (1969). "Show 14 - Big Rock Candy Mountain: Rock 'n' roll in the late fifties. [Part 4] : UNT Digital Library" (audio). Pop Chronicles. Digital.library.unt.edu. Retrieved 2011-04-30.
  8. ^ "CHUM Hit Parade, week of October 13, 1958".
  9. ^ "Big Bopper: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company.
  10. ^ "Billboard Hot 100". Billboard. November 10, 1958.
  11. ^ "Cash Box Top 100 Singles, week ending October 25, 1958".
  12. ^ a b Tosches, Nick (2015). Hellfire: The Jerry Lee Lewis Story. Penguin Books. ISBN 9780141924427.
  13. ^ US catalogue no.: Mercury 73273
  14. ^ Roland, Tom: The Billboard Book Of Number One Country Hits. New York City / New York: Billboard Books; London: Guinness Publishing Ltd., 1991, p. 66
  15. ^ The single peaked at No.43; Whitburn, Joel: Top Pop Singles 1955-1993. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Ltd., 1994, p. 355
  16. ^ UK catalogue no.: Mercury 6052 131; the single reached No.33 und stayed for five weeks in the charts; Rice, Jo / Rice, Tim / Gambacini, Paul / Read, Mike: The Guinness Book Of The Hits Of The 70s. London: Guinness Superlatives Ltd., 1980, p. 101
  17. ^ Album Reviews. April 15, 1972. p. 58. {{cite book}}: |magazine= ignored (help)
  18. ^ "Jerry Lee Lewis – Chantilly Lace" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  19. ^ "Jerry Lee Lewis – Chantilly Lace" (in French). Ultratop 50.
  20. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 100211." RPM. Library and Archives Canada.
  21. ^ "Top RPM Country Tracks: Issue 7699." RPM. Library and Archives Canada.
  22. ^ "Jerry Lee Lewis – Chantilly Lace" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  23. ^ "Jerry Lee Lewis: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company.
  24. ^ "Jerry Lee Lewis Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  25. ^ "Jerry Lee Lewis Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
  26. ^ "Jerry Lee Lewis Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard.
  27. ^ "Cash Box Top 100 Singles, week ending April 22, 1972".
  28. ^ Faris, Jocelyn (1994). Jayne Mansfield: A Bio-bibliography. Greenwood Press. p. 129. ISBN 9780313285448.
  29. ^ Faris, Jocelyn (1994). Jayne Mansfield: A Bio-bibliography. Greenwood Press. pp. 103–105. ISBN 9780313285448.
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