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
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.[1] The song was also covered by Jerry Lee Lewis in 1972.

History

Originally cut for

D label, the recording was purchased by Mercury Records and reissued in the summer of 1958,[2] 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.[3]

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.[4] On the Cash Box chart, "Chantilly Lace" reached No. 4.[5]

Lyrics

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 pony tail hangin' down
A wiggle in her walk and a giggle in her talk
Make the world go 'round.[6]

Charts

Chart (1958) Peak
position
Canada (CHUM Hit Parade)[7] 2
UK Singles (OCC)[8] 12
US Billboard Hot 100[9] 6
US
Cash Box Top 100[10]
4

Jerry Lee Lewis version

"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,

Billboard Hot Country Singles chart[13] and a top fifty pop hit in the US[14] and a Top 40 pop hit in the UK.[15] The song was included in the album The Killer Rocks On [16]

Charts

Chart (1972) Peak
position
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[17] 18
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[18] 50
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[19] 59
Canada Country Tracks (RPM)[20] 1
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[21] 15
UK Singles (OCC)[22] 33
US Billboard Hot 100[23] 43
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[24] 1
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[25] 23
US
Cash Box Top 100[26]
56

In popular culture

The song inspired an

Little Things Mean A Lot".[27] Mansfield performed the song in the 1966 film The Las Vegas Hillbillys.[28]

References

  1. ^ "Bruce Channel - Hey! Baby (And 11 Other Songs About Your Baby) Album Reviews, Songs & More | AllMusic". AllMusic.
  2. .
  3. .
  4. ^ "The Official Website of 'The Big Bopper'". Officialbigbopper.com. Archived from the original on 2008-06-16. Retrieved 2008-09-02.
  5. ^ "Cash Box Top 100 Singles, October 25, 1958". Archived from the original on August 14, 2014. Retrieved November 5, 2018.
  6. ^ 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.
  7. ^ "CHUM Hit Parade, week of October 13, 1958".
  8. ^ "Big Bopper: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company.
  9. ^ "Billboard Hot 100". Billboard. November 10, 1958.
  10. ^ "Cash Box Top 100 Singles, week ending October 25, 1958".
  11. ^ .
  12. ^ US catalogue no.: Mercury 73273
  13. ^ Roland, Tom: The Billboard Book Of Number One Country Hits. New York City / New York: Billboard Books; London: Guinness Publishing Ltd., 1991, p. 66
  14. ^ The single peaked at No.43; Whitburn, Joel: Top Pop Singles 1955-1993. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Ltd., 1994, p. 355
  15. ^ 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
  16. ^ Album Reviews. April 15, 1972. p. 58. {{cite book}}: |magazine= ignored (help)
  17. ^ "Jerry Lee Lewis – Chantilly Lace" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  18. ^ "Jerry Lee Lewis – Chantilly Lace" (in French). Ultratop 50.
  19. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 100211." RPM. Library and Archives Canada.
  20. ^ "Top RPM Country Tracks: Issue 7699." RPM. Library and Archives Canada.
  21. ^ "Jerry Lee Lewis – Chantilly Lace" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  22. ^ "Jerry Lee Lewis: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company.
  23. ^ "Jerry Lee Lewis Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  24. ^ "Jerry Lee Lewis Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
  25. ^ "Jerry Lee Lewis Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard.
  26. ^ "Cash Box Top 100 Singles, week ending April 22, 1972".
  27. .
  28. .