Big Bopper's Coffin To Be Sold On E-Bay

• 8th Jan 2009

A coffin occupied by 50's DJ and singer, The Big Bopper, for nearly 50 years is to be sold on eBay by his son this month. As well all know, The Big Bopper, real name JP Richardson, was killed in the same plane crash that killed Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens in 1959. His body was exhumed in 2007 in order to be moved from its original site at the Forest Lawn Cemetery in Beaumont to a new site under a life-sized statue of the star.

Richardson settled into his new grave in a new coffin, and the old one has since been on display in the Texas Musicans Museum in Hillsboro, Texas. His son, Jay, who was still unborn when his father died, told the Beaumont Enterprise newspaper:

“I have no personal use for the casket. When you get down to it, it is just a metal box. More important is what this particular metal box represents. In another 200 years, will people care about rock 'n' roll? Who knows? But why would I want to destroy it? Even though it was Dad's resting place for 48 years, it's also a unique opportunity to learn more about the early years of rock 'n' roll”.