"Chantilly Lace" is a 1958

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...

song by

The Big Bopper Jiles Perry Richardson Jr. (October 24, 1930 – February 3, 1959), better known by his stage name The Big Bopper, was an American musician and disc jockey. His best-known compositions include " Chantilly Lace," " Running Bear", and " White Ligh ...

. It was produced by

Jerry Kennedy Jerry Glenn Kennedy (born 10 August 1940)Cusic, Don. (1998) "Jerry Kennedy". In ''The Encyclopedia of Country Music''. Paul Kingsbury, ed. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 277–278. is an American record producer, songwriter and guitar pla ...

, and reached No. 6 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100.

Bruce Channel Bruce Channel ( ; born November 28, 1940) is an American singer-songwriter best known for his 1962 number-one hit record " Hey! Baby". Career Channel performed originally for the radio program ''Louisiana Hayride'' and then joined with the harm ...

covered the song on his 1962 album, ''Hey! Baby''. The song was also covered by

Jerry Lee Lewis Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American pianist, singer, and songwriter. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as "rock 'n' roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis m ...

in 1972.

History

The song was recorded at the

Gold Star Studios Gold Star Studios was an independent recording studio located in Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood, California. In its entire history, Gold Star was one of the most successful commercial recording studios in the world. Founded by David S. Gold ...

in Houston, Texas. Originally cut for

Pappy Daily Harold W. Daily (February 8, 1902 – December 5, 1987), better known as "Pappy" Daily, was an American country music record producer and entrepreneur who cofounded the Texas-based record label Starday Records. Daily worked with many of the well ...

's D label, the recording was purchased by

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. Mercury Records released ...

and reissued in the summer of 1958, just over six months after

Chuck Berry Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, guitarist and songwriter who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and de ...

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 "The Purple People Eater" is a novelty song written and performed by Sheb Wooley, which reached number one on the ''Billboard'' pop charts in 1958 from June 9 to July 14, number one in Canada, number 12 overall in the UK Singles Chart, and top ...

" by

Sheb Wooley Shelby Fredrick Wooley (April 10, 1921 – September 16, 2003) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He recorded a series of novelty songs, including the 1958 hit rock-and-roll comedy single "The Purple People Eater", and under the name ...

and "

Witch Doctor A witch doctor (also spelled witch-doctor), or witchcraft doctor, is a kind of magical healer who treats ailments believed to be caused by witchcraft. The term is often misunderstood, and they could more accurately be called "anti-witch doctors ...

" by

David Seville David "Dave" Seville is a fictional character, the adoptive father and producer and manager of the fictional singing group ''Alvin and the Chipmunks''. The character was created by Ross Bagdasarian, who had used the name "David Seville" as his ...

. 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. 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. On the ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' chart, "Chantilly Lace" reached No. 4.

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 Chantilly lace is a handmade bobbin lace named after the city of Chantilly,"Chantilly" ''The Oxford English Dictionary''. 2nd ed. 1989. France, in a tradition dating from the 17th century. The famous silk laces were introduced in the 18th cent ...
and a pretty face
And a
ponytail A ponytail is a hairstyle in which some, most, or all of the hair on the head is pulled away from the face, gathered and secured at the back of the head with a hair tie, clip, or other similar accessory and allowed to hang freely from that po ...
hangin' down
A wiggle in her walk and a giggle in her talk
Make the world go 'round.

Charts

Jerry Lee Lewis version

In January 1972,

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. The single (with B-side "Think About It Darlin'") was released 6 weeks after it was recorded. It was for three weeks a No. 1 hit on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Hot Country Singles Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data along with digital sales and streaming. ...

chart and a top fifty pop hit in the US and a Top 40 pop hit in the UK. The song was included in the album '' The Killer Rocks On''

Charts

In popular culture

The song inspired an

answer song An answer song, response song or answer record is a song (usually a recorded track) made in answer to a previous song, normally by another artist. The concept became widespread in blues and R&B recorded music in the 1930s to the 1950s. Answer son ...

titled "That Makes It", recorded by actress

Jayne Mansfield Jayne Mansfield (born Vera Jayne Palmer; April 19, 1933 – June 29, 1967) was an American actress, ''Playboy'' Playmate, and sex symbol of the 1950s and early 1960s. She was known for her numerous publicity stunts and open personal life. He ...

in 1964, and released as the B-side to " Little Things Mean A Lot". Mansfield performed the song in the 1966 film '' The Las Vegas Hillbillys''. In 1991, the cartoon Wish Kid, starring Macaulay Culkin, used an altered version of Chantilly Lace as the shows intro. Changing the words from "Oh baby, that's what I like" to "Yo baby, wish is what I like". The show only ran for 13 episodes.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chantilly Lace (song) 1958 songs 1958 debut singles 1972 singles The Big Bopper songs Jerry Lee Lewis songs Mitch Ryder songs Mercury Records singles Novelty songs Shorty Long songs Song recordings produced by Jerry Kennedy Songs about telephone calls Songs written by the Big Bopper