Originally cut for Pappy Daily's 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]
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.[11] The single (with B-side "Think About It Darlin'")[12] was released 6 weeks after it was recorded.[11] It was for three weeks a No. 1 hit on the BillboardHot 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]
^Roland, Tom: The Billboard Book Of Number One Country Hits. New York City / New York: Billboard Books; London: Guinness Publishing Ltd., 1991, p. 66
^The single peaked at No.43; Whitburn, Joel: Top Pop Singles 1955-1993. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Ltd., 1994, p. 355
^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
.jpg)
