"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. The song was also covered by Jerry Lee Lewis in 1972.

History The song was recorded at the Gold Star Studios in Houston, Texas. Originally cut for Pappy Daily's D Records label, the recording was purchased by Mercury Records and reissued in the summer of 1958, 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.

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 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 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.

Charts Chart (1958) PeakpositionCanada (CHUM Hit Parade)2US Billboard Hot 1006US Cash Box Top 1004

Jerry Lee Lewis version

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. The single (with B-side "Think About It Darlin'")US catalogue no.: Mercury 73273 was released six weeks after it was recorded. It was for three weeks a No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chartRoland, Tom: The Billboard Book Of Number One Country Hits. New York City / New York: Billboard Books; London: Guinness Publishing Ltd., 1991, p. 66 and a top fifty pop hit in the United StatesThe single peaked at No.43; Whitburn, Joel: Top Pop Singles 1955-1993. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Ltd., 1994, p. 355 and a Top 40 pop hit in the UK.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 The song was included in the album The Killer Rocks On

Charts Chart (1972) PeakpositionUS Cashbox Top 10056

In popular culture 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". Mansfield performed the song in the 1966 film The Las Vegas Hillbillys.

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