Reissue Theory: Version Especial por Cinco de Mayo

Today is Cinco de Mayo, so The Second Disc is going to bring you two of the most unusual Spanish-oriented pop music endeavors in recent memory. These are two deluxe editions with very different sounds, but they’re connected not only by record label group but their wacky reinterpretation for Spanish audiences.

Viva la musica after the jump!

Helloooooooo, Baby!

It’s odd that the work of Jiles Perry Richardson, Jr., known more commonly as The Big Bopper, doesn’t get reissued nearly as much as one would think. The Big Bopper was, along with Buddy Holly and Richie Valens, one of the victims of the infamous Feb. 3, 1959 plane crash – “The Day the Music Died,” as any rock fan can attest – but for some reason, Richardson gets short shrift. Buddy Holly got a fantastic box set last year from Hip-o Select and Valens got a similarly expansive box in 1998. Until now, the Bopper enjoyed a Rhino compilation in 1989, but that was it.

Whatever the reason – the comparatively smaller amount of material or the (admittedly wrongheaded) argument that Richardson was better known as a DJ or novelty act than the more musicanly Holly or Valens – that’s about to be rectified. German reissue label Bear Family has set a new compilation of Big Bopper material, entitled Hellooo Baby – You Know What I Like!, for a June 1 release.

This new compilation includes all 19 tracks included on the previous Rhino set (Hellooo Baby! The Best of The Big Bopper 1954-1959) plus a few more tracks (including rare single-only versions of some of his tracks). As an added bonus, there are an additional eight cuts featuring tributes and answer songs to some of the Bopper’s most beloved tunes. Accompanied by generous liner notes by Johnette Duff, writer-producer of an upcoming Big Bopper film, this looks to be a great set devoted to one of rock’s early legends.

If that’s what you like (and The Second Disc knowwwwws what you like!), hit the jump and get the tracks (with some partial annotations too).