"Running Bear" #1 1/23/1960

Like "El Paso" the protagonist here dies at the end of the song. Kind of a Native American "Romeo and Juliet." It was written and first done by J.P. Richardson (a.k.a. The Big Bopper) just before his own death in 1959 with Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens. He gave the song to his friend Johnny Preston who took it to the top after some legal issues delayed its release. Factoid #1: One of the backing chanters on J.P.'s original was his buddy and fellow East Texan, George Jones. Factoid #2: The "ooogah cha gah" chant on both versions was appropriated for Blue Swede's "Hooked On A Feeling" in 1975.