This February 3rd will mark the 50th anniversary of 'The Day the Music Died,' the Iowa plane crash that killed Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the "Big Bopper." Old-time rock 'n' roll fans with a little extra cash on hand might consider memorializing the date ... by buying the Big Bopper's casket.

Yes, it's empty. Jay Richardson, son of the Bopper (who was born JP Richardson, Jr.), is selling the coffin after it was exhumed from a Texas cemetery in 2007. The hefty 'Chantilly Lace' singer was laid to rest in another box and moved to a bigger plot, alongside his wife.

Taking advantage of his father's brief encore, the Bopper's son, who performs in a tribute show as the Big Bopper Jr., authorized an autopsy. Rumors had swirled for years that the accident had been caused by some mysterious in-flight gunplay, but a forensics expert determined once and for all that the body's trauma was consistent with the effects of an airplane crash.

Apparently, the Bopper's flattop was still perfect. "It was awesome," Richardson told the Des Moines Register. "I talked to him. I got to know my dad a little better."

Though Richardson disputed reports that he planned to sell the casket on eBay -- how gauche! -- he didn't deny planning to sell it. "It's an empty steel box," he said. "I'd make it into a tackle box, but it's too friggin' heavy."