American singer, guitarist, and actor Trini Lopez died on 11 August at the age of 87. His first hit was 'If I Had a Hammer' in 1963, which earned him a Golden Disc. His other hits included 'Lemon Tree', 'I'm Comin' Home, Cindy' and 'La Bamba'. He appeared in several films and designed two guitars for the Gibson Guitar Corporation, which are now collectors’ items.
French postcard by E.D.U.G., no. 388. Photo: Reprise / Disques Vogues.
Trinidad 'Trini' López III was born in the Little Mexico neighbourhood of Dallas, Texas, in 1933 (some sources say 1937). His father, Trinidad Lopez II, worked as a singer, dancer, actor, and musician in Mexico; his mother was Petra Gonzalez.
Lopez has four sisters and a brother, Jesse, who was also a singer. He attended N. R. Crozier Tech High School but had to drop out in his senior year because he needed to earn money to help support the family.
Lopez formed his first band in Wichita Falls, Texas, at the age of 15. Around 1955, Trini Lopez and his band worked at The Vegas Club, a nightclub owned by Jack Ruby, the nightclub owner who assassinated Lee Harvey Oswald, avenging Oswald's assassination of JFK.
In 1957, at the recommendation of Buddy Holly's father, Trini and his group The Big Beats went to producer Norman Petty who secured a contract for them with Columbia Records. Lopez left the group and made his first solo recording, his own composition 'The Right To Rock', for the Dallas-based Volk Records, and then signed with King Records in 1959, recording more than a dozen singles for that label, none of which charted.
In late 1962, after the King contract expired, Lopez followed up on an offer by producer Snuff Garrett to join the post-Holly Crickets as a vocalist. After a few weeks of auditions in Los Angeles, that idea did not go through. He landed a steady engagement at the nightclub PJ's, where his audience grew quickly. He was heard there by Frank Sinatra, who had started his own label, Reprise Records, and who subsequently signed Lopez.
Dutch postcard, no. 1045.
Vintage postcard.
His debut live album, 'Trini Lopez at PJ's', was released in 1963. The album included a smash rendering of the folk standard 'If I Had a Hammer', which reached number one in 36 countries (no. 3 in the United States), and was a radio favourite for many years. It sold over one million copies and was awarded a gold disc.
He also performed his own version of the traditional Mexican song 'La Bamba' on the album. It was later reissued as a single in 1966. Lopez knew how to make folk-pop swing. Another live album from PJ's was recorded later that same year under the title 'By Popular Demand More Trini Lopez at PJ's', which contains the song 'Green Green'.
His popularity led the Gibson Guitar Corporation to ask him in 1964 to design a guitar for them. He ended up designing two: the Trini Lopez Standard, a rock and roll model based on the Gibson ES-335 semihollow body, and the Lopez Deluxe, a variation of a Gibson jazz guitar designed by Barney Kessel. Both of these guitars were in production from 1964 until 1971, and are now highly sought-after among collectors.
Bill Dahl at AllMusic: "Lopez's hits capture the excitement of his live performances, and his driving renditions of 'Kansas City' (1963), 'Lemon Tree' (1965), and 'I'm Comin' Home, Cindy' (1966) were substantial sellers."
In total, Lopez scored 13 chart singles through 1968, including 'Sally Was a Good Old Girl' (1968). On the adult contemporary chart, he racked up 15 hits, including the top-10 singles 'Michael' (1964), 'Gonna Get Along Without Ya' Now' (1967), and 'The Bramble Bush' (1967). Beyond his success on record, he became one of the country's top nightclub performers of that era, regularly headlining in Las Vegas.
In 1968, he recorded an album in Nashville entitled 'Welcome to Trini Country'. In 1969, NBC aired a Trini Lopez variety special featuring surf guitar group The Ventures, and Nancy Ames as guests. The soundtrack, released as 'The Trini Lopez Show', has him singing his hits with The Ventures as his backing band.
Dutch postcard by Gebr. Spanjersberg N.V., Rotterdam. Photo: Imperial.
During the 1960s and 1970s, Trini Lopez moved into acting, though his film career was not as successful as his music. Lopez's first film role was in Marriage on the Rocks (Jack Donohue, 1965) with Frank Sinatra, Deborah Kerr, and Dean Martin. Lopez made a cameo appearance in a nightclub scene. His soundtrack song, 'Sinner Man', became a hit single.
Next, he appeared in the thriller Poppies Are Also Flowers (Terence Young, 1966) with Senta Berger and Stephen Boyd. He was one of The Dirty Dozen (Robert Aldrich, 1967), but he walked off the set reportedly at the urging of Frank Sinatra who supposedly thought his music career would stall if he continued to work on the film, which had gone over its scheduled shooting date. Another version was that Lopez was fired by director Robert Aldrich for being disagreeable.
Later Lopez appeared as himself in The Phynx (Lee H. Katzin, 1970) and played the title role opposite Larry Hagman in Antonio (Claudio Guzman, 1973). Lopez hosted his own network TV variety program. He also made two appearances (playing different characters) on the television program Adam-12 (1971-1972). In 1977, he played the role of Julio Ramirez in The Mystery of the Silent Scream (John J. Dumas, 1977) which was part of The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries TV series.
Lopez continued his musical career with extensive tours of Europe and Latin America during this period; an attempt to break out by releasing a disco album in 1978 proved a flop. Lopez produced a single promoting the Coca-Cola soft drink Fresca in 1967. In 1993, a Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs, California, Walk of Stars was dedicated to him.
In 2002, Lopez teamed with Art Greenhaw for 'Legacy: My Texas Roots'. The album used the Texas Roots Combo including Lopez, Greenhaw, and Lopez's brother, Jesse. Reviewer Steve Leggett on All Music Guide: "The album has an easygoing feel very similar to Lopez's classic live sets from the 1960s, only it rocks a good deal harder."
Thereafter, Lopez did charitable work and received honours such as being inducted into the International Latin Music Hall of Fame in 2003. Lopez was still recording and appearing live in the years leading up to his death. In 2013, he appeared as a guest performer in a number of shows held in Maastricht in the Netherlands with the Dutch violinist and composer André Rieu.
He continued to record. 'El Immortal' was released in 2010, and the following year he released his 65th album, 'Into The Future' Lopez remained a lifelong bachelor and had no children. His nephew, Trini Martinez, was the drummer for the Dallas indie rock band Bedhead.
Trini Lopez died in 2020, at Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs, California. He was 83 and suffered from complications of COVID-19.
Trini Lopez performs 'If I Had A Hammer' (1963). Source: the rockabillie (YouTube).
Official Trailer Dirty Dozen (1967). Source: Movieclips Classic Trailers (YouTube).
Sources: Bill Dahl (AllMusic), Steve Leggett (All Music Guide), Jon C. Hopwood (IMDb), Les Gens du Cinéma, Wikipedia, and IMDb.
French postcard by E.D.U.G., no. 388. Photo: Reprise / Disques Vogues.
A steady engagement at the nightclub PJ's
Trinidad 'Trini' López III was born in the Little Mexico neighbourhood of Dallas, Texas, in 1933 (some sources say 1937). His father, Trinidad Lopez II, worked as a singer, dancer, actor, and musician in Mexico; his mother was Petra Gonzalez.
Lopez has four sisters and a brother, Jesse, who was also a singer. He attended N. R. Crozier Tech High School but had to drop out in his senior year because he needed to earn money to help support the family.
Lopez formed his first band in Wichita Falls, Texas, at the age of 15. Around 1955, Trini Lopez and his band worked at The Vegas Club, a nightclub owned by Jack Ruby, the nightclub owner who assassinated Lee Harvey Oswald, avenging Oswald's assassination of JFK.
In 1957, at the recommendation of Buddy Holly's father, Trini and his group The Big Beats went to producer Norman Petty who secured a contract for them with Columbia Records. Lopez left the group and made his first solo recording, his own composition 'The Right To Rock', for the Dallas-based Volk Records, and then signed with King Records in 1959, recording more than a dozen singles for that label, none of which charted.
In late 1962, after the King contract expired, Lopez followed up on an offer by producer Snuff Garrett to join the post-Holly Crickets as a vocalist. After a few weeks of auditions in Los Angeles, that idea did not go through. He landed a steady engagement at the nightclub PJ's, where his audience grew quickly. He was heard there by Frank Sinatra, who had started his own label, Reprise Records, and who subsequently signed Lopez.
Dutch postcard, no. 1045.
Vintage postcard.
A radio favourite for many years
His debut live album, 'Trini Lopez at PJ's', was released in 1963. The album included a smash rendering of the folk standard 'If I Had a Hammer', which reached number one in 36 countries (no. 3 in the United States), and was a radio favourite for many years. It sold over one million copies and was awarded a gold disc.
He also performed his own version of the traditional Mexican song 'La Bamba' on the album. It was later reissued as a single in 1966. Lopez knew how to make folk-pop swing. Another live album from PJ's was recorded later that same year under the title 'By Popular Demand More Trini Lopez at PJ's', which contains the song 'Green Green'.
His popularity led the Gibson Guitar Corporation to ask him in 1964 to design a guitar for them. He ended up designing two: the Trini Lopez Standard, a rock and roll model based on the Gibson ES-335 semihollow body, and the Lopez Deluxe, a variation of a Gibson jazz guitar designed by Barney Kessel. Both of these guitars were in production from 1964 until 1971, and are now highly sought-after among collectors.
Bill Dahl at AllMusic: "Lopez's hits capture the excitement of his live performances, and his driving renditions of 'Kansas City' (1963), 'Lemon Tree' (1965), and 'I'm Comin' Home, Cindy' (1966) were substantial sellers."
In total, Lopez scored 13 chart singles through 1968, including 'Sally Was a Good Old Girl' (1968). On the adult contemporary chart, he racked up 15 hits, including the top-10 singles 'Michael' (1964), 'Gonna Get Along Without Ya' Now' (1967), and 'The Bramble Bush' (1967). Beyond his success on record, he became one of the country's top nightclub performers of that era, regularly headlining in Las Vegas.
In 1968, he recorded an album in Nashville entitled 'Welcome to Trini Country'. In 1969, NBC aired a Trini Lopez variety special featuring surf guitar group The Ventures, and Nancy Ames as guests. The soundtrack, released as 'The Trini Lopez Show', has him singing his hits with The Ventures as his backing band.
Dutch postcard by Gebr. Spanjersberg N.V., Rotterdam. Photo: Imperial.
The Dirty Dozen
During the 1960s and 1970s, Trini Lopez moved into acting, though his film career was not as successful as his music. Lopez's first film role was in Marriage on the Rocks (Jack Donohue, 1965) with Frank Sinatra, Deborah Kerr, and Dean Martin. Lopez made a cameo appearance in a nightclub scene. His soundtrack song, 'Sinner Man', became a hit single.
Next, he appeared in the thriller Poppies Are Also Flowers (Terence Young, 1966) with Senta Berger and Stephen Boyd. He was one of The Dirty Dozen (Robert Aldrich, 1967), but he walked off the set reportedly at the urging of Frank Sinatra who supposedly thought his music career would stall if he continued to work on the film, which had gone over its scheduled shooting date. Another version was that Lopez was fired by director Robert Aldrich for being disagreeable.
Later Lopez appeared as himself in The Phynx (Lee H. Katzin, 1970) and played the title role opposite Larry Hagman in Antonio (Claudio Guzman, 1973). Lopez hosted his own network TV variety program. He also made two appearances (playing different characters) on the television program Adam-12 (1971-1972). In 1977, he played the role of Julio Ramirez in The Mystery of the Silent Scream (John J. Dumas, 1977) which was part of The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries TV series.
Lopez continued his musical career with extensive tours of Europe and Latin America during this period; an attempt to break out by releasing a disco album in 1978 proved a flop. Lopez produced a single promoting the Coca-Cola soft drink Fresca in 1967. In 1993, a Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs, California, Walk of Stars was dedicated to him.
In 2002, Lopez teamed with Art Greenhaw for 'Legacy: My Texas Roots'. The album used the Texas Roots Combo including Lopez, Greenhaw, and Lopez's brother, Jesse. Reviewer Steve Leggett on All Music Guide: "The album has an easygoing feel very similar to Lopez's classic live sets from the 1960s, only it rocks a good deal harder."
Thereafter, Lopez did charitable work and received honours such as being inducted into the International Latin Music Hall of Fame in 2003. Lopez was still recording and appearing live in the years leading up to his death. In 2013, he appeared as a guest performer in a number of shows held in Maastricht in the Netherlands with the Dutch violinist and composer André Rieu.
He continued to record. 'El Immortal' was released in 2010, and the following year he released his 65th album, 'Into The Future' Lopez remained a lifelong bachelor and had no children. His nephew, Trini Martinez, was the drummer for the Dallas indie rock band Bedhead.
Trini Lopez died in 2020, at Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs, California. He was 83 and suffered from complications of COVID-19.
Trini Lopez performs 'If I Had A Hammer' (1963). Source: the rockabillie (YouTube).
Official Trailer Dirty Dozen (1967). Source: Movieclips Classic Trailers (YouTube).
Sources: Bill Dahl (AllMusic), Steve Leggett (All Music Guide), Jon C. Hopwood (IMDb), Les Gens du Cinéma, Wikipedia, and IMDb.
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