Trini Lopez



Trinidad "Trini" López III (born May 15, 1937) is an American singer, guitarist, and actor. His first album included a version of "If I Had a Hammer", which earned him a Golden Disc. Other hits included "Lemon Tree", "I'm Comin' Home, Cindy" and "Sally Was a Good Old Girl". He designed two guitars for the Gibson Guitar Corporation, which are now collectors’ items.

Early background
Trini Lopez was born in Dallas, Texas, son of Trinidad Lopez II (who was a singer, dancer, actor, and musician in Mexico) and Petra Gonzalez, who moved to Dallas from Mexico. Lopez has four sisters (two are deceased) and a brother, Jesse, who is also a singer. He grew up on Ashland Street in the Little Mexico neighborhood of Dallas and attended grammar school and N. R. Crozier Tech High School. He had to drop out of high school in his senior year because he needed to earn money to help support the family.

Career
Lopez formed his first band in Wichita Falls, Texas, at the age of 15. In 1958, at the recommendation of Buddy Holly, Trini and his group "The Big Beats" went to producer Norman Petty in Clovis, New Mexico. Petty secured them to a contract with Columbia Records, which released the single "Clark's Expedition"/"Big Boy", both instrumental. 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 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.

His debut live album, Trini Lopez at PJ's (R/RS 6093), was released in 1963. The album included a version of "If I Had a Hammer", which reached number one in 36 countries (no. 3 in the United States), and was a radio favorite 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; his recording of the tune was later reissued as a single in 1966. Another live album from PJ's was recorded later that same year under the title By Popular Demand More Trini Lopez at PJ's (R/RS 6103) which contains the song "Green Green" which was written by Randy Sparks and Barry McGuire and originally recorded by the New Christy Minstrels earlier that year for their Columbia album Ramblin.

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. Owners of the guitar include Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters and Noel Gallagher of Oasis.

He scored 13 chart singles through 1968, including "Lemon Tree" (1965), "I'm Comin' Home, Cindy" (1966), and "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 (R/RS 6300).

During the 1960s and 1970s, Lopez moved into acting, though his film career was not as successful as his music. He 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' brother, Jesse. Said reviewer Steve Leggett of All Music Guide, "The album has an easygoing feel very similar to Lopez' classic live sets from the 1960s, only it rocks a good deal harder." Since then, Lopez has done charitable work and received honors such as being inducted into the International Latin Music Hall of Fame in 2003.

On May 15, 2008, his 71st birthday, Lopez was inducted into the Las Vegas Walk of Stars.

Trini was still recording and appearing live in recent years. He took part in a benefit concert to raise money for the victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami and has recently appeared as a guest performer in a number of shows held in Maastricht in the Netherlands with the Dutch violinist and composer André Rieu. Trini Lopez has continued to record, and in 2008, his 63rd album, "Ramblin Man,” was released. "El Immortal" was released in 2010 and in 2011, Trini released his 65th album "Into The Future.”

Acting career
Lopez's first film role was in Marriage on the Rocks (1965), in which he made a cameo appearance in a nightclub scene; Lopez's soundtrack song, "Sinner Man", became a hit single (no. 54 pop/no. 12 adult contemporary). He was one of The Dirty Dozen (1967), appeared as himself in The Phynx (1970), and starred in Antonio (1973). He made two appearances (playing different characters) on the television program, Adam-12. In 1973, Lopez played the lead role of Antonio Contreras in “Antonio.” In 1977, he played the role of Julio Ramirez in “The Mystery of the Silent Scream” which was part of The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries TV series.

Albums
Most albums are on the Reprise label, unless otherwise indicated.
 * 1963 Trini Lopez at PJ's
 * 1963 More Trini Lopez at PJ's
 * 1964 On the Move
 * 1964 Live at Basin St. East
 * 1964 Trini Lopez Plays and Sings
 * 1964 The Latin Album
 * 1965 The Folk Album
 * 1965 The Love Album
 * 1965 ''The Rhythm and Blues Album
 * 1965 The Sing Along World of Trini Lopez
 * 1965 Trini Lopez Live in South Africa
 * 1966 Trini
 * 1966 The Second Latin Album
 * 1966 Greatest Hits
 * 1967 In London
 * 1967 Now!
 * 1968 It's a Great Life
 * 1968 Welcome to Trini Country
 * 1969 The Whole Enchilada
 * 1969 The Trini Lopez Show
 * 1971 Trini Lopez Live in Tokyo
 * 1972 Viva
 * 1977 Y Su Alma Latina
 * 1978 Transformed By Time
 * 1991 The 25th Anniversary Album
 * 1998 Dance Party
 * 2000 Aylole-Aylola
 * 2001 Dance the Night Away
 * 2002 Legacy: My Texas Roots
 * 2005 Romantic and Sexy Guitars
 * 2008 Ramblin' Man
 * 2011 Into the Future, Trilo Records

Use of music

 * His cover of "Cielito Lindo" was used in the 1989 film, Born on the Fourth of July.

Interviews

 * NAMM Oral History Interview August 11, 2006
 * NAMM Oral History Interview August 11, 2006
 * NAMM Oral History Interview August 11, 2006
 * NAMM Oral History Interview August 11, 2006