Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular Music

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LOPEZ, Trini

(b Trinidad Lopez III, 15 May 1937, Dallas TX; d 11 August 2020, Rancho Mirage CA) Folk-pop singer. Played guitar at 15 in Dallas clubs; formed combo to tour the Southwest; He was a very good guitarist, and Buddy Holly recommended him to Norman Petty, but everybody discouraged him from singing, including his own band; they recorded two instrumentals for Columbia, then he quit and went solo. He was never afraid to emphasize his ethnic heritage, attributing his drive to the prejudice he suffered growing up in Texas. Don Costa discovered him at PJ's Hollywood club, produced hits on Frank Sinatra's Reprise label which were likeable and refreshing, especially on juke boxes; they were also danceable during the discotheque era. Peter Paul and Mary had had a top ten hit with Pete Seeger's 'If I Had A Hammer' '62; the Lopez/Costa version (from no. 2 LP Live At PJ's) went to no. 2 '63, getting more out of a good song than PPM's soporific harmonies. Three others made top 40 ('Kansas City', 'Lemon Tree', 'I'm Comin' Home, Cindy'); 14 LPs charted '63-7, nine in top 50. They were good party music then; later Transformed By Time was on Roulette.

 He once shared a bill with the Beatles at the Olympic Theater in Paris, just before the Beatles conquered the USA. He branched out into the movies, having a night-club cameo in Marriage On The Rocks '65, with Sinatra and Deborah Kerr; the song he sang in the film 'Sinner Man' made a Billboard chart. He  appeared in The Dirty Dozen '67, allegedly so impatient on set that the script was rewritten to kill him off early. He played the lead in Antonio '73, a poor potter in a village in Chile befriended by a rich American (Larry Hagman). One of his last albums was Into The Future 2011, a tribute to Sinatra.