“Forgotten Hollywood”- One of a Dozen…

Posted on August 11, 2020 by raideoman1 | No Comments

Manny P. here…

“`Trini Lopez was a singer and guitarist who gained fame for his versions of Lemon Tree and If I Had a Hammer. He took his talents to Hollywood, notably appearing in The Dirty Dozen. He became an international star while performing in English and Spanish. Unlike other Mexican American singers such as Ritchie Valens, Lopez openly embraced his Hispanic roots despite warnings it would hurt his career. It never did. TRINI LOPEZ ->

“`Born Trinidad Lopez III to immigrants from Guanajuato, Mexico, he grew up in Dallas’  Little Mexico neighborhood. His life changed after his father bought him a twelve dollar black Gibson acoustic guitar from a pawn shop.

“`Buddy Holly saw Lopez at a nightclub in Wichita Falls, Texas, and introduced him to Norman Petty, his record producer in Clovis, New Mexico. Holly died in a plane crash six months later, and Lopez briefly replaced him as lead singer of The Crickets.

“`Lopez moved to Los Angeles and got a regular gig at P. J.’s Night Club in West Hollywood. Frank Sinatra saw him perform and offered him a contract with his new record label, Reprise, where Lopez got his first major hit with If I Had a Hammer. It reached the top of the charts in forty countries. They became pals and were spotted together regularly in social circles in Palm Springs and Las Vegas.

“`Lopez received a Grammy nomination for  Best New Artist of 1963. Due to his meteoric rise of success, he and The Beatles were co-headliners during an eighteen-day engagement at the Olympia Theatre in Paris.

“`Lopez’s initial cinematic role was in Marriage on the Rocks, making a cameo appearance in a nightclub scene; two years later, he became one of The Dirty Dozen. On television, he guest-starred on Adam-12.

“`Fascinated by his instrument, he designed two guitars for the Gibson Guitar Corporation, which are now collectors’ items.  Owners of the guitar include Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters and Noel Gallagher of Oasis.

“`Trini Lopez was eighty-three, and suffered from complications of COVID-19.

Until next>                                      “never forget”

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 11th, 2020 at 8:15 pm and is filed under Blog by Manny Pacheco. You can follow any comments to this post through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.


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