Henry tells the story of Trini Lopez and his highly collectible signature model, the Gibson Trini Lopez Deluxe, thawing our weary winter bones in the process with dreams of hot sun, white sand beaches, and maybe a lemon tree or two.
Trinidad López III (May 15, 1937 – August 11, 2020) was an American singer, guitarist, and actor. His first album included a cover version of Pete Seeger's "If I Had a Hammer", which earned a Golden Disc for him. His 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.
Lopez formed his first band in Wichita Falls, Texas, at the age of 15. Around 1955/56 Lopez and his band worked at The Vegas Club, a nightclub owned by Jack Ruby, the man who assassinated Lee Harvey Oswald. In 1957, at the recommendation of Buddy Holly's father, Trini and his group "The Big Beats" went to producer Norman Petty in Clovis, New Mexico. Petty secured a contract for them 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 Pete Seeger's "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.
Gear used in this video:
- 1968 Gibson Trini Lopez Deluxe
- 1963 Fender Vibroverb: Call us for details
- Greer Lightspeed Organic Overdrive: Call us for details
- Divine Noise Cables
Songs played in this video:
00:00 -00:30: La Bamba - Trini Lopez
01:19 - 01:34: If I Had A Hammer - Trini Lopez
02:14 - 02:54: Albatross by Fleetwood Mac
03:58 - 04:29: All My Life by Foo Fighters
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