Mr La Bamba

When Trini Lopez first heard The Beatles, he thought the group would not become a phenomenon. Popular for hits like Lemon Tree, La Bamba, Shame and Scandal and If I had a Hammer, the singer takes a break from working on his 63rd album to walk down memory lane with Mathures Paul

No Western music request show on All India Radio is ever complete without a song from Trini Lopez. The poor boy from Dallas, Texas, sold lemonade to earn a living. After his father caught him “hanging around the wrong kind of kids”, a spanking followed. Trinidad Lopez Sr. was saddened by the incident and bought him a guitar with $12. The rest is history.

Two generations grew up on songs like If I Had A Hammer, La Bamba and Perfidia. But why, since the 1980s, do we hear less from Trini Lopez?
Like other artistes, not everyone can stay on top all the time. But the primary objectives are to be around and be heard once in a while. Even when a singer dies somebody would play the person’s records once in a while.

Being a Mexican, who, many believed, were worse off than the ‘blacks’, what were the difficulties you faced before making a break into the music industry?
My problem was always being a Latino. My problem was always being a Mexican in America, in Texas, especially in the South. We were treated worse than the blacks so it was very difficult for me to be a success. It was very difficult but I had big dreams and I prayed a lot and I had a lot of faith in God. God did help me.

How did you land up at the PJ Club where Don Costa spotted you?
In 1963 I was working in the Ye Little Club, a place in the heart of Beverly Hills. I started generating a lot of excitement and soon built up a very big following (while at the Ye Little Club). I was booked for two weeks and I stayed a year. It was just me and my guitar. No band. Then I kept hearing about a place called PJ’s and I knew, because I use to read the papers and gossip columns, that Frank Sinatra was frequenting PJ’s. I knew that the higher echelon of Hollywood actors, like Steve McQueen and Paul Newman, were all going to this place called PJ’s. So, when I finished the Ye Little Club stint, they wanted me to work there because I had a big following and I was very popular in the Los Angeles area, mainly Hollywood, Beverly Hills area. They hired me for three months and I ended up staying there for a year and a half. It was during that time that Don Costa approached me on behalf of Reprise Records and they offered me a five-year contract and I ended up staying with Reprise for eight years.

When you joined Frank Sinatra’s Reprise Records, were there suggestions that a Mexican name like Trini Lopez won’t do and needs to be changed?
Have I got an answer for this one! My first record that I ever cut was when I was 17 or 18 years old for a little record company in Dallas called Volk Records. That was the first time anyone saw me do my show in Dallas. One of the men from the record company said “Hey kid, I would like to talk, please call me.” He gave me his card with his telephone number. I called him and he wanted me to come to his office. He said “Hey, you are good, I really enjoyed it and I think you have talent and I would like to record you.” I said “great” and I was all excited, but then he said, “The only thing we need to do before we record, I want you to know is that you need to change your name”. I said, “Change my name?” and he said “yes”. He said Trini was okay but Lopez has got to go. I was very disappointed and saddened that he wanted me to change my name because I wanted to be famous and make the name Lopez popular in America because we were having such a terrible time with the Latino situation and the prejudice in Texas. So I said “Ah, I can’t do that and I’m sorry sir”. I shook his hand and started to walk out the door and he stopped me as I was getting to the door and said, “Wait a minute kid, come back here”. Then he said, “Okay, you can keep your name”. That was the only time they ever tried to change my name.

What prompted you to move into the world of films in the 1960s?
I always wanted to be in movies because I’m a big movie fan [of films] and I always like that medium of entertainment. My records were popular. When my career as singer was “hot”, Frank Sinatra wanted to put me in a movie that he was producing and starring ~ Marriage on the Rocks, with Dean Martin, Debra Kerr and Frank Sinatra. That was my first motion picture and I made a cameo appearance and Frank Sinatra gave me top billing. Then, because of my popularity, another producer wanted me to feature in his film called The Dirty Dozen. I also did some acting for ‘television movie of the week’ ~ The Reluctant Hero’s, The Hardy Boys, Adam 12 ~ I played a priest one time and a parole officer on another show. Then a television producer, Claudio Guzman, wanted me to star in a movie that he was working on. He thought it would be good for me. The title of the movie was Antonio and it was about a poor man and his family in Chili. I played Antonio and that was my first big role in a movie. My co-star was Larry Hagman.

Once the Beatles opened for you. What was your take on the music of The Beatles then and your perspective now? Did you ever think the Beatles would become a “phenomenon”?
I had never heard of The Beatles until I went to Paris to star in this beautiful theatre called the Olympia Theatre. By the way, this theatre is the place where the famous Edith Piaf sang in Paris. That was where she sang in Europe. I saw the Beatles and they were okay. They didn’t do anything for me. I used to steal the show from them every night. The newspapers in Paris would say “Bravo, Trini Lopez, who are The Beatles?” The theatre was packed every night, two shows a night and three on Sunday, one show was a matinee, for a whole month. When reporters asked me the night before the last show, “Mr Lopez, The Beatles are going to America tomorrow for the first time, you think they are going to be a hit?” I told them “No, I don’t think so”. They asked why not and I told them because in America there is a group that I think is more exciting and better ~ The Beach Boys!

You have met Buddy Holly and Elvis Presley. Your memories of them.
Buddy Holly reminded me of Elvis and Elvis reminded me of Buddy. They were both tall ~ 6’1 or 6’2 ~ thin and both were very nice people. They were gentlemen. And that’s why I liked them. I will always remember them for being down to earth.

Did you ever try to shy away from the Latin music genre?
I broke away from the Latin genre at a very young age. My father taught me my first song. It was something he would sing as a kid. His songs were Mexican, polkas, mariachis, and Latin romantic love songs. The songs I started my career with were Spanish and Latin songs, but I broke away from that at a very young age because I wanted to be a popular singer. I wanted to be a mainstream artiste. I was a Latino and no one had heard of a popular Latino artiste. The only one who could have done it was Ritchie Valleys, but unfortunately he died at a young age. So, I encouraged members of the Latino music community in America to become mainstream.

You grew up in an era when melody was queen and lyrics, king. Times have changed. Your take on the music of Ricky Martin, Enrique Iglesias and the likes?
Some of the artist you mention appeals to me. Not a lot, but some of their songs appeal to me. some of them are good songs, happy songs. But I think that music of the 60’s, 70’s and up to the 80’s was much more meaningful.

Your next album.
I have just finished working on one. I have been working on this album for more than a year. It has been produced by Ron Dante, a Grammy-winning record producer. Ron Dante has been responsible for big hits of Barry Manilow, Neil Diamond, Rod Stewart, Cher, and this is going to be my 63rd CD. It is a rock and roll album titled Trini Lopez: Ramblin Man (the title track).