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61-571: Trinidad López III (May 15, 1937 – August 11, 2020), known as Trini Lopez , was an American singer and guitarist. 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 . A documentary on his life and career, My Name Is Lopez ,

122-513: A cover medley . On occasion, a cover can become more popular than the original, for instance Jimi Hendrix ’s version of Bob Dylan ’s " All Along the Watchtower " became the standard, and Dylan even adjusted his performance style closer to the Hendrix version. Johnny Cash ’s 2002 cover of " Hurt " by Nine Inch Nails is another example of the cover version eclipsing the original. This is

183-431: A disco album in 1978 proved a flop. In 2002, Lopez teamed with Art Greenhaw for Legacy: My Texas Roots . The album used the "Texas Roots Combo" including Lopez, Greenhaw, and Lopez's brother, Jesse. Said reviewer Steve Leggett of AllMusic , "The album has an easygoing feel very similar to Lopez's classic live sets from the 1960s, only it rocks a good deal harder." Thereafter, Lopez focused on charitable work. Lopez

244-469: A radio format , appeared in 1960. The Top 40, whether surveyed by a radio station or a publication, was a list of songs that shared only the common characteristic of being newly released. Its introduction coincided with a transition from the old ten-inch 78 rpm record format for single "pop" recordings to the seven-inch vinyl 45 rpm format, introduced in 1949, which was outselling it by 1954 and soon replaced it completely in 1958. The Top 40 thereafter became

305-419: A Good Old Girl" (1968). Later in 2013, Lopez told Portland Magazine , “People ask about ‘Lemon Tree’ all the time. It’s one of my most favorite requested songs. It’s a very catchy tune. I just happen to like the chorus.” 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), which he sang in

366-530: A composer cannot deny anyone a mechanical license for a new recorded version, the composer has the right to decide who will release the first recording of a song. Bob Dylan took advantage of this right when he refused his own record company the right to release a live recording of " Mr. Tambourine Man ". Even with this, pre-release cover versions of songs can occasionally occur. Live performances of copyrighted songs are typically arranged through performing rights organizations such as ASCAP or BMI . Early in

427-688: A dozen singles for that label, none of which reached any musical hit parade. 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),

488-489: A fuller range of the artist's abilities and style. (See, for example, Please Please Me .) Artists might also perform interpretations ("covers") of a favorite artist's hit tunes for the simple pleasure of playing a familiar song or collection of tunes. Today, three broad types of entertainers depend on cover versions for their principal repertoire: Since the Copyright Act of 1909 , United States musicians have had

549-780: A lifelong bachelor and had no children. His nephew, Trini Martinez, was the drummer for the Dallas indie rock band Bedhead . Lopez died on August 11, 2020, at Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs, California . He was 83, and developed complications from COVID-19 admist the COVID-19 pandemic in California . Most albums are on the Reprise label, unless otherwise indicated. Cover version The term "cover" goes back decades when cover version originally described

610-465: A particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music . Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or " contemporary hit radio " is also a radio format . According to producer Richard Fatherley, Todd Storz was the inventor of the format, at his radio station KOWH in Omaha, Nebraska . Storz invented the format in the early 1950s, using

671-422: A rival version of a tune recorded to compete with the recently released (original) version. Examples of records covered include Paul Williams ' 1949 hit tune " The Hucklebuck " and Hank Williams ' 1952 song " Jambalaya ". Both crossed over to the popular hit parade and had numerous hit versions. Before the mid-20th century, the notion of an original version of a popular tune would have seemed slightly odd –

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732-561: 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 . Lopez scored 13 chart singles through 1968, including " Lemon Tree " (1965), "I'm Comin' Home, Cindy" (1966), and "Sally Was

793-481: A survey of the popularity of 45 rpm singles and their airplay on the radio. Some nationally syndicated radio shows, such as American Top 40 , featured a countdown of the 40 highest-ranked songs on a particular music or entertainment publication. Although such publications often listed more than 40 charted hits, such as the Billboard Hot 100 , time constraints allowed for the airing of only 40 songs; hence,

854-455: A weekly segment called Like a Version in which a band or musician performs one of their own songs as well as a song they love by another artist. Originating in 2004, the popularity of the performances have resulted in the release of annual compilation albums of selected covers and, more recently, votes in the annual Triple J Hottest 100 poll (which has even sparked its own controversy). Conjoined cover songs are collectively referred to as

915-460: A widespread, common occurrence in the music industry. With advancements in artificial intelligence , internet users can create covers using RVC models. Cover versions (as the term is now used) are often contemporary versions of familiar songs. For example, " Singin' in the Rain " was originally introduced by Cliff Edwards in the film The Hollywood Revue of 1929 . The famous Gene Kelly version

976-515: Is " Mack the Knife " ("Die Moritat von Mackie Messer"), originally from Bertolt Brecht's 1928 Die Dreigroschenoper . It was popularized by a 1956 hit parade instrumental tune, "Moritat", for the Dick Hyman Trio, also recorded by Richard Hayman & Jan August , but a hit also for Louis Armstrong 1956/1959, Bobby Darin , 1959, and Ella Fitzgerald , 1960, as vocal versions of "Mack

1037-410: Is the only one that might currently get widespread airplay on most media. Similarly, " Unchained Melody " was originally performed by Todd Duncan , featured in the 1955 film Unchained (based on the non-fiction story Prisoners are People by Kenyon J. Scudder); Al Hibbler having the biggest number of worldwide record sales for the vocal version with Jimmy Young's cover version rival outdoing this in

1098-508: The Bob Dylan track " Desolation Row ". This is more common with today's covers, taking older popular music and revamping it to compare with modern popular music. Aretha Franklin 's cover of Otis Redding 's " Respect " was voted the greatest cover song of all time, according to Forbes.com. Top 40 In the music industry , the Top 40 is a list of the 40 currently most popular songs in

1159-507: The Glenn Miller version (on RCA Victor's cheaper Bluebird label), not someone else's (sometimes presented on a more expensive record company's label). This trend was marked closely by the charting of record sales by the different artists, not just hit tunes, on the music industry's hit parades . However, for sound commercial reasons, record companies still continued to record different versions of tunes that sold well. Most audiences until

1220-539: The Harry Fox Agency , and is safe under copyright law even if they do not have any permission from the original author. A similar service was provided by Limelight by RightsFlow , until January 2015, when they announced they will be closing their service. The U.S. Congress introduced the mechanical license to head off an attempt by the Aeolian Company to monopolize the piano roll market. Although

1281-560: The Little Mexico neighborhood of Dallas and attended grammar school and N. R. Crozier Tech High School . He dropped out of high school in his senior year in order to earn money to help support the family. 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

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1342-424: The 1950s, musicians now play what they call "cover versions" (the reworking, updating, or interpretation) of songs as a tribute to the original performer or group. Using familiar material (such as evergreen hits, standard tunes or classic recordings) is an important method of learning music styles. Until the mid-1960s most albums, or long playing records , contained a large number of evergreens or standards to present

1403-532: The 20th century it became common for phonograph record labels to have singers or musicians "cover" a commercially successful "hit" tune by recording a version for their own label in hopes of cashing in on the tune's success. For example, Ain't She Sweet was popularized in 1927 by Eddie Cantor (on stage) and by Ben Bernie and Gene Austin (on record), was repopularized through popular recordings by Mr. Goon Bones & Mr. Ford and Pearl Bailey in 1949, and later still revived as 33 1/3 and 45 RPM records by

1464-684: The Air" occur in Strictly Ballroom , Candi Staton 's "Young Hearts Run Free" appear in Romeo + Juliet , and adaptations of artists such as Nat King Cole , Nirvana , Kiss , Elton John , Thelma Houston , Marilyn Monroe , Madonna , T. Rex , David Bowie , Queen , and the Police are used in Moulin Rouge! . The covers are carefully designed to fit into the structure of each film and suit

1525-455: The American record market. Numerable English-language covers exist of " 99 Luftballons " by German singer Nena (notably one by punk band Goldfinger ), one having been recorded by Nena herself following the success of her original German version. " Popcorn ", a song that was originally completely instrumental, has had lyrics added in at least six different languages in various covers. During

1586-525: The Anglo-Saxon markets was once a popular part of the music business. For example, the 1954 worldwide hit " The Happy Wanderer " was originally " Der fröhliche Wanderer ", to this must be added " Hymne à l'amour ", " Mütterlein ", " Volare ", " Seeman ", " Quando, Quando, Quando ", " L'amour est bleu ", etc. Cover versions of many popular songs have been recorded, sometimes with a radically different style, sometimes virtually unrecognizable from

1647-467: The Beatles in 1964. Because little promotion or advertising was done in the early days of record production, other than at the local music hall or music store, the average buyer purchasing a new record usually asked for the tune, not the artist. Record distribution was highly localized, so a locally popular artist could quickly record a version of a hit song from another area and reach an audience before

1708-683: The Fire , although the German title was retained. The English version, which was not a direct translation of Falco's original but retained much of its spirit, reached the Top 5 on the US charts. " The Lion Sleeps Tonight " evolved over several decades and versions from a 1939 Solomon Linda a cappella song. Many of singer Laura Branigan 's 1980s hits were English-language covers of songs already successful in Europe, for

1769-433: The Knife". Europe's Radio Luxembourg , like many commercial stations, also sold "air time"; so record companies and others bought air time to promote their own artists or products, thus increasing the number of recorded versions of any tune then available. Add to this the fact that many radio stations were limited in their permitted " needle time " (the amount of recorded music they were allowed to play), or were regulated on

1830-519: The Rain" has been covered and remixed by British act Mint Royale for a television commercial for Volkswagen . Another example of this, from a different angle, is the tune " Blueberry Hill ", many mistakenly believe the Fats Domino 1956 release to be the original recording and artist. In fact, it was originally introduced on film by Gene Autry and popularized on the record Hit Parade of 1940 by Glenn Miller. The Fats Domino rock and roll version

1891-1009: The UK, Les Baxter's Orchestra gaining the big instrumentalist sales, reaching the US Hit Parade number one spot in May 1955, but the Righteous Brothers ' later version (top five on the US Hit Parade of September 1965 stalling at number 14 in the UK in August) is by far the wider known version, and especially so following its appearance in the 1990 film Ghost . " House of the Rising Sun " has hundreds of versions and in many genres such as folk , blues rock and punk as well as dance and dubstep . Director Baz Luhrmann has contemporized and stylized older songs for use in his films. New or cover versions such as John Paul Young 's "Love Is in

Trini Lopez - Misplaced Pages Continue

1952-575: The amount of local talent they had to promote in live broadcasts, as with most national stations like the BBC in the UK. In the US, broadcasters pay royalties to authors and publishers. Artists are not paid royalties, so there is an incentive to record numerous versions of a song, particularly in different genres. For example, King Records frequently cut both rhythm and blues and country and western versions of novelty songs like "Good Morning, Judge" and "Don't Roll those Bloodshot Eyes at Me". This tradition

2013-444: The bowdlerized popular cover versions more palatable for the mass audience of parents and their children. Artists targeting the white-majority family audience were more acceptable to programmers at most radio and TV stations. Singer-songwriter Don McLean called the cover version a "racist tool". Many parents in the 1950s - 60s, whether intentionally racist or not, felt deeply threatened by the rapid pace of social change. They had, for

2074-406: The disingenuous spirit of early cover versions remain. In the album-buying heyday of the 1970s, albums of sound-alike covers were created, commonly released to fill bargain bins in the music section of supermarkets and even specialized music stores , where uninformed customers might easily confuse them with original recordings. The packaging of such discs was often intentionally confusing, combining

2135-698: The following year he released his 65th album, Into The Future . Lopez' 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

2196-531: The guitar include Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters and Noel Gallagher of Oasis . During the 1960s and 1970s, Lopez moved into acting, though his film career was not as successful as his music. 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

2257-475: The heyday of Cantopop in Hong Kong in the late 1970s to early 1990s, many hits were covers of English and Japanese titles that have gained international fame but with localized lyrics (sometimes multiple sets of lyrics sung to the same tune), and critics often chide the music industry of shorting the tune-composing process. Although modern cover versions are often produced for artistic reasons, some aspects of

2318-419: The invention of Storz and others like him, radio would be reborn". Storz is credited by some sources as helping to popularize rock and roll music. By the mid-1950s, his station, and the numerous others which eventually adopted the Top 40 format, were playing records by artists such as " Presley , Lewis , Haley , Berry and Domino ". From the 1980s onwards, different recording formats have competed with

2379-517: The mid-1950s still heard their favorite artists playing live music on stage or via the radio . And since radio shows were for the most part aimed at local audiences, it was still rare for an artist in one area to reach a mass audience. Also radio stations tended to cater to broad audience markets, so an artist in one vein might not get broadcast on other stations geared to a set audience. So popular versions of jazz , country and western or rhythm and blues tunes, and vice versa, were frequent. An example

2440-483: The most part, shared entertainment with their parents in ways their children had become reluctant to do. The jukebox and the personal record disc player were still relatively expensive pieces of machinery — and the portable radio a great novelty, allowing truculent teenagers to shut themselves off. Tunes by introducing or "original" niche market artists that became successful on the mass audience hit parade charts are called crossovers as they "crossed over" from

2501-517: The most popular style of music in the mid-1950s / mid-1960s was still the professional light orchestra, therefore popular recording artists sought that format. For many purists these popular versions lacked the raw earthiness of the original introducing artists. Most did not have the kudos that rebellious teenagers craved, the street credibility — of rock and roll music; most were performed, and some were written, by black artists not heard in popular mass entertainment markets. Most parents considered

Trini Lopez - Misplaced Pages Continue

2562-948: The movie The Dirty Dozen . 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). Lopez produced a single promoting the Coca-Cola soft drink Fresca in 1967. In 1969, NBC aired a Trini Lopez variety special featuring surf guitar group The Ventures , and Nancy Ames as guests. The soundtrack, released as The Trini Lopez Show , has him singing his hits with The Ventures as his backing band. He continued his musical career with extensive tours of Europe and Latin America during this period; an attempt to break out by releasing

2623-520: The name of the original artist in large letters with a tiny disclaimer like as originally sung by or as made popular by . More recently, albums such as the Kidz Bop series of compact discs , featuring versions of contemporary songs sung by children, have sold successfully. In 2009, the American musical comedy-drama television series Glee debuted, featuring several musical performances per episode. The series featured solely cover songs performed by

2684-585: The number of times a record was played on jukeboxes to compose a weekly list for broadcast. The format was commercially successful, and Storz and his father Robert, under the name of the Storz Broadcasting Company, subsequently acquired other stations to use the new Top 40 format. In 1989, Todd Storz was inducted into the Nebraska Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame. The term "Top 40", describing

2745-409: The original sound electronically; cover versions give a performer the ability to adapt music to their own style, typically allowing them to change the genre of a song and recreating it to their own taste. For example, in 2008, Fall Out Boy covered Michael Jackson 's hit song " Beat It ", changing the genre from pop rock to a more punk rock feel. Another example is when My Chemical Romance covered

2806-403: The original. For example, Sir Mix-a-Lot 's 1992 rap " Baby Got Back " was covered by indie rock singer Jonathan Coulton in 2005, in an acoustic soft rock style. Coulton's cover was then covered, without attribution, in 2013 by the show Glee , and was so similar that Coulton, among others, alleged plagiarism of his arrangement and melody. Some producers or recording artists may also enlist

2867-645: The production of musical entertainment was seen as a live event , even if it was reproduced at home via a copy of the sheet music , learned by heart or captured on a gramophone record . In fact, one of the principal objects of publishing sheet music was to have a composition performed by as many artists as possible. This made the song more important than the performing artist and rival cover or 'copycat' versions would vie for success. In previous generations, some artists made very successful careers of presenting revivals or reworkings of once-popular tunes, even out of doing contemporary cover versions of current hits. Since

2928-602: 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

2989-432: The right to record a version of someone else's previously recorded and released tune, whether it is music alone or music with lyrics. A license can be negotiated between representatives of the interpreting artist and the copyright holder, or recording published tunes can fall under a mechanical license whereby the recording artist pays a standard royalty to the original author/copyright holder through an organization such as

3050-504: The series' titular glee club until near the end of its second season with the episode " Original Song ". The series still primarily uses cover songs of both chart hits and show tunes, occasionally as mashups or distinct variations. The show's musical performances have been a commercial success, with over twenty-one million copies of Glee cast single releases purchased digitally, and over nine million albums purchased worldwide. Australian alternative/indie radio station Triple J presents

3111-530: The services of a sample replay company such as Titan Tribute Media or Scorccio, in order to replicate an original recording with precision detail and accuracy. A song may be covered into another language. For example, in the 1930s, a recording of " Isle of Capri " in Spanish, by Osvaldo Fresedo and singer Roberto Ray, is known. Falco 's 1982 German-language hit " Der Kommissar " was covered in English by After

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3172-430: The targeted country, jazz or rhythm audience. Also, many songs originally recorded by male artists were rerecorded by female artists, and vice versa. Such a cover version is also sometimes called a cross cover version , male cover , or female cover . Some songs such as "If Only for One Night" were originally recorded by female artists but covered by mostly male artists. Reworking non-English language tunes and lyrics for

3233-405: The taste of the intended audience. Other artists release new versions of their own songs, like German singer Nena who recorded an entire album with great success, with new versions of older hits. Cover songs can be used to display creativity of a performers work through the talent of another artist's previous production. Not to be confused with a remix , which is defined as altering or distorting

3294-534: The term "top 40" gradually became part of the vernacular associated with popular music. An article in the Spring 2012 issue of Nebraska History magazine offered this comment as to Todd Storz' legacy: "the radio revolution that Storz began with KOWH was already sweeping the nation. Thousands of radio station owners had realized the enormous potential for a new kind of radio. When television became popular, social monitors predicted that radio would die. However, because of

3355-482: The version by the artist(s) who first introduced the tune, and highly competitive record companies were quick to take advantage of this. This began to change in the late 1930s, when the growing record-buying public began including a younger age group. During the swing era , when a bobby soxer went looking for a recorded tune, say " In the Mood ", typically she wanted the version popularized by her favorite artist(s), e.g.

3416-426: Was a revision that brought it up to date for a 1950s Hollywood musical, and was used in the 1952 film Singin' in the Rain . In 1978, it was covered by French singer Sheila , accompanied by the B. Devotion group, as a disco song, once more updating it to suit the musical taste of the era. During the disco era there was a trend of taking well known songs and recording them in the disco style. More recently "Singin' in

3477-427: Was expanded when rhythm and blues songs began appearing on pop music charts. In the early days of rock and roll , many tunes originally recorded by R&B and country musicians were still being re-recorded in a more popular vein by other artists with a more toned-down style or professional polish. This was inevitable because radio stations were reluctant to play formats outside their target audience's taste. By far

3538-592: Was one of The Dirty Dozen (1967), appeared as himself in The Phynx (1970), and played the title role in Claudio Guzman 's Antonio (1973). He made two appearances (playing different characters) on the television program Adam-12 . In 1977, he played the role of Julio Ramirez in "The Mystery of the Silent Scream", an episode of The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries TV series. Lopez remained

3599-477: 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

3660-558: Was released in April 2022. Lopez was born in Dallas , Texas , on May 15, 1937, to Trinidad López II, who worked as a singer, dancer, actor, and musician in Mexico, and Petra González. His parents married in their hometown of Moroleón , Guanajuato , prior to moving to Dallas. Lopez had four sisters (two are deceased) and a brother, Jesse, who is also a singer. He grew up on Ashland Street in

3721-578: Was still recording and appearing live in the years leading up to his death. He took part in a benefit concert to raise money for the victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami , and appeared as a guest performer in a number of shows held in Maastricht in the Netherlands with the Dutch violinist and composer André Rieu . He continued to record; El Inmortal was released in 2010, and

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