This Week In Texas Music History is supported by Brane Audio.
From Jan. 16 to Feb. 4, 1964, Dallas singer Trini Lopez and the Beatles shared a residency at the Olympia Theatre in Paris, accompanied by French yé-yé singer Sylvie Vartan.
It’s no surprise that the Dallas-born Lopez would be crossing paths with a new band on the rise. His first big break came after his group the Big Beats got to know fellow Texan Buddy Holly in 1958. Holly helped get them a contract with Columbia Records. The big break fizzled, though, after Holly’s tragic death and Columbia’s desire to oust Lopez as lead singer because he was Mexican American.
Lopez moved to Los Angeles, tried and failed to join the post-Holly version of the Crickets, and took up a residency at the Hollywood hangout PJ’s. One night Frank Sinatra caught his act and got him a new contract on his label Reprise Records.
The resulting 1963 LP, “Trini Lopez at PJ’s,” was a hit. The breakout single “If I Had a Hammer” took the folk and civil rights classic, revved up the tempo, and kicked it off with a Tejano trill. Lopez rode the album’s success to a European tour.