Mexican-American pop singer Trini Lopez's Latin-flavored renditions of folk and rock songs made him a major record seller throughout the '60s on Frank Sinatra's Reprise label. Lopez's willingness to tackle all sorts of material gave him a little R&B action as well, with his rendition of "If I Had a Hammer" making some noise on its 1963 release. Although the bulk of his recorded legacy came out on Reprise, some top-notch material had been recorded earlier for King Records and for the Bihari brothers in Los Angeles, for whom he cut today's selection. "Sinner Not a Saint" is a romping piece of R&B which had single release on United/Modern and was included on the Crown LP shown above. Over a great groove Lopez tackles the swaggering lyrics with gusto, and the strings romp along in the song's mid-section. I first heard this on the Kent CD For Connoisseurs Only, Vol. 2, a great comp of RPM/Kent/Modern material, but have been frustrated in my attempts to score the 45, due to its high price (the last eBay auction I was in saw the 45 go for $55 or so). Someday, maybe!
P.S.: Speaking of auctions, the FAME record collection mentioned in my post from last Thursday is still up for grabs. Get your bids in, if you have $6,600 to spare!
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