Hear Trini Lopez and think “Johnny Rivers” ......and think “PIZZ”

Gumption and tons of it can be what it takes to become a star.

Don’t think of the dozens of failed singles on dozens of tiny labels all over the United States as a sign of failure for either Trini Lopez ( who recently died of Covid) or Johnny Rivers.

Think  instead of it as a free opportunity to learn about all aspects of the music industry from the inside —- and a chance to make important personal contacts with industry movers and shakers : both from the past and those of the future.

Trini finally scored big first, doing live albums in nightclubs with a rocking latin-like semi acoustic guitar sound : ‘slap rhythm’ is the way Rivers remembered it. 

Johnny had pretty well given up on his ten year old dream to becoming a performing star : he saw himself more as a backroom operator : songwriter/producer/studio musician.

But he did a little favour for a late night Italian restaurant where he liked to hang out (Johnny was Italian American himself).

Play a little guitar and sing —— just till the owner found another jazz trio.

Ok, said Johnny - now what ? I’ll copy Trini’s formula, that's what. 

Overnight he was a world-wide success with his formula : just as the Ventures also found long time world wide success with a similar rhythm oriented  & simple catchy melodies formula.

If you know any songs by Johnny or Trini, you might now begin to see this relatively unknown intimate connection, because the two singer’s overall styles are actually quite different : Trini more adult nightclub and cocktail dresses while Johnny’s music is well suited to sharpen switchblades knives with.

(Just joking - somewhat !)

(Jose Feliciano lies somewhere between the two others but you can perhaps still see the connection : a sound based on a semi acoustic guitar style that is alternatively liltingly fluid or chunkily percussive : folk boogie ?)

I call the stuff “Pizz” myself, and say its era was from about 1957 to 1967 : heavy gauge flatwound strings, reverb, long scale guitars and relatively staccato, clearly articulated, separated notes in catchy lines played  by with a pick mostly on the lower strings. With a bit of mildly overdriven tube distortion and amp reverb.

Heck I sometimes wonder if this trio seriously bent a guitar string in their lives : this is far far far from the post-‘67’s endlessly legato, bent and shaken, heavily distorted, heavily compressed, eternally sustaining guitar sound.

Johnny’s still rockin and no, he does not look 78 despite publicly performing for over 70 years (not a typo !)....