Lopez made his name on the club circuit of the Southwestern United States before being 'discovered' in 1962 playing at the club PJ's in Hollywood, California, by record producer Don Costa. Costa was taken with Lopez's latinized versions of contemporary hits and signed him up to Frank Sinatra's record label, Reprise Records. His debut album, Trini Lopez Live at PJ's, was released in 1963. The album included a version of 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. He also performed his own version of the traditional Mexican song La Bamba on the album; his recording of the tune was later re-issued as a single in 1966.
His 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 semi-hollow 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 amongst collectors. Some owners of the guitar include Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters and Noel Gallagher of Oasis.
He scored 13 chart singles through 1968, including "Lemon Tree" (1965), "I'm Comin' Home, Cindy" (1966) and "Sally Was a Good Old Girl" (1968). On the adult contemporary chart, he ranked up 15 hits, including the Top 10 singles "Michael" (1964), "Gonna Get Along Without Ya' Now" (1967) and "The Bramble Bush" (1967). Beyond his success on record, he became one of the country's top nightclub performers of that era, regularly headlining in Las Vegas, Nevada.
During the 1960s and 1970s Lopez moved into acting, though his film career was not as successful as his music. His 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 was one of The Dirty Dozen (1967) and starred in Antonio (1973). He made two appearances (playing different characters) on the television program, Adam 12. He continued his musical career with extensive tours of Europe and Latin America during this period; an attempt to break out by releasing a disco album in 1978 proved a flop.
Since then, Lopez has done charitable work and received honors such as being inducted into the International Latin Music Hall of Fame in 2003. He was still recording and appearing live in the early 2000s. Recently he took part in a benefit concert to raise money for the victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami.
Cielito Lindo
Trini Lopez Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Cielito lindo, vienen bajando
Un par de ojitos negros
Cielito lindo, de contrabando, here we go
Ay, ay, ay, ay
Canta y no llores
Porque cantando se alegran
Ay, ay, ay, ay
Canta y no llores
Porque cantando se alegran
Cielito lindo, los corazones
Ese lunar que tienes
Cielito lindo, junto a la boca
No se lo des a nadie
Cielito lindo que a mi me toca
Ay, ay, ay, ay
Canta y no llores
Porque cantando se alegran
Cielito lindo, los corazones
De la Sierra Morena
Cielito lindo, vienen bajando
Un par de ojitos negros
Cielito lindo, de contrabando, here we go
Ay, ay, ay, ay
Canta y no llores
Porque cantando se alegran
Cielito lindo, los corazones
The lyrics to Trini Lopez's song "Cielito Lindo" tell a story of two lovers from the Sierra Morena Mountains who are sneaking down to be together. The phrase "Cielito Lindo" translates to "pretty little sky" or "beautiful little heaven" and is often used as a term of endearment. The first verse describes the two lovers approaching with "a couple of black eyes," which refers to their dark eyes. The second verse encourages the listener to sing and not cry, because singing can bring happiness and joy to the heart.
The third verse speaks directly to the beloved, advising them not to give their beauty mark or "lunar" to anyone else, emphasizing the possessive impact the singer feels toward their partner. The final verse repeats the first, speaking again of the two lovers from the Sierra Morena Mountains. The overall tone of the song is one of love and joy, with its upbeat and catchy melody, encouraging the listener to join in singing and appreciate beauty and love.
Line by Line Meaning
De la Sierra Morena
From the mountains of Sierra Morena
Cielito lindo, vienen bajando
Sweet one, they are coming down
Un par de ojitos negros
A pair of black eyes
Cielito lindo, de contrabando, here we go
Sweet one, smuggled, here we go
Ay, ay, ay, ay
Expressing emotion
Canta y no llores
Sing and don't cry
Porque cantando se alegran
Because singing makes hearts happy
Cielito lindo, los corazones
Sweet one, the hearts
Ese lunar que tienes
That mole you have
Cielito lindo, junto a la boca
Sweet one, beside your mouth
No se lo des a nadie
Don't give it to anyone
Cielito lindo que a mi me toca
Sweet one that belongs to me
De la Sierra Morena
From the mountains of Sierra Morena
Cielito lindo, vienen bajando
Sweet one, they are coming down
Un par de ojitos negros
A pair of black eyes
Cielito lindo, de contrabando, here we go
Sweet one, smuggled, here we go
Ay, ay, ay, ay
Expressing emotion
Canta y no llores
Sing and don't cry
Porque cantando se alegran
Because singing makes hearts happy
Cielito lindo, los corazones
Sweet one, the hearts
Lyrics © Budde Music Publishing GmbH, Roba Music Verlag GMBH, Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN), Universal Music Publishing Group, Songtrust Ave, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Trini Lopez, Dp
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@MeryToste
Unforgettable Brilliant TRINI LOPEZ 👏👏👏
@philipbryden2420
God Bless, Trini, true to your roots to the end.
@estherapolonio6935
I just noticed that the songs are really soothing but almost all of them are Latin, Mexican but I don't know if there's some SPANISH songs. I hope i can go to SEARCH in YOUTUBE... In fairness to be honest all the songs of TRINI LOPEZ ARE GORGEOUS, EXCELLENT, 👍 A BRILLIANT COMPOSER, AWESOME GUITARIST, HIS FABULOUS BEAT, STYLES OF SINGING AND HIS VOICE WAS FANTASTIC you can't resist not to hear every words and so clear to understand in ballads, fast songs and to the point he knows some of different languages like... ENGLISH, LATIN, SPANISH, FRENCH, GERMAN AND ITALIAN. WOW!!! BRAVO TO A GREAT BRILLIANT SINGER, ACTOR, AWSOME HOSTING IN ANY SHOWS AND MOST OF ALL HOW HE CAN CAPTURE THE ATTENTIONS OF THE HUGE CROWD TO JOIN WITH HIM TO SING WHEN HE SAYS,***ONE MORE TIME***THE only one TRINI LOPEZ 111 * * IS THE BEST, 💋💋💋❤️💕🌹🌹💖💖🌹🌹🙏
@s.r.9320
RIP to a great man from a gringa in Albuquerque!
@CielitoRDadutty
RIP Trini Lopez... não sei por que Cielito Lindo foi a música da minha formatura...
@moniquev.jaarsveld1353
Good song
@hongoharuhisa6800
MEXICO Celito Lindo
MRMYX
MYL
@alfonsorenteria8626
Cómo puedo comentar si el gusto de uno es al de alguien de uds.