I'd Hammer In The Morning

If I Had A Hammer was first published in a 1950 edition of Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie's folk music magazine, "Sing Out!" One reader was prompted to draft a letter which stated, "Cancel my subscription, all you left out of that song was the sickle."

The reader was eluding to the communist overtones to the song's lyrics.

Remember, this was 1950 and the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) was rounding up leftists, particularly in the entertainment industries, investigating their suspected involvement with communist organizations, and calling them to testify before Congress.

In 1955, Seeger was summoned but refused to testify. He was cited for Contempt of Congress and blacklisted by the HUAC.

Trini Lopez was born to a poor family in the barrio of Dallas, Texas.

Trini's musical career began at age 11 when his father, also a performer, gave him a spanking for "hanging around with the wrong kind of kids." Out of guilt, Trini's father then bought him a $12.00 guitar and taught him how to play.

When Buddy Holly was killed in a plane crash, Holly's band, The Crickets, asked Trini to replace him as lead singer. Trini accepted and left for California, however, it never took off as The Crickets opted to collect royalties from continued album sales rather than re-group and continue to perform.

Lopez, then broke and desperate, went solo.

His first album, "Trini Lopez at P.J.'s" was a number one hit with If I Had A Hammer reaching number one in twenty-five countries.