Richard 'Scar' Lopez founded Cannibal & the Headhunters. In 1965 he and three other high school students scored a national hit with 'Land of 1000 Dances.' That year they appeared on "American Bandstand," "Hullabaloo" and other TV shows, and opened for the Rolling Stones, the Righteous Brothers and the Beatles during their U.S. tour.
After the Headhunters opened for the Beatles at Shea Stadium, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards "came backstage to tell us how good we were," Lopez told LA Weekly.
Eddie Davis, the Headhunters' producer and manager, had told the group that he didn't want any of them gambling with the Beatles and others in the back of the plane. But while Davis was napping as they were flying to L.A., Lopez recalled, "I was determined to get in that game." When Davis woke up, Lopez recalled, "he stormed back there and started yelling at me in front of everyone. I'm from East L.A., and I don't take that from nobody. So we never spoke to each other ever again. I was so angry at him for embarrassing me in front of the Beatles that I made up my mind right then and there that I would not continue on the tour." Lopez died of lung cancer, age 65.
Their hit on TV in '65:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1XH7eTjydMObit:
http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-richard-lopez-20100819,0,7133208.story
