Richard "Scar" Lopez, founding member of the East Los Angeles group, Cannibal and the Headhunters, died of lung cancer July 30 at the age of 65 in a hospital in Garden Grove, California. Formed along with Frankie "Cannibal" Garcia, Robert "Rabbit" Jaramillo and his brother Joe "Yo Yo" Jaramillo, Cannibal and the Headhunters were discovered and signed by Rampart Records, who released their version of Chris Kenner's "Land Of 1000 Dances" in 1965. While it only rose to #30 on the charts, it allowed the group to appear on "American Bandstand" and "Hullabaloo" as well as open for the Beatles at their legendary Shea Stadium concert n New York. Scar (named for the result of an accident he suffered at a Los Angeles Boy's Club at age 13) reportedly left the group when he was reprimanded for gambling on the Beatles' tour and the remaining three members broke up two years later. A re-release of "Land Of 1000 Dances" bubbled under (#106) for the group in 1966, as did "Nau Ninny Nau" (#133) that year. But the lasting contribution of Scar and the others would be as the role models they served to a generation of hispanic musicians. They were inducted into the Chicano Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996.
