Trini Lopez, R. I. P.

Lopez had a long and successful career,  singing in both English and Spanish.   Filmmaker P. David Ebersole,  who just finished shooting a documentary on Lopez with Todd Hughes,  confirmed that Lopez  died from  complications of COVID-19 at Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs,  California.   Yes,  I’m old enough to remember the man and his music,  and he will be missed.

If you are a child of the 1960’s,  you will remember his versions of “Lemon Tree” and “If I Had a Hammer”.    You might also recall him as one of the actors in film classic “The Dirty Dozen” .    Unlike other entertainers of Mexican heritage,   he resisted entreaties to change his name to avoid limiting his career.   Buddy Holly and Frank Sinatra were both mentors,  so his talents were certainly respected.