Mexican-American singer and actor Trini Lopez, known for his role in The Dirty Dozen, has died at age 83 from complications related to COVID-19.
Lopez, who had a 1963 hit single with If I Had A Hammer, passed away in Palm Spring, California.
Trini Lopez, star of The Dirty Dozen and singer of 1963 hit single If I Had A Hammer, has died at age 83 from COVID-19 complications.
Born in 1937 in Dallas, Texas to Mexican parents (his father also an actor and singer), Lopez was an accomplished guitarist, playing regularly at PJ’s nightclub in West Hollywood. He was also famously mentored by Buddy Holly and Frank Sinatra.
Lopez’s 1963 debut album Trini Lopez at PJ’s propelled him to stardom, featuring his version of Pete Seeger’s If I Had A Hammer, which made it to number three in the US and sold more than a million copies.
Lopez was then cast in the 1966 movie The Dirty Dozen, a war film about rogue soldiers in World War II. However, after clashing with director Robert Aldrich, he was written out of the film, with his character dying off-screen.
Lopez also designed two guitar models for manufacturer Gibson, the Lopez Standard and the Lopez Deluxe, owned by the likes of Noel Gallagher and Foo Fighters‘ Dave Grohl.
Grohl took to Instagram to pay tribute to Lopez, revealing every single Foo Fighters’ album ever made was recorded using a red 1967 Trini Lopez signature guitar.
Others have taken to Twitter to pay tribute to the late musician and actor.
R.I.P. Trini Lopez . pic.twitter.com/2mSWDW72HP
— BeatleLudo (@LudoJanssens) August 12, 2020
🎸 🎶 If I had a bell
I’d ring it in the morning
I’d ring it in the evening
All over this land 🎶 🎸– #TriniLopez pic.twitter.com/XnUHEKr9lW
— Vintage Los Angeles (@alisonmartino) August 12, 2020
Childhood comes back with this song. RIP #TriniLopez.
— Bombagarer Raja (@dranupg) August 13, 2020
