Poor Trini Lopez, 83, died earlier today from COVID complications. Lopez was first and foremost a pop singer who caught a wave between the late ’50s and late ’60s, particularly from his recordings of Pete Seeger and Lee Hays‘ “If I Had A Hammer” (’63) and Will Holt‘s “Lemon Tree” (’64).

Wiki excerpt: “Lopez was still recording and performing in recent years. He took part in a benefit concert to raise money for the victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami and recently appeared as a guest performer in a number of shows held in Maastricht in the Netherlands with the Dutch violinist and composer André Rieu. Lopez’s ‘El Immortal’ was released in 2010, and in 2011 he released his 65th album, ‘Into The Future.'”

I’m not sure if Lopez was a serious Rat Pack member or not, but he did take part in a 1965 Soupy Sales pie-fight taping with Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis, Jr.

Yes, Lopez costarred in The Dirty Dozen but that was hardly his most noteworthy achievement.