In the 1960s, Frank Sinatra was still quite in demand, but a new wave of younger musicians was beginning to change the landscape of popular music. Trini Lopez was known as a fan of Old Blue Eyes, but he was also a fan of Peter, Paul, and Mary- who were the hottest folk singers on the scene for a time. The latter had a top ten hit in 1962 with “If I Had a Hammer” (originally written by Pete Seeger in 1949). This song would go on to be recorded by The Weavers and Ronnie Gilbert as well.

In 1963, Trini Lopez released his cover of the song and it was another top ten hit. Lopez had written a few of his won songs, but made a name for himself singing covers like “La Bamba” and “America.” Lopez was often seen on TV performing various hits of the day, but he seems to have been largely forgotten about these days. Listen to his kicky version of “If I Had a Hammer” (also called “The Hammer Song”) in the video below.

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