Let's start with Richard Steven Valenzuela (Ritchie Valens) born on May 13, 1941 in Los Angeles. He became one of the first Mexican-American rockers and the inspiration for "La Bamba", a great movie from the late 1980's.
His story was also part of Don McClean's "American Pie", a song written in the early 1970's about the crash that killed Buddy Holly, the Big Bopper & Ritchie Valens.
He was 17 when he died on February 3, 1959. Ritchie was not around too long but did record hits like "La Bamba", "Donna", "Come on let's go" and "We belong together".
Another example is Trini Lopez who was born in Dallas on May 15, 1937. He became a very popular singer in the 1960’s. One of his best songs was “If I had a hammer”, a # 3 song from 1963. His "Live at PJ's" album was # 2 in the Billboard Top 200 LP's in the summer of 1963.
Sadly, Ritchie was killed before he turned 18. Trini just turned 83 and enjoying his retirement.
