Biography

Herb Alpert

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Bandleader who had several big instrumental hits in 1960s with his band, Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass. First big hit was "The Lonely Bull" in 1963. He and the Brass followed that with other big hits like "Tijuana Taxi", "Spanish Flea" (familiar to some as "the Dating Game song"), "A Taste of Honey", and "Zorba the Greek". It wasn't until he decided to try a vocal that he finally hit #1 on the Billboard charts with "This Guy's in Love With You" in 1968. After the breakup of the Tijuana Brass, Alpert was out of the public eye until his comeback album, Rise, hit the charts in 1979. That album produced his first instrumental #1, "Rise". After several mediocre attempts after that, Alpert laid low and then resurfaced in 1987 with a more modern jazz/funk sound with "Keep Your Eye on Me".
- IMDb mini biography by: Phil

Because of his association with his early band, Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass, and his somewhat olive complexion, many people think he is Hispanic. Actually, his parents are both Jewish, and his father was born in Russia.
Co-founder, with Jerry Moss, of A&M Records, which grew to become the world's largest independent record label. Among the artists that recorded on A&M included The Carpenters, Cat Stevens, Joe Cocker, Carole King and Sergio Mendes.
Only artist in history to hit #1 on the Billboard charts with both a vocal hit ("This Guy's in Love With You" in 1968) and an instrumental hit ("Rise" in 1979).
Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on March 13, 2006.
Recorded his first hit, "The Lonely Bull", with members of the Wrecking Crew (the cream of Los Angeles studio musicians), who accepted scale pay as a favor to Alpert and the session's coordinator. After the record became a hit (earning Alpert a million dollars in royalties), he paid the musicians the balance of their session fees, and a fine to the Musicians Union.

. . . there was a point with the Tijuana Brass where we were playing for such huge crowds that I kind of lost contact. At one point, the only connection I had with the audience was with people out there lighting cigarettes.
I never thought of myself as a trumpet player in the traditional sense: I never played in a big band . . . I didn't struggle the normal way.
I believe the best chance we have of creating responsible and productive kids is through the arts, and it has to be developed just like literacy.
[2013, on the music industry] Aw man, it's in serious trouble. The Internet has not been a big help. And looking back on it, I don't think we responded properly to the music-sharing program that was rampant and devastated the business. The record companies as they used to be? I think that's gone.
[on the suggestion that the Tijuana Brass style limited the scope of his career] I never felt limited. This might sound weird, man, but I never tried to make a hit record. I tried to make interesting records. I worked with Sam Cooke and Lou Adler and wrote a song, "A Wonderful World". Sam was a mentor and he said, "People are just listening to a cool piece of wax. And it either makes it or it doesn't. And it's not important what kind of echo chamber you're using. Or how much time you've spent in the studio practicing".

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