If You Remember Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass......

[Pink Freud]

You'll want to see the NEW Tijuana Brass with Herb Alpert on their new (and definitely final, since Herb is 89) concert tour, which includes St. Louis. www.herbalpert.com The promotion promises performances of just Tijuana Brass hits from the '60s.

As a teen, I was Herb's biggest fan. I had all of his albums. I fanboy'd all over his two hour-long network TV specials. I saw all of his variety show appearances and when he hosted "The Hollywood Palace". He had five albums in the Billboard Top 20 at one point, outselling the Beatles in the mid-60s.

In my final year living in L.A. I spent a full afternoon touring the spectacular Hollywood Bowl grounds, seeking to see the L. A. Philharmonic's free morning rehearsal. Instead, I learned upon arriving they wouldn't rehearse that day because the venue was prepping for a concert that night....by Herb Alpert and Lani Hall. YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING ME, I thought. Nope; true! I only had about $30 to my name at that time, so I spent the whole day there, hiking the sensational terrain and spending two hours in the wonderful Hollywood Bowl Museum (wait until you see the original Beatles contract to play there, promoted by Bob Eubanks). And yes...Herb and Lani and their band were terrific at the sold-out Bowl that night.

My wife and I saw Herb and his wife, --- the original lead singer for Sergio Mendes and Brasil '66 --- Lani Hall in concert four years ago, just a few days after my bucket list was firmly checked by interviewing Herb by phone on radio for an unforgettable half hour. We really lucked out, because this was his final concert before having to cancel the rest of his sold-out tour due to COVID. Herb and Lani long ago moved primarily into modern jazz, plus the Great American Songbook. Their fine-dining jazz club Vibrato continues to thrive in Beverly Hills.

Herb and his first-and-only business partner and lifelong friend Jerry Moss --- they never had anything written; always handshake agreements between them --- created A&M Records after recording his first album, "The Lonely Bull" in his house's garage. While the Tijuana Brass became a worldwide sensation, A&M branched out immediately, then became its own giant brand by signing The Carpenters; Styx; The Police; Peter Frampton, etc..

Herb and Jerry were beloved by artists because, like Herb, they always chafed under record labels interfering with their music. They were encouraged "You be you", and they and their label both thrived. "We Are the World" was recorded by 46 of the world's biggest stars overnight at A&M Records. See the most excellent doc "The Greatest Night in Pop" on Netflix.

In 1990, Alpert and Moss sold A&M to Polygram for half a billion dollars. Herb then created a world music program with a $30 million gift to UCLA. He became a respected and popular painter and sculptor with his creations in museums and galleries all around SoCal.

For a great doc on Herb and his wonderful career and life, see "Herb Alpert Is..." on Prime Video; Peacock; Freevee; Plex; Roku Channel; Tubi; and Pluto TV.

[12xu]

Not so much a fan of Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass, but I have a great deal of respect for the talent his label - A&M - signed to record deals in the late sixties and early seventies. I was buying a lot of albums in those days, and some of my favorites were on A&M: Fairport Convention, Procol Harum, Spooky Tooth, Free, Strawbs, Humble Pie, Lee Michaels, Joe Cocker, Flying Burrito Brothers, and many more.

Many of those British artists were on the Island label in the UK, but their albums were released on A&M in the USA.

[Pink Freud]

Not so much a fan of Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass, but I have a great deal of respect for the talent his label - A&M - signed to record deals in the late sixties and early seventies. I was buying a lot of albums in those days, and some of my favorites were on A&M: Fairport Convention, Procol Harum, Spooky Tooth, Free, Strawbs, Humble Pie, Lee Michaels, Joe Cocker, Flying Burrito Brothers, and many more.

Many of those British artists were on the Island label in the UK, but their albums were released on A&M in the USA.

The old A&M Records property itself has a fascinating history. Charlie Chaplin owned it for many years as the base of his silent movies production, building English Tudor structures so his mother, whom he moved here from England, would feel at home. When Chaplin was chased out of the USA by the McCarthy terrorists, he left the property to wither and nearly die.

That's when Alpert and Moss bought the studios for a song (so to speak) and ramped up signing other artists with the guarantee of artistic freedom. In 1990, after selling out to Polygram, Jim Henson Studios bought the property for its Muppets productions, then Disney bought that out.

That's why, when you pull up to the main gate on LaBrea just south of Sunset, you see a 10-ft. tall Kermit the Frog atop the brick column, dressed like Chaplin's Little Tramp.

Just a reminder about Chaplin's classics: His little co-star, The Kid, was Jackie Coogan (yes, TV's Uncle Fester) whose parents blew every dollar he made as a worldwide movie star. That's why, when your child gets a role on a TV show, movie, commercial, or music video, he/she has to have a Coogan Account opened in their name, protecting their earnings until they're 18. My Encino landlord's son, 13, had such an account which I had to show the producers when I took him --- as his appointed Guardian on set, since both parents were working --- to auditions and for one national TV commercial shoot. I really enjoyed that 10-hour commercial shoot. Crafts Services BBQ'd tri-tip, shrimp, chicken......

[Ed Fraser]

How can we forget Herb Alpert? You always remind us of him when no one asked.

Did your wife fling her granny panties at him?