Dakota Beacon

Its a bright and sunny, cool September Sunday - no better time to pause in the day to listen to some great music from a multi-talented performer - the great Herb Alpert.

Born in Los Angeles in 1935 to Jewish immigrant parents from Ukraine and Romania, Alpert’s father was also a musician - he played the mandolin, and his mother was a violinist.  Alpert’s older brother played drums.  Herb began his trumpet lessons at age 8 and by the time he was in high school he was playing for dances.  He was also tinkering around with sound recording.  He continued playing while serving in the Army.  Following his military service he did some acting but his real calling was music.

He became involved in songwriting, co-writing some hits for other performers (“Wonderful World”, for one) and did some vocal recording of his own.  Alpert teamed up with Jerry Moss and formed “Carnival Records”, which name they changed after they discovered someone else was using the name “Carnival”.  It became A & M Records.

So what does Herb Alpert have to do with Tijuana?  He went on a trip to Tijuana and heard the mariachi music while at a bullfight.  The result was his adaptation of the ethnic trumpet fanfares into a new song, evocative of the ambience of the bullfight - he called it “The Lonely Bull” and it became a hit.  He had funded the recording himself, and originally it was just Alpert, playing different tracks just slightly out of sinc.  From this he developed an actual group, the Tijuana Brass, and performed as “Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass”.  

Alpert recorded a great deal throughout the 1960s, including Whipped Cream &Other Delights, which sold over 6 million copies in the U.S. alone.  In 1966 he managed to have five albums in the top 20 on Billboard.  According to the Guinnes Book of World Records, this has never been equalled to date.  He also had a Number One vocal single - “This Guy’s in Love With You” as well as a Number One instrumental - “Rise”.

Alpert has been married twice - with his first wife, Sharon Mae Lubin (1956-1971) he has two children.  In 1973 he married Lani Hall, lead singer with Brasil 66.  They have a daughter. 

Alpert’s interests are not restricted to music alone.  At one point he launched a perfume line sold in Nordstrom’s - “Listen” and “Listen for Men”.  Interestingly, he compares music and scents - with “high” and “low” notes, an idea he shares with the Russian composer, Borodin (a chemist who actually invented a scent “scale”).  He also owns a restaurant in the Los Angeles area, the Vibrato Grill Jazz.  He is also a visual artist, a sculptor of abstract expressionist works, and a philanthropist with his wife, Lani Hall.  Through their efforts they have supported numerous programs for youth in the arts and have given in excess of $69 million for this and with his siblings founded the Louis and Tillie Alpert Music Center in Jerusalem, bringing together Jewish and Arab students.  It would seem that he is the embodiment of “giving to receive”, generously sharing his talent and his earnings for the betterment of everyone and sharing the joy of music.

This guy deserves a special day, so let’s listen to some fine music from Herb Alpert.

“The Lonely Bull” (1965):  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsTDXByH3Mc

“TIjuana Taxi”:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vtF5GjVeaY

“Spanish Flea”:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NSSJyQDv-k

“A Taste of Honey”:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAFpqd_mDNo

“This Guy’s in Love With You” (Herb Alpert vocal):  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fno3mYzCFio

“Rise”:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vltC-O7PDYQ

An interview with Herb Alpert:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=coNcvlgz0kI