Posted on 03/12/2013 5:05:04 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Many musicians have gotten their start in garages and, in the tech era, so have many entrepreneurs. But Herb Alpert has the rare distinction of beginning not only a successful career as a musician but a multinational entertainment corporation at the same time in one of them.
"It was a two-car garage that I converted into a studio," Mr. Alpert, 77, said during a telephone interview, recalling the events in his West Hollywood home more than 50 years earlier. "I made a room inside a room, and I was able to go out there at any time, day or night, and blow the horn and not disturb anyone."
That "horn" is the trumpet with which Mr. Alpert climbed the pop charts—first with "The Lonely Bull," the garage recording he made in 1962 after hearing the sounds of a Mexican bullfight, followed by a string of singles in the '60s with his band, the Tijuana Brass. He continued to have sporadic hits in the '70s and '80s, including "Rise," a disco-flavored instrumental work that topped the Billboard pop charts for two weeks in 1979.
Mr. Alpert and his wife, the singer Lani Hall, are currently performing with a backing trio at New York's Café Carlyle through March 16. He says playing in such small venues reconnects him to his musical roots of playing at weddings, bar mitzvahs and sororities before his breakthrough with "The Lonely Bull."
"I get a more sincere feeling out of playing at small, intimate clubs," Mr. Alpert says. "People are right there, and you can see them, and they react. I like to just have that feeling of playing and getting a response."
During this visit, Mr. Alpert will head uptown from the Café Carlyle's tony Upper East Side neighborhood to the Harlem School of the Arts.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
The USS Pueblo’s official ships song was “The Lonely Bull” by Herb Alpert.
I didn’t know he was still alive ...and playing..outstanding
Acapulco 1922 and This Guy’s in Love With You. The Lonely Bull?
Great stuff back then.
And also all of the music from “The Dating Game”.
Ditto that!
Spanish Flea.
I did not know that. The mind-boggling things one picks up on FR.
Don’t have it handy at the moment, or I’d post it. “It” is Sour Cream and Other Delights, a great Tijuana Brass sendup by The Frivolous Five. One of my favorite parody records of all time!
Jim Hoehn, an extremely talented songwriter, wrote a song called “I Still Like Herb Alpert.” Jim (in the red shirt) performs the song at a house party in Key West in November 2010 (because of banter among the performers, the song actually starts at about the 2 minute mark): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4uXvYi7SDY
This alblum cover was one of my favorites! The lady in whipped cream is still alive and still looks pretty good for her age.
I remember the saga of the USS Pueblo growing up. LBJ basically let the ship and her crew be taken by the North Koreans. He didn’t lift a finger to help them. 0bozo is today’s LBJ.
Remember all those great hits. A&M records..Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss.
Because we can.
Yes, but has the whipped cream dripped off her yet?
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