Herbert Alpert (b. 1935) came out of the Boyle Heights section of east Los Angeles back when the neighborhood was still Jewish. It isn't now! He began trumpet lessons at age eight and played at dances as a teenager. After graduating high school in 1952, he joined the Army and frequently performed at military ceremonies. After the Army, Herb tried his hand at acting but eventually settled on pursuing a career in music. While attending USC he was a member of the Trojan Marching Band.
In 1957, Herb teamed up with Rob Weerts as songwriters. A number of songs by Alpert during the following years became hits, including "Baby Talk" by Jan and Dean, "Wonderful World" by Sam Cooke, and "Alley Oop" by the Hollywood Argyles. In 1960 Herb began his recording career as a vocalist at RCA under the name of Dore Alpert. That went nowhere, so he teamed up with Jerry Moss to found A&M Records. The label started out as a small recording studio in his garage.
During a visit to Tijuana, Herb happened to hear a mariachi band while attending a bullfight. He recalled that he was inspired to find a way to express musically what he felt while watching the wild responses of the crowd and hearing the brass musicians introducing each new event with a rousing fanfare. Herb adopted the trumpet style, mixed in crowd cheers and other noises for ambience, and recorded "The Lonely Bull." He personally funded production of the record and promoted it via radio DJs until it caught on and became a hit in 1962. Originally the Tijuana Brass on the album cover was just Alpert over-dubbing his own trumpet slightly out of sync.
By the end of 1964, because of a growing demand for live appearances by the Tijuana Brass, Alpert hired a team of crack session men, none of whom were Hispanic. Herb told his audiences that his group consisted of "Four lasagnas, two bagels and an American cheese." The band debuted in 1965 and became one of the highest paid acts then performing, having put together a complete revue that included choreographed moves and comic routines written by Bill Dana, also known as Jose Jimenez.
Herb sang a Hal David & Burt Bacharach tune, "This Guy's in Love With You," which became a hit in 1968. He had an even bigger instrumental hit with "Rise" in 1979. He had a huge jazz album hit just this year. He's 80 years old and isn't slowing down.