Herb Alpert

Birthday: 31 March 1935, Los Angeles, California, USA

Birth Name: Herbert Alpert

Bandleader who had several big instrumental hits in 1960s with his band, 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". Show less «

[2013, on the music industry] Aw man, it's in serious trouble. The Internet has not been a big help....Show more »

[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. Show less «

I believe the best chance we have of creating responsible and productive kids is through the arts, a...Show more »

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. Show less «

[on the suggestion that the Tijuana Brass style limited the scope of his career] I never felt limite...Show more »

[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". Show less «

. . . there was a point with the Tijuana Brass where we were playing for such huge crowds that I kin...Show more »

. . . 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. Show less «

I never thought of myself as a trumpet player in the traditional sense: I never played in a big band...Show more »

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. Show less «

Herb Alpert

Herb Alpert's FILMOGRAPHY

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