Herb Alpert facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Herb Alpert
|
|
|---|---|
Alpert in 1966
|
|
| Background information | |
| Also known as | Dore Alpert, Tito Alpert |
| Born | March 31, 1935 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) |
|
| Instruments |
|
| Years active | 1956–present |
| Labels | |
Herb Alpert, born on March 31, 1935, is a famous American musician. He is best known for playing the trumpet. He also plays piano and sings. Herb Alpert is a talented songwriter, record producer, and even an artist who paints and sculpts!
In the 1960s, he led a popular band called Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass. During this time, he also started a record company called A&M Records with his friend Jerry Moss.
Alpert has released many successful albums. Five of his albums reached the No. 1 spot on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart. He is the only musician to have a No. 1 hit song as both a singer ("This Guy's in Love with You" in 1968) and an instrumentalist ("Rise" in 1979).
He has sold around 72 million records worldwide. Herb Alpert has won many awards, including eight Grammy Awards and a special Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2006, he was added to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 2013, President Barack Obama gave him the National Medal of Arts.
Contents
Early Life and Music Beginnings
Herb Alpert grew up in Los Angeles, California. His family loved music. His father played the mandolin, and his mother taught violin. His older brother was a drummer. Herb started playing the trumpet when he was eight years old.
In the 1950s, he was part of the USC Trojan Marching Band for two years while attending college. In 1957, he began writing songs for other artists. He co-wrote hit songs like "Baby Talk" for Jan and Dean and "Wonderful World" for Sam Cooke. In 1960, he started recording his own music as a singer, using the name Dore Alpert.
The Tijuana Brass Band
Herb Alpert was looking for his own unique sound. He tried playing like other famous trumpet players, but it didn't feel right. Then, he heard about a musician who recorded multiple layers of guitar. Alpert tried this with his trumpet, and a new sound appeared!
His big break came after he visited a bullfight in Tijuana, Mexico. He loved the exciting crowd, the traditional mariachi music, and the trumpet calls. This inspired him to create a song called "The Lonely Bull". He added crowd sounds to the music to make it feel like you were there.
He paid for the song to be released as a single. It became a Top 10 hit in 1962. He quickly released his first album, also called The Lonely Bull, with his band "Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass." At first, the "Tijuana Brass" was just Alpert playing his own trumpet parts multiple times.
His 1965 album, Whipped Cream & Other Delights, was incredibly popular. It was the number one album of 1966! It even sold more copies than albums by The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. Because of this huge success, Alpert had to create a real touring band for the Tijuana Brass. Many of their songs were used as theme music for the TV game show The Dating Game.
In 1967, a short animated film featuring two of their songs, "Tijuana Taxi" and "Spanish Flea", won an Academy Award.
Alpert had his only No. 1 hit during this time as a singer. It was a song called "This Guy's in Love with You" in 1968. He sang it to his first wife on a TV special. People loved it so much that they called CBS asking for it. Alpert decided to release it as a single, and it quickly became a No. 1 hit.
After years of success, Alpert felt overwhelmed in 1969. He stopped performing and broke up the Tijuana Brass. He later found a new teacher who helped him realize that his true instrument was his emotions, not just his trumpet. This helped him play better than ever.
Music After the Tijuana Brass
In 1979, Alpert had another big hit with the instrumental song "Rise". This song became very popular after it was used on the TV show General Hospital. It reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Alpert continues to make music. In 2013, his album Steppin' Out won a Grammy Award. He has released several more albums since then. In late 2024, Alpert announced that he would form a new Tijuana Brass group for a tour in 2025. This tour will celebrate the famous Whipped Cream and Other Delights album.
A&M Records
Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss started A&M Records in 1962. It became a very successful record company. In 1989, a company called PolyGram bought A&M Records for $500 million.
Visual Arts
Besides music, Herb Alpert is also a talented painter and sculptor. He creates abstract art, which means his art uses shapes, colors, and lines instead of showing things exactly as they look. His artwork has been shown in exhibitions across the United States and Europe.
Awards and Recognition
Herb Alpert has received many honors for his amazing career:
- In 1977, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
- In 1997, he won the Billboard Latin Music Lifetime Achievement Award for his contributions to Latin music.
- In 2006, he and Jerry Moss were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
- In 2009, he received the Society of Singers Lifetime Achievement Award.
- In 2013, he was given the National Medal of Arts by President Barack Obama at the White House.
Helping Others (Philanthropy)
In the 1980s, Herb Alpert started the Herb Alpert Foundation. This foundation helps young people and supports arts education. It also cares about environmental issues.
He and his wife have given large donations to universities to support music education. For example, they donated $30 million to University of California, Los Angeles in 2007 to create the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music. They also gave money to the Harlem School of the Arts, which helped the school pay off its debt and create scholarships. In 2013, the school's building was renamed the Herb Alpert Center. In 2016, his foundation gave $10.1 million to Los Angeles City College to provide free tuition for all music majors.
He also founded the Louis and Tillie Alpert Music Center in Jerusalem, which brings together both Arab and Jewish students to learn music.
Other Ventures
In 2004, Alpert opened a jazz club and restaurant called Vibrato in Los Angeles. He owns it with his daughter, Eden.
Documentaries
Two TV documentaries have been made about Herb Alpert's life and music:
- Legends: Herb Alpert – Tijuana Brass and Other Delights (2010)
- Herb Alpert Is... (2020)
Personal Life
Herb Alpert married Sharon Mae Lubin in 1956. They had two children, Dore and Eden, before divorcing in 1971. In 1973, Alpert married Lani Hall, who was the lead singer of the band Brasil '66. They have a daughter named Aria. Herb Alpert and Lani Hall often perform music together.
Images for kids
-
The Tijuana Brass in 1966; from left: Alpert, Tonni Kalash, John Pisano, Nick Ceroli and Pat Senatore
Discography
Herb Alpert has released many albums throughout his career. Here are some of his most well-known studio albums:
- The Lonely Bull (1962)
- Whipped Cream & Other Delights (1965)
- Going Places (1965)
- What Now My Love (1966)
- Rise (1979)
- Steppin' Out (2013)
Some of his most famous singles include:
- "The Lonely Bull" (1962)
- "A Taste of Honey" (1965)
- "Spanish Flea" (1966)
- "Tijuana Taxi" (1966)
- "This Guy's in Love with You" (1968)
- "Rise" (1979)
- "Diamonds" (1987)
See also
In Spanish: Herb Alpert para niños
- 20th century brass instrumentalists
- Herb Alpert: Music for Your Eyes documentary (2003)
- List of artists who reached number one in the United States
- List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Dance Club Songs chart
- List of trumpeters
