0:00:13 > 0:00:18Herb Alpert, the kid from LA who sold America the sound of Mexico.
0:00:25 > 0:00:30In the '60s, his Tijuana brass became the soundtrack to the new suburban dream.
0:00:30 > 0:00:35Herb, he had identification, now that's what it's about.
0:00:35 > 0:00:39If you don't know who it is in 20 seconds, then you're making the wrong record.
0:00:45 > 0:00:50It's an extraordinary career, to be a trumpet player and have hit records.
0:00:50 > 0:00:51It's very rare.
0:00:54 > 0:00:58He was so damn successful AND he had movie-star good looks.
0:00:58 > 0:01:04He was the shy guy who found himself propelled into the spotlight.
0:01:04 > 0:01:07The guy who lived the American Dream, but felt trapped by his own success.
0:01:07 > 0:01:11# You see this guy
0:01:11 > 0:01:18# This guy's in love with you... #
0:01:18 > 0:01:23But that's only half the story. He was also the A in A&M Records,
0:01:23 > 0:01:29a label that gave us amongst others, The Carpenters,
0:01:29 > 0:01:31The Police,
0:01:31 > 0:01:32and Janet Jackson.
0:01:32 > 0:01:37The most successful boutique record company maybe of all time.
0:01:37 > 0:01:40I mean, it was fantastic and happened very quickly.
0:01:40 > 0:01:44This is the story of musician, producer,
0:01:44 > 0:01:47record industry mogul, artist.
0:01:47 > 0:01:50Mr Herb Alpert.
0:02:10 > 0:02:12TRUMPET PLAYS
0:02:28 > 0:02:30Wasn't that wonderful?
0:02:30 > 0:02:32HE LAUGHS
0:02:32 > 0:02:35I practise every day. Yeah. I'm addicted.
0:02:35 > 0:02:40I started practising when I was eight. I've missed maybe three days in my lifetime.
0:02:40 > 0:02:45I don't think of myself as the greatest trumpet player in the world, I just play me, you know,
0:02:45 > 0:02:48and that's all you can do as a musician. That's the get off.
0:02:48 > 0:02:51I mean, that's when you can really have fun, be yourself.
0:02:51 > 0:02:58Herb divides his time between sculpting, painting and performing, and still finds time to tour.
0:03:02 > 0:03:07Today Herb is playing a gig alongside his wife Lani Hall at his own Bel Air jazz club.
0:03:07 > 0:03:11APPLAUSE
0:03:18 > 0:03:19Thanks for being here.
0:03:19 > 0:03:23It's the most beautiful jazz club in the world.
0:03:23 > 0:03:25CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:03:27 > 0:03:33OK, so here is It's Only A Paper Moon, and thanks for being here.
0:03:33 > 0:03:36APPLAUSE
0:04:00 > 0:04:06I was born in Los Angeles, and it was a much different city.
0:04:08 > 0:04:11Years back. Before smog.
0:04:12 > 0:04:17Born in 1935 in the Los Angeles suburb of Fairfax,
0:04:17 > 0:04:21Herbert Alpert was the youngest son of Russian Jewish immigrants.
0:04:21 > 0:04:24There was music in the house.
0:04:25 > 0:04:28My father played mandolin by ear, he's from Russia.
0:04:28 > 0:04:32He'd just kind of spontaneously play songs. He had a good ear.
0:04:32 > 0:04:34My mother played violin.
0:04:34 > 0:04:39My sister, piano, and my brother was a professional drummer.
0:04:39 > 0:04:44Herb is six years younger than me, so he was very into music,
0:04:44 > 0:04:47because at an early age he saw we were all playing music.
0:04:47 > 0:04:53I guess he figured out that none of us played the trumpet,
0:04:53 > 0:04:55so he decided, I guess, to take the trumpet.
0:04:55 > 0:04:57I liked the sound of it.
0:04:57 > 0:05:01I was very, very shy when I was five, six, seven years old,
0:05:01 > 0:05:05and the horn just made a loud sound and I liked it.
0:05:05 > 0:05:07You know, it kind of spoke for me.
0:05:07 > 0:05:09Herb is very shy.
0:05:09 > 0:05:15He's always been that way, but once in a while he'd play, but he would mostly just practise his scales.
0:05:15 > 0:05:18He studied, and he was really dedicated to the trumpet.
0:05:20 > 0:05:26As a kid I studied with this Russian trumpet player.
0:05:26 > 0:05:29Like, every week I would take a lesson,
0:05:29 > 0:05:32and I'd usually try to get out of some of the lessons
0:05:32 > 0:05:36claiming I had chapped lips, or whatever, I was dodging it a bit.
0:05:36 > 0:05:39And I was playing this one etude for him,
0:05:39 > 0:05:45and when I finished I looked over and he was crying.
0:05:45 > 0:05:49He had tears coming down his face,
0:05:49 > 0:05:56and he looked at me and said with a little bit of an accent, "That was beautiful."
0:05:56 > 0:06:00That was the first time I realised, gee, I could touch somebody.
0:06:03 > 0:06:09He studied classical music, but it was jazz that was the sound of '50s California.
0:06:09 > 0:06:15I was really enamoured with Shorty Rogers, Gerry Mulligan and Chet Baker.
0:06:15 > 0:06:19They used to play at a place, a little jazz club here in Los Angeles.
0:06:19 > 0:06:25Jazz in California took on a flavour of its own in the early to mid '50s.
0:06:25 > 0:06:30It was cooler, it was less heated and frenetic,
0:06:30 > 0:06:35and environmentally you could say more appropriate.
0:06:35 > 0:06:36You know, tropical.
0:06:36 > 0:06:41More laid back, all the sort of Californian cliches if you like.
0:06:41 > 0:06:44That was the moment when I kind of switched from...
0:06:44 > 0:06:51I was classically trained to, you know, moving in to wanting to just close my eyes
0:06:51 > 0:06:54and play whatever came out, because that's what they were doing.
0:06:54 > 0:06:56They seemed very cool. They were super cool.
0:07:00 > 0:07:03Forming the Colonial Trio,
0:07:03 > 0:07:06Herb got his first taste of a career in music.
0:07:06 > 0:07:10In high school we got a little trio together and formed a band,
0:07:10 > 0:07:14and started making money playing on weekends.
0:07:14 > 0:07:19We became popular, and we were earning a pretty good living.
0:07:19 > 0:07:25But he was no jazz purist. He had a keen ear for the pop music of the day.
0:07:25 > 0:07:29The first time I got interested in... That wasn't really rock 'n' roll,
0:07:29 > 0:07:32it was kind of a combination between rock 'n' roll and blues.
0:07:32 > 0:07:34Oh, boy, how do I find it now?
0:07:34 > 0:07:36- COMPUTER:- # Life could be a dream... #
0:07:36 > 0:07:41This is The Chords, and every time I hear this tune,
0:07:41 > 0:07:48this rendition especially, I remember exactly where I was, and looking at this radio,
0:07:48 > 0:07:51this plastic radio, staring at it, thinking,
0:07:51 > 0:07:54"This is cool. This is good."
0:08:00 > 0:08:04There's so many different types of music that I respond to.
0:08:04 > 0:08:07I think it's all about a melody.
0:08:07 > 0:08:10A good melody is always infectious.
0:08:10 > 0:08:13# Oh, life could be a dream Sh-boom
0:08:13 > 0:08:16# If I could take you up in paradise up above... #
0:08:16 > 0:08:20In 1956 Herb married his teen sweetheart, Sharon,
0:08:20 > 0:08:23and was playing local gigs to support their young family.
0:08:23 > 0:08:27I knew him as a local trumpet player.
0:08:27 > 0:08:31Had a small group, played Bar Mitzvahs and weddings.
0:08:31 > 0:08:36I had written poetry,
0:08:36 > 0:08:40and school songs and lyrics.
0:08:40 > 0:08:46And I wrote some music to his poetry, and we took those songs round to publishing companies,
0:08:46 > 0:08:49and we got some pretty good reaction,
0:08:49 > 0:08:54and then at Keen Records, they wanted to sign us as staff writers.
0:08:54 > 0:08:56That's when we met Sam Cooke.
0:08:56 > 0:09:01# Darling, you send me
0:09:01 > 0:09:06# I know you send me... #
0:09:06 > 0:09:13Sam Cooke had a profound effect on my life, I was crazy about this guy.
0:09:13 > 0:09:17He was just a wonderful artist,
0:09:17 > 0:09:22and a wonderful human being, and just a terrific teacher,
0:09:22 > 0:09:25and he didn't know it, but he had great instincts.
0:09:25 > 0:09:29# Now I find myself wanting
0:09:29 > 0:09:32# To marry you and take you home
0:09:32 > 0:09:34# I know, I know... #
0:09:34 > 0:09:38He always used to tell me, "Herbie, people are just listening to a cold piece of wax,
0:09:38 > 0:09:41"and it either makes it or it don't."
0:09:41 > 0:09:46He says "People don't care if you're black or white or whatever. It either touches you or it doesn't."
0:09:46 > 0:09:52And that's when I realised what to listen for, you know, listen emotionally.
0:09:58 > 0:10:02# Don't know much about history
0:10:02 > 0:10:05# Don't know much biology... #
0:10:05 > 0:10:08Wonderful World, which Herbie and I wrote with Sam,
0:10:08 > 0:10:14was actually maybe one of the first records we produced,
0:10:14 > 0:10:16but the record became very, very big.
0:10:16 > 0:10:20# And I know that if you love me too
0:10:20 > 0:10:24# What a wonderful world this could be... #
0:10:24 > 0:10:28For both of us, it was pop music training that eventually
0:10:28 > 0:10:34became the education that took us into the music business
0:10:34 > 0:10:37and success as record producers.
0:10:38 > 0:10:44Herb and Lou left Keen Records, and targeting the new teen market,
0:10:44 > 0:10:47for their next venture they hit the beach.
0:10:52 > 0:10:57Jan and Dean at that time were 17-year-olds and they were going to university high school.
0:10:57 > 0:10:59I just liked their look.
0:10:59 > 0:11:03I mean, they looked like typical California kids, you know,
0:11:03 > 0:11:05they were both six foot tall, blonde, surfers.
0:11:09 > 0:11:15Our office that we had was in the telephone booth at state beach,
0:11:15 > 0:11:19and right after school Jan and Dean would come to the beach.
0:11:19 > 0:11:23So I had the telephone number of the phone booth,
0:11:23 > 0:11:27and I had cards printed up and I used to give it out as my phone,
0:11:27 > 0:11:31and then somebody would yell "Lou, your phone's ringing."
0:11:36 > 0:11:40All during that time, Herbie,
0:11:40 > 0:11:43although he was enjoying what we were doing,
0:11:43 > 0:11:48in the back of his mind and somewhere in his soul,
0:11:48 > 0:11:50he wanted to be an artist.
0:11:52 > 0:11:55I took Jan and Dean, and Herbie took the tape machine.
0:11:56 > 0:12:01I signed as an artist, singing for a year with RCA Victor,
0:12:01 > 0:12:04which was a great experience for me, because I learned what not to do.
0:12:04 > 0:12:08How not to create a recording studio.
0:12:08 > 0:12:13Because I was in the studio recording, I think, the last session I did there.
0:12:13 > 0:12:15I wanted to put a little bit more bass on,
0:12:15 > 0:12:21just to hear what the bass would sound if it was a little louder, so I reached over to the board,
0:12:21 > 0:12:24put my hand on, and the engineer slapped my hand.
0:12:24 > 0:12:26He says "Don't ever touch that again.
0:12:26 > 0:12:31"It's a union house, and I can really get in trouble for you touching that board."
0:12:31 > 0:12:37And I thought to myself, "Man, isn't the record industry supposed to revolve around the artist?"
0:12:40 > 0:12:43Disgruntled by the big corporate record company experience,
0:12:43 > 0:12:46Herb left RCA, and in a bid to have more control,
0:12:46 > 0:12:50he partnered up with the west coast's number one promotion man, Jerry Moss.
0:12:53 > 0:12:57The two budding entrepreneurs set up their own record label,
0:12:57 > 0:13:01and sealed the deal on the beach with 200 and a handshake.
0:13:01 > 0:13:06You have to understand the investment in that handshake, think about it, it was only 100 each.
0:13:06 > 0:13:11This was in a certain way a get-rich idea,
0:13:11 > 0:13:15you know, number 432.
0:13:15 > 0:13:18Either way it happened, we were going to end up as friends.
0:13:18 > 0:13:23Setting up shop in Herb's garage, Alpert and Moss became A&M Records.
0:13:23 > 0:13:29Herb's garage, that was where our office was for the first six months or so.
0:13:29 > 0:13:31He had the two-track tape recorder,
0:13:31 > 0:13:37and I had a little desk in that garage with a two-line phone.
0:13:37 > 0:13:39There was no secretary, no book-keeper, nothing.
0:13:39 > 0:13:43I was pretty much running a ledger by myself.
0:13:43 > 0:13:49They had some success with Herb as a vocalist, but Herb wanted to go back to the trumpet.
0:13:49 > 0:13:53For a long time I was trying to emulate my jazz favourites,
0:13:53 > 0:13:57Louis Armstrong for a while, then I played a little bit like Miles,
0:13:57 > 0:14:02and I realised I was going to get nowhere doing that, because who wants to hear a replica of somebody else,
0:14:02 > 0:14:08and I realised at that moment if I was ever going to be a jazz musician or be a professional musician,
0:14:08 > 0:14:12I'd have to come up with my own way of doing it.
0:14:19 > 0:14:23I was going to bullfights in Tijuana,
0:14:23 > 0:14:27and I got kind of charged up with the feeling of the bullfight,
0:14:27 > 0:14:31the feeling of the crowd, the feeling of the brass section that was in the stands,
0:14:31 > 0:14:34and they'd announce each event.
0:14:34 > 0:14:39So that's kind of got under my skin, not so much the bullfight, they were a little gory at times,
0:14:39 > 0:14:44and I didn't appreciate that as much as I appreciated the feeling of the crowd,
0:14:44 > 0:14:49the energy the crowd had, and I tried to translate that feeling into a record.
0:14:57 > 0:15:02I had two tape machines in my little studio at home,
0:15:02 > 0:15:04a very little studio at home.
0:15:04 > 0:15:08But these two tape machines allowed me to play the trumpet on one...
0:15:12 > 0:15:14..and then hear that sound and transfer it
0:15:14 > 0:15:18over to this other tape machine and play it again on top of it,
0:15:18 > 0:15:22so little by little, I got this sound that really was intriguing,
0:15:22 > 0:15:26and that was the genesis of the Tijuana Brass.
0:15:26 > 0:15:29He did all the trumpets, all the sound.
0:15:29 > 0:15:34They just sounded bigger because he was so gifted at arranging the horn sounds.
0:15:41 > 0:15:45After The Lonely Bull, I get letters from people saying,
0:15:45 > 0:15:49"Thank you for taking me on this vicarious trip to Tijuana,"
0:15:49 > 0:15:52which gave me the hint that, wow,
0:15:52 > 0:15:56people were getting the feeling of being there without being there.
0:15:56 > 0:16:00So I have to make visual music instrumentally,
0:16:00 > 0:16:02and that's what I always tried to do.
0:16:03 > 0:16:09'The single was a success, and they were determined that it wouldn't be a one-hit wonder.'
0:16:09 > 0:16:12Before we did the album, most of the independent distributors
0:16:12 > 0:16:15said, "Why don't you guys just take the money and run?
0:16:15 > 0:16:17"You got lucky, and that's it."
0:16:17 > 0:16:19And that really challenged us.
0:16:19 > 0:16:23We decided we could re-invest the money
0:16:23 > 0:16:28that we made on The Lonely Bull and put the album out and re-invested that.
0:16:28 > 0:16:30Voila. We were a record company.
0:16:38 > 0:16:42Herb and Jerry had invented their very own Mexico.
0:16:42 > 0:16:48By taking catchy melodies and giving it their Tijuana twist, they'd hit on a winning formula.
0:16:52 > 0:16:57A lot of people tried to identify what I was doing, and they thought,
0:16:57 > 0:16:59"Well, this guy is spinning off of mariachi music."
0:16:59 > 0:17:03I never listened to mariachi music in my life.
0:17:03 > 0:17:07I chose to use some Latin instruments, like maracas
0:17:07 > 0:17:10and congas and things that maybe are synonymous with Latin music,
0:17:10 > 0:17:13but I was just trying to invent my own little thing.
0:17:13 > 0:17:17I took a little bit of this, a little bit of that. And that's the fun of it.
0:17:19 > 0:17:22I felt we'd established a real market
0:17:22 > 0:17:26for what the Tijuana Brass really was,
0:17:26 > 0:17:28sort of a jazz-inflected, happy sound
0:17:28 > 0:17:31with a sense of humour, if you will.
0:17:31 > 0:17:35Clark's Teaberry Gum presents The Teaberry Shuffle.
0:17:40 > 0:17:44I think it was round '63, '64, Teaberry, which was a chewing gum,
0:17:44 > 0:17:49picked up a song of Herb's called Mexican Shuffle
0:17:49 > 0:17:53and called it The Teaberry Shuffle and advertised on
0:17:53 > 0:17:57national television, and that added to the momentum,
0:17:57 > 0:17:59so to speak.
0:17:59 > 0:18:03'This huge advertising campaign meant Herb's upbeat sound
0:18:03 > 0:18:06'was being piped into homes all across America.'
0:18:06 > 0:18:10What he was able to do with the Tijuana Brass was capture a
0:18:10 > 0:18:15commercial sound, which is difficult for a jazz-playing trumpet player.
0:18:15 > 0:18:19I mean, it's easy for the public to understand his music.
0:18:19 > 0:18:22He plays popular music.
0:18:25 > 0:18:29'Their skills at packaging meant Herb's records looked good, too.'
0:18:31 > 0:18:33You know, I loved the cover.
0:18:33 > 0:18:35I loved that girl covered in cream.
0:18:35 > 0:18:39I was in love with her. And then I liked the music, too!
0:18:42 > 0:18:44Most people say the cover was the thing.
0:18:44 > 0:18:48It was in every radio station, every high school, whatever it was.
0:18:48 > 0:18:52That's now considered almost iconic, you know?
0:18:52 > 0:18:57By this time, A&M had moved into offices and taken on extra staff.
0:18:57 > 0:19:03The albums were selling, and with success there was a growing demand for Herb to perform live.
0:19:03 > 0:19:06The only thing missing was an actual band.
0:19:06 > 0:19:12You know, there was no Tijuana Brass until after the Whipped Cream (and Other Delights) album.
0:19:12 > 0:19:18People at A&M at the time kept insisting I get a group together, and I was a little lazy about that.
0:19:18 > 0:19:20I thought, "Oh, man. I don't want that responsibility."
0:19:22 > 0:19:24It just didn't appeal to me.
0:19:26 > 0:19:31Despite Herb's reluctance, their enterprising minds knew a band would complete the image,
0:19:31 > 0:19:35and they embarked on a hectic promotional schedule.
0:19:45 > 0:19:48Personal appearances would sell records, so every time
0:19:48 > 0:19:51we played a town, the record sales would just sky-rocket.
0:19:51 > 0:19:57They were doing all right, but we just sold a lot more records after there was a group out there.
0:19:57 > 0:20:01The records fuelled the TV shows,
0:20:01 > 0:20:06and the TV shows fuelled the appearances, and it all
0:20:06 > 0:20:10moved around like that, as it always does with a very successful artist.
0:20:10 > 0:20:15'The band brought the music to life, with everyone playing their part.'
0:20:27 > 0:20:31We would like to point out first that there are no Mexicans in the group.
0:20:31 > 0:20:36Herb used to have... What was his line? He said, "We have four...
0:20:36 > 0:20:38- "Italians...- "four lasagnes..."
0:20:38 > 0:20:40We have four lasagnes,
0:20:40 > 0:20:43and we have two bagels
0:20:43 > 0:20:45and one
0:20:45 > 0:20:47American cheese sandwich.
0:20:47 > 0:20:50"American cheese sandwich."
0:20:50 > 0:20:52That was me, cos I didn't know where I was!
0:20:57 > 0:21:03The band were now competing with the Beatles and began to experience Tijuana mania.
0:21:03 > 0:21:07- CROWD:- Ole! Ole!
0:21:09 > 0:21:15We would be in our dressing room, and this would start up over the sound system with this "Ole!",
0:21:15 > 0:21:17and the people would get everybody joined in.
0:21:17 > 0:21:19And by the time we get onto the stage,
0:21:19 > 0:21:21they were just screaming and going crazy.
0:21:21 > 0:21:25I mean, it was like we were a success before we even played a note, you know?
0:21:25 > 0:21:26But we played anyway!
0:21:26 > 0:21:28Yeah! Exactly!
0:21:29 > 0:21:33The band toured extensively, and the hits kept coming.
0:21:55 > 0:21:59I think people came to the concerts to have a good time, and they did.
0:21:59 > 0:22:05Herb was a terrific front man for the band, you know,
0:22:05 > 0:22:09a very good-looking man, an authentic musician
0:22:09 > 0:22:15with a very accomplished band who had a lot of fun on the stage.
0:22:15 > 0:22:18The shows had humour,
0:22:18 > 0:22:22they had pace. People danced, they laughed, they had a good time.
0:22:22 > 0:22:30- The first gig we did of any consequence was at the Arizona state fair.- Oh!
0:22:30 > 0:22:34It was a daytime thing. It was the first time there were teenagers, the young girls and all that.
0:22:34 > 0:22:40And I remember, we were walking, Herb was a few feet away, and they all started running after him.
0:22:40 > 0:22:43And I kind of chuckled, "Well, we'd like a go of that."
0:22:43 > 0:22:47And all of a sudden, here they came after us! It was a little scary.
0:22:47 > 0:22:49It sure was!
0:22:49 > 0:22:52There was a little bit of mania in the early days.
0:22:52 > 0:22:54There were times when it was just
0:22:54 > 0:23:00kind of magical, the places we played where people were just super-excited.
0:23:02 > 0:23:04I remember one time with a situation like that happening.
0:23:04 > 0:23:09- Somebody came up and said, "Are you anybody?"- That's right!
0:23:13 > 0:23:15Thank you and good evening.
0:23:15 > 0:23:16- CROWD:- Ole!
0:23:16 > 0:23:21My name is Herb Alpert.
0:23:21 > 0:23:23- CROWD:- Ole!
0:23:23 > 0:23:26And these gentlemen are known as the Tijuana Brass.
0:23:26 > 0:23:29- CROWD:- Ole!
0:23:40 > 0:23:43I think at that point, the most amazing thing happened.
0:23:43 > 0:23:46Herbie, who'd been sort of a quiet type, you know,
0:23:46 > 0:23:48never pushed himself on anybody,
0:23:48 > 0:23:52became the number one act in America for a good three years.
0:23:52 > 0:23:54Ole!
0:23:56 > 0:24:01I was a little bit surprised at how much Herb put himself out there as an artist.
0:24:01 > 0:24:05I knew the playing part,
0:24:05 > 0:24:11but actually doing the TV shows and going onstage and becoming that kind of celebrity,
0:24:11 > 0:24:17that was a little surprising, just because I knew Herbie to be more pulled back and shy.
0:24:19 > 0:24:22At times, I was a little embarrassed by all the attention.
0:24:22 > 0:24:25I'm not a people person,
0:24:25 > 0:24:29so a bit uncomfortable at the attention.
0:24:29 > 0:24:31On one hand. On the other hand, I liked it.
0:24:31 > 0:24:35I liked it when people came up to me and say, "Herb, I really like your music. It makes me feel good."
0:24:38 > 0:24:41# Oh, he that gets hurt Oh, he who has stalled... #
0:24:43 > 0:24:45The Tijuana Brass sound was in stark contrast to
0:24:45 > 0:24:50the protest songs soundtracking the issues America faced at the time.
0:24:50 > 0:24:55# For the times, they are a-changing... #
0:24:55 > 0:25:01During that period, the '60s, everything was protest and peace and love and all this stuff,
0:25:01 > 0:25:07and his music, or our music, was really happy music that people didn't have to think about.
0:25:07 > 0:25:10It just was infectious, you know?
0:25:18 > 0:25:22You'd hear it all over the place, in supermarkets, in elevators,
0:25:22 > 0:25:27the kind of music that put people in a good mood. It was easy listening.
0:25:27 > 0:25:29And that's why it was so successful.
0:25:29 > 0:25:33The simplicity of it and the happiness just became such a
0:25:33 > 0:25:37strong effect on people, and I think that was a lot of the success.
0:25:37 > 0:25:39It was just something that people needed at that time.
0:25:39 > 0:25:41They needed to be happy a little bit.
0:25:47 > 0:25:50It was a sort of housewives' favourite, in some ways,
0:25:50 > 0:25:54but also suburban businessmen cooking barbecue on a Sunday afternoon.
0:25:54 > 0:25:59It was that idea of the easy, middle-class life
0:25:59 > 0:26:03in the sun, that kind of hint of exotica and cocktails,
0:26:03 > 0:26:07you know, a very important part of the '60s.
0:26:07 > 0:26:12I didn't think about making uplifting music, I thought about making music that was coming out of me.
0:26:12 > 0:26:16I think that's the key. If you're authentic, I think it works.
0:26:16 > 0:26:20If you try to manipulate recordings, yeah, you could have
0:26:20 > 0:26:25a good record or one hit record, but it won't be lasting.
0:26:35 > 0:26:41Herb's strengths as an arranger and bandleader came into their own in the studio.
0:26:41 > 0:26:46We would go in there and we'd put rhythm tracks down, and one night we'd do the whole album.
0:26:46 > 0:26:49And, you know, we didn't know what it was going to sound like.
0:26:49 > 0:26:51He'd play a little trumpet just to give us an idea
0:26:51 > 0:26:55of the melody of the tunes, but we would do the whole thing in one session or two sessions.
0:26:55 > 0:26:58Hey, guys? Guys, let's listen to it, see what happens.
0:26:58 > 0:26:59Yeah.
0:27:04 > 0:27:09I'd give them an idea for a rhythm, and then they'd give me a little guitar riff or something.
0:27:09 > 0:27:10I said, "No, no, not like that.
0:27:10 > 0:27:13"Something a little different. What else you got?"
0:27:13 > 0:27:16But I'd always go to what they could do naturally instead
0:27:16 > 0:27:21of trying to give them something that was a little bit left of centre of what they're comfortable doing.
0:27:22 > 0:27:27He'd be in the studios layering it, adding four trombones or adding two more trumpets or handclaps.
0:27:27 > 0:27:31Everything was spaced out so that nothing was overlapping each other
0:27:31 > 0:27:34and you really heard everything, and he loved that.
0:27:36 > 0:27:38Well, he knew how to personalise his music.
0:27:38 > 0:27:44That's what arranging is all about, is making it belong to you
0:27:44 > 0:27:47or represent what you feel about the music.
0:27:47 > 0:27:50And Lord knows, he did that.
0:27:50 > 0:27:58One of the things I enjoyed a great deal on certain recordings in particular, it's the way he released.
0:27:58 > 0:28:00# Pa pa pa-oh! Pa pa pa-oh!
0:28:00 > 0:28:05There's a little rip, for lack of a better term, that...
0:28:05 > 0:28:07Boy, I waited for that.
0:28:11 > 0:28:16He sounded completely different, and as a promotion man, I realised that if you can sound different
0:28:16 > 0:28:22on the radio, if the disc jockey doesn't have to mention your name, you're way ahead of everybody.
0:28:28 > 0:28:31Herb and the band were on a roll.
0:28:31 > 0:28:36In '66, those four albums sold 13 million records,
0:28:36 > 0:28:41and that was more than the Beatles sold that year.
0:28:42 > 0:28:44Sounds good. That felt good.
0:28:48 > 0:28:54By re-investing the profits from Herb's success straight back into A&M,
0:28:54 > 0:28:57they were able to open bigger offices in the heart of Hollywood.
0:29:00 > 0:29:02We bought the Charlie Chaplin lot.
0:29:02 > 0:29:05It was the original Charlie Chaplin studios.
0:29:05 > 0:29:08We spent a million bucks buying that lot.
0:29:08 > 0:29:12We were absolutely coming on, you know?
0:29:13 > 0:29:18Terrific. Just wait till you hear this album of today's most exciting music.
0:29:18 > 0:29:24They'd built a repertoire which included Burt Bacharach, Chris Montez and Liza Minnelli,
0:29:24 > 0:29:27artists which cornered the easy-listening market.
0:29:27 > 0:29:3116 great performances, 40 minutes of listening pleasure
0:29:31 > 0:29:37on the A&M Family Portrait album, all yours for only 1.50.
0:29:44 > 0:29:47Herb and Jerry had shown with the Tijuana Brass
0:29:47 > 0:29:51that they could take a new sound and package it for a pop market.
0:29:51 > 0:29:54# Oba, oba, oba
0:29:54 > 0:29:55# Mais que nada
0:29:55 > 0:29:58# Sai da minha frente Eu quero passar
0:29:58 > 0:30:01# Pois o samba esta animado
0:30:01 > 0:30:04# O que eu quero e sambar! #
0:30:04 > 0:30:08I think the thing that sold them to us was the fact
0:30:08 > 0:30:11that we offered them a spot for them to tour with Herb.
0:30:11 > 0:30:15And that Herb would help produce their first album.
0:30:15 > 0:30:17# Mais que nada... #
0:30:17 > 0:30:23I had two girls singing, so that was kind of a unique sound at the time.
0:30:23 > 0:30:27And we went to the studio with Herb, and he was guiding us what to do.
0:30:27 > 0:30:31One of the songs that we were rehearsing at the time,
0:30:31 > 0:30:34which, you know, I knew the song and played the song in Brazil,
0:30:34 > 0:30:35was Mais Que Nada.
0:30:35 > 0:30:38And Herb said to me, "No, we got to do the song.
0:30:38 > 0:30:40"This song is so special."
0:30:40 > 0:30:42# Oaria raio
0:30:42 > 0:30:43# Oba, oba... #
0:30:43 > 0:30:46The trick of a producer is to pick the material
0:30:46 > 0:30:48and make sure the material's right,
0:30:48 > 0:30:51that the artist is comfortable,
0:30:51 > 0:30:54that we got a good studio and an engineer.
0:30:54 > 0:30:58The rest is you can put your feet up on the desk and listen. And it works.
0:30:58 > 0:31:00# Oaria... #
0:31:00 > 0:31:03And that became a very good record for him
0:31:03 > 0:31:08and I think from that point on kinda got onto the American pulse.
0:31:08 > 0:31:11Herb opened the first door, the important one.
0:31:11 > 0:31:14The fact that I had a record out
0:31:14 > 0:31:18and going out on the road with Herb gave me a tremendous exposure.
0:31:19 > 0:31:25That's why I have a lot of gratitude to him for introducing us to the music world.
0:31:25 > 0:31:28Brasil '66 had been used to playing in small venues,
0:31:28 > 0:31:32and so when we were out with Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass,
0:31:32 > 0:31:36which was the biggest act in the world at the time,
0:31:36 > 0:31:39we were playing to, you know, 18,000, 20,000 people,
0:31:39 > 0:31:43so it was a real adjustment for all of us.
0:31:48 > 0:31:50For the Tijuana Brass guys,
0:31:50 > 0:31:53it meant sharing their tour bus with new talent.
0:31:53 > 0:31:57Oh, the Tijuana Brass was a bunch of guys, you know,
0:31:57 > 0:32:01and so the fact that I had two girls in the band,
0:32:01 > 0:32:03two beautiful girls, you know,
0:32:03 > 0:32:06there was a lot of attention paid to that.
0:32:08 > 0:32:12I remember these two beautiful young vocalists come into the airport,
0:32:12 > 0:32:13and everybody was looking.
0:32:13 > 0:32:17And Herb said, "Oh! We have a meeting. Come on."
0:32:17 > 0:32:20He said, "Look, we're going to be travelling together.
0:32:20 > 0:32:24"I don't want you to hit on these chicks at all. You just stay away."
0:32:24 > 0:32:27I remember getting on the plane one day,
0:32:27 > 0:32:31and the piano player was talking to me, was facing me,
0:32:31 > 0:32:34and he was wearing those sunglasses that reflected.
0:32:34 > 0:32:38So I'm looking at his sunglasses, I see myself,
0:32:38 > 0:32:41and I see Herb behind me doing like this!
0:32:44 > 0:32:46So he was serious!
0:32:46 > 0:32:49The guys stayed away from us!
0:32:49 > 0:32:51"Don't fraternise with the girls.
0:32:51 > 0:32:53"Just leave them alone. It's not good business.
0:32:53 > 0:32:57"You should not. Please don't do that."
0:32:57 > 0:32:59I ended up with Lani.
0:32:59 > 0:33:04There was always, I think, a mutual admiration between them,
0:33:04 > 0:33:07being a musician and a singer.
0:33:07 > 0:33:11Herb not only loved her but also
0:33:11 > 0:33:13could feel that she was a fantastic singer,
0:33:13 > 0:33:16and I think music brought them together.
0:33:16 > 0:33:18It was destined to be with her,
0:33:18 > 0:33:21cos she's, yeah, somebody you want to spin off of
0:33:21 > 0:33:28if things are... spinning out of control,
0:33:28 > 0:33:33cos at that point in my life, it was like I was over my head.
0:33:33 > 0:33:39# Well, I think I'm going out of my head... #
0:33:39 > 0:33:43Despite meeting a soul mate in Lani, Herb's life was getting complicated.
0:33:43 > 0:33:46He was still married to his teen sweetheart Sharon,
0:33:46 > 0:33:51and he was also feeling the pressures and trappings of success.
0:33:51 > 0:33:56When A&M really started happening and money started rolling in,
0:33:56 > 0:33:58I bought... What I thought I should do.
0:33:58 > 0:34:03I bought a home in Beverly Hills and had, you know, a cook and a servant.
0:34:04 > 0:34:08I was just doing things that I thought I should be doing,
0:34:08 > 0:34:11but really wasn't coming from my gut.
0:34:12 > 0:34:16We had this party and invited Sergio and Lani and the group
0:34:16 > 0:34:19and some friends at our home,
0:34:19 > 0:34:21and I remember I saw Lani -
0:34:21 > 0:34:24she was looking at this painting that I had in the living room.
0:34:24 > 0:34:26And I was thinking to myself,
0:34:26 > 0:34:29"Boy, she's probably really impressed with this.
0:34:29 > 0:34:31"This is really getting her."
0:34:31 > 0:34:34But she said, "You know, this house doesn't look anything like you.
0:34:34 > 0:34:37"This is full of shit, man. It's like...
0:34:38 > 0:34:40"It's pretentious."
0:34:40 > 0:34:43And when she said it, I was looking at her like,
0:34:43 > 0:34:46"Holy shit, man! She's seeing right through me!"
0:34:46 > 0:34:51Good evening. I'm Herb Alpert, and welcome to The Beat of the Brass.
0:34:51 > 0:34:54But Herb still had to play the part of front man,
0:34:54 > 0:34:57and there was no let-up when it came to promoting.
0:34:57 > 0:34:59Airports are old friends to the Brass.
0:34:59 > 0:35:02It seems as though we never stop moving around.
0:35:02 > 0:35:05When it came time to do the special in '68,
0:35:05 > 0:35:08the idea came up, and I think it was from the director,
0:35:08 > 0:35:11that Herb should really do this love song, you know?
0:35:11 > 0:35:14And it was time for Herb to sing, you know, and we got into it -
0:35:14 > 0:35:15"Yeah, it was great"...
0:35:15 > 0:35:19And Herb was convinced that it was going to be a Burt Bacharach song.
0:35:19 > 0:35:22I said, "If I can get the right song, I'll consider it."
0:35:22 > 0:35:24So I called Burt, who was a friend,
0:35:24 > 0:35:26and I said, "Do you have any material
0:35:26 > 0:35:29"you think that I might be able to handle as a singer?"
0:35:29 > 0:35:32I never thought of myself as a singer.
0:35:32 > 0:35:35So a couple of days later, he sent me this demo of this record.
0:35:35 > 0:35:36I liked the melody a lot.
0:35:36 > 0:35:39Here again, it's melody for me.
0:35:41 > 0:35:43# You see this guy?
0:35:45 > 0:35:49# This guy's in love with you
0:35:52 > 0:35:55# Yes, I'm in love
0:35:57 > 0:36:02# Who looks at you the way I do? #
0:36:02 > 0:36:06When I recorded the song with Burt, I just did a demo version singing it,
0:36:06 > 0:36:08just to see if my voice would work on the track.
0:36:08 > 0:36:12And so when I went into the control room to listen to the playback,
0:36:12 > 0:36:14the singers were there and some musicians were there,
0:36:14 > 0:36:17and they looked at me and said, "Don't touch it."
0:36:17 > 0:36:20I said, "Don't touch what?" He said, "Don't touch what you just did."
0:36:20 > 0:36:22I said, "I was just seeing if my voice can work."
0:36:22 > 0:36:24They said, "Don't touch it. It sounds great."
0:36:24 > 0:36:27And so I never touched it. It was just one take!
0:36:27 > 0:36:29# I've heard some talk
0:36:31 > 0:36:36# They say you think I'm fine
0:36:38 > 0:36:41# Yes, I'm in love
0:36:42 > 0:36:45# And what I'd do... #
0:36:45 > 0:36:52For the TV special, it was suggested that Herb should sing the love song to his wife, Sharon.
0:36:54 > 0:36:57I was told that that's just what made the record a hit,
0:36:57 > 0:37:01it's Herb and Sharon walking on the beach.
0:37:01 > 0:37:03At the end of the number...
0:37:05 > 0:37:07..it's a close-up of the two,
0:37:07 > 0:37:10and just as they kiss, the sun is coming right through.
0:37:12 > 0:37:15# I need your love... #
0:37:15 > 0:37:18They say that's what made the record a hit.
0:37:18 > 0:37:21# I want your love
0:37:23 > 0:37:26# Say you're in love... #
0:37:26 > 0:37:30This Guy's In Love With You became A&M's first number one,
0:37:30 > 0:37:32and Herb appeared to have it all.
0:37:36 > 0:37:39It was huge. You know?
0:37:39 > 0:37:43And really gave us a whole other year, you know,
0:37:43 > 0:37:48to promote Herb Alpert records, Herb Alpert promotions,
0:37:48 > 0:37:51and I would say probably took its toll on Herbie,
0:37:51 > 0:37:54because he worked very hard during that time, you know?
0:38:09 > 0:38:11It was a really different time in my life.
0:38:11 > 0:38:14It was a time when I was trying to take stock of myself,
0:38:14 > 0:38:17because we were - I remember this distinctively -
0:38:17 > 0:38:20we were playing in Germany,
0:38:20 > 0:38:23and all of a sudden, I was onstage playing,
0:38:23 > 0:38:25and I had this out-of-body experience.
0:38:25 > 0:38:30I was like in the third row watching this concert.
0:38:30 > 0:38:33I mean, it was eerie. And I wasn't on drugs or anything.
0:38:33 > 0:38:35It was just like there I was,
0:38:35 > 0:38:38looking at this guy onstage, thinking to myself,
0:38:38 > 0:38:41"Man, this guy looks reasonably comfortable onstage,
0:38:41 > 0:38:43"but when he's down in the middle of a party
0:38:43 > 0:38:49"or talking to two or three people, he's like a little unravelled."
0:38:49 > 0:38:51You know, I had the American Dream come true,
0:38:51 > 0:38:53I had the thing that you're supposed to get,
0:38:53 > 0:38:56and yet my shoulders were a little tight
0:38:56 > 0:38:58and I was not feeling all that great.
0:38:59 > 0:39:02- I think it was a change in Herb. - Yeah. Exactly.
0:39:02 > 0:39:05That last trip, if you recall, he was...
0:39:05 > 0:39:09He was... I don't know, confused.
0:39:09 > 0:39:13- Right.- You know, it was at the time of the break-up with Sharon.
0:39:13 > 0:39:15Right.
0:39:15 > 0:39:17And I think also there was a lot of pressure on him
0:39:17 > 0:39:19to keep producing hits, you know?
0:39:19 > 0:39:21And it'd get confusing for him, too.
0:39:21 > 0:39:24You know, it was just such a big responsibility for him,
0:39:24 > 0:39:28and I think he just got to the point where he just had enough
0:39:28 > 0:39:30and he had to back off for a while.
0:39:30 > 0:39:32It wasn't a difficult decision to make
0:39:32 > 0:39:34to disband the group at the time.
0:39:34 > 0:39:38I was not feeling tip-top.
0:39:38 > 0:39:41I was going through a divorce,
0:39:41 > 0:39:47I was not emotionally equipped to continue on.
0:39:47 > 0:39:51And I feel like I'd kinda peaked with the sound of the Brass
0:39:51 > 0:39:53with what I started out to do.
0:39:55 > 0:39:59I didn't have a nervous breakdown. I wasn't close to that.
0:39:59 > 0:40:01But I ran into a snag with the trumpet
0:40:01 > 0:40:05where I wasn't able to play it, which is very interesting.
0:40:05 > 0:40:07It was like...
0:40:07 > 0:40:11It went from a really good friend of mine to an enemy...
0:40:12 > 0:40:14..in a short period of time.
0:40:16 > 0:40:22I remember getting some professional help and the therapist said,
0:40:22 > 0:40:26"Well, describe yourself. Who are you? What do you do?
0:40:26 > 0:40:28"I mean, what are you thinking?"
0:40:28 > 0:40:32I remember there was a mirror on the wall, and when he said it,
0:40:32 > 0:40:35I looked at myself, and I was like yellow!
0:40:35 > 0:40:37I didn't know how to answer the question.
0:40:42 > 0:40:46He needed time to just figure it all out, you know?
0:40:46 > 0:40:49This guy had carried us on his back, you know?
0:40:49 > 0:40:55And I certainly was grateful to have him done what he did.
0:40:55 > 0:41:02My God, where we had come from 1962 to 1969 was quite amazing.
0:41:02 > 0:41:04Quite amazing.
0:41:10 > 0:41:15But music tastes had shifted and A&M had fallen behind.
0:41:15 > 0:41:19Their trademark easy-listening sound was no longer hip.
0:41:19 > 0:41:241969 though we didn't have what you'd call a profitable year.
0:41:24 > 0:41:29Los Angeles, the city itself, was going through this vast transformation, you know?
0:41:29 > 0:41:32Everybody was just growing gobs of hair.
0:41:32 > 0:41:35Yeah, the sales did start to slow down.
0:41:36 > 0:41:42Jerry concentrated on giving A&M a more current image.
0:41:43 > 0:41:46We signed some amazing British groups,
0:41:46 > 0:41:49like Spooky Tooth and Procul Harum, Cat Stevens
0:41:49 > 0:41:51and a guy named Joe Cocker.
0:41:51 > 0:41:55Inventive rock'n'roll, you know? That was our future.
0:41:55 > 0:41:57# All I need is my buddies!
0:41:57 > 0:42:00# Get by with a little help from my friends... #
0:42:00 > 0:42:02As we moved, let's say, as Herbie was,
0:42:02 > 0:42:05from the so-called everyday scene, you know,
0:42:05 > 0:42:08he managed to find a tape
0:42:08 > 0:42:12and summoned the band to the sound stage
0:42:12 > 0:42:17and he got up there and said, "This is an act I'm proud to have on A&M."
0:42:19 > 0:42:25Herb's discovery were a decidedly un-rock'n'roll, all-American brother-and-sister act.
0:42:26 > 0:42:28Would I have gone out of my way
0:42:28 > 0:42:32to sign The Carpenters at that particular time? Probably not.
0:42:32 > 0:42:36But Herb liked them, wanted them.
0:42:36 > 0:42:37No problem.
0:42:37 > 0:42:43The Carpenters were recording for us at A&M for a year with no luck,
0:42:43 > 0:42:45no luck at all, hardly any radio play,
0:42:45 > 0:42:47and I was getting...
0:42:47 > 0:42:51I was getting strange looks from some of the people at the company,
0:42:51 > 0:42:53thinking, "Ah, why'd you sign these guys?
0:42:53 > 0:42:57"They're too soft, it's too easy listening, it's too wimpy."
0:42:57 > 0:43:01We were kind of persona non grata
0:43:01 > 0:43:03with a lot of people at the label.
0:43:03 > 0:43:05The album didn't sell well,
0:43:05 > 0:43:08and there was some talk that they wanted us gone.
0:43:08 > 0:43:12But Herb still thought there was something there.
0:43:14 > 0:43:15Of course, so did we.
0:43:15 > 0:43:19And he brought a little known Bacharach-David song
0:43:19 > 0:43:21to my attention to arrange.
0:43:21 > 0:43:23CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:43:24 > 0:43:28# Why do birds
0:43:28 > 0:43:31# Suddenly appear
0:43:31 > 0:43:33# Every time
0:43:33 > 0:43:36# You are near?
0:43:36 > 0:43:39# Just like me
0:43:39 > 0:43:41# They long to be
0:43:41 > 0:43:45# Close to you... #
0:43:45 > 0:43:46She had something really magic.
0:43:46 > 0:43:49When her voice came out of the speaker,
0:43:49 > 0:43:51it felt like her voice was sitting right next to me.
0:43:51 > 0:43:53It had that much volume.
0:43:53 > 0:43:58And Richard loved putting it together,
0:43:58 > 0:44:03he loved doing those wonderful voicings, the harmonies.
0:44:03 > 0:44:06He was very knowledgeable about sounds and echoes
0:44:06 > 0:44:08and placement of voice.
0:44:08 > 0:44:13# On the day that you were born The angels got together
0:44:13 > 0:44:17# And decided to create A dream come true... #
0:44:17 > 0:44:21We all thought it was something very special.
0:44:21 > 0:44:23Whether it was going to become a hit or not,
0:44:23 > 0:44:26to me, it was either going to be number one or nothing,
0:44:26 > 0:44:27it was so different.
0:44:28 > 0:44:30# Just like me
0:44:30 > 0:44:35# They long to be
0:44:35 > 0:44:37# Close to you... #
0:44:37 > 0:44:42When Close To You hit - and it really hit - all of a sudden I became a genius.
0:44:42 > 0:44:45"Wow, that was a brilliant signing!"
0:44:45 > 0:44:51Karen and I are the biggest-selling act in the label's history.
0:44:51 > 0:44:57By far, actually. That's to take nothing away from anybody else!
0:44:57 > 0:45:01Herby, baby, you know how to pick talent.
0:45:01 > 0:45:06- Come on Piggy-doll, let's get out of here.- He's cute.
0:45:07 > 0:45:12Well, as I was saying, there are certain moments in music that definitely need a woman's touch.
0:45:12 > 0:45:16This woman happens to be the lady in my life.
0:45:16 > 0:45:21I'd like for you to experience the voice of Miss Lani Hall.
0:45:21 > 0:45:22APPLAUSE
0:45:28 > 0:45:32In 1974, Herb made a return to performing.
0:45:32 > 0:45:37He had married Lani and she had helped him through his creative struggles.
0:45:37 > 0:45:41# Doesn't it make you feel like
0:45:41 > 0:45:46# Tryin' to save the sunlight? #
0:45:46 > 0:45:49They were very difficult times.
0:45:49 > 0:45:52You know, he was having a hard time playing the trumpet.
0:45:52 > 0:45:56That was... That started a journey to all these
0:45:56 > 0:46:01trumpet teachers, relearning things, dropping old habits.
0:46:01 > 0:46:06It was a real exploration on every level.
0:46:06 > 0:46:10Psychologically, emotionally, spiritually.
0:46:11 > 0:46:13It was a long and winding road back.
0:46:13 > 0:46:19But, in the interim, I was producing records and working with Lani.
0:46:19 > 0:46:22His connecting with Lani,
0:46:22 > 0:46:24that completed his personal life,
0:46:24 > 0:46:30his happiness, his being able to express himself.
0:46:30 > 0:46:35I think Lani has been the key to his life.
0:46:37 > 0:46:45That's when I started recording again. And then we got the brass together for the second go around.
0:46:54 > 0:46:59The reformed TJB band only lasted a couple of years. Herb was developing a solo career.
0:46:59 > 0:47:03And his next venture would see him on the dance floor.
0:47:11 > 0:47:15By the late '70s, A&M had tuned into the sounds from the clubs.
0:47:17 > 0:47:23After all, if Beethoven could go disco...why couldn't Herb?
0:47:23 > 0:47:25The A&R people,
0:47:25 > 0:47:29the business people at A&M, wanted him to do a dance record.
0:47:29 > 0:47:35At that time, we were coming off of Saturday Night Fever, which was a huge worldwide phenomenon.
0:47:35 > 0:47:36And people were dancing.
0:47:36 > 0:47:43Why don't you take Taste of Honey and Tijuana Taxi, some of those evergreens,
0:47:43 > 0:47:45and do a disco version of them?
0:47:45 > 0:47:49And we started doing a disco version of Taste Of Honey.
0:47:52 > 0:47:56When I heard about eight bars of the drum, and the thing and the disco groove,
0:47:56 > 0:48:01I got nauseous. I said, "Man, I cannot do this. This is not something I want to do."
0:48:01 > 0:48:07Herb preferred one of Randy's original tracks, Rise.
0:48:07 > 0:48:13It was going to be a dance song at about 120 beats a minute, which was popular.
0:48:13 > 0:48:18Not disco. Not disco. It's going to be a funk record.
0:48:20 > 0:48:26But Herb came up with a brilliant idea, which was to slow the record down,
0:48:26 > 0:48:33to, like, 100 beats a minute. And suddenly, when it's slowed down, the groove got deeper.
0:48:33 > 0:48:34It's just like, bing, magic.
0:48:34 > 0:48:38TRUMPET PLAYS WITH FUNK BACKING
0:48:54 > 0:48:59We recorded it live. It was a live recording, I was playing live in the studio
0:48:59 > 0:49:04with the musicians. And when I was in the control room, listening to it back,
0:49:04 > 0:49:06I got that feeling, that goose-bump feeling.
0:49:15 > 0:49:19Herb and I kept looking at each other and thinking, this is cool.
0:49:19 > 0:49:22It's not like every other record. It's different.
0:49:25 > 0:49:28I said, I think this is a number one record.
0:49:30 > 0:49:34Herb was back in the groove and back on the beach.
0:49:34 > 0:49:40In 1979, Rise became Herb's biggest-selling number one and business was booming.
0:49:42 > 0:49:45Herb and Jerry had come a long way from their garage set-up.
0:49:45 > 0:49:50A&M was one of the world's most successful independent labels.
0:49:50 > 0:49:55Their commitment to and successes with acts such as Peter Frampton and Supertramp
0:49:55 > 0:50:00had given them the reputation of the artist's label that took them into the '80s.
0:50:00 > 0:50:04# You don't have to sell your body to the night... #
0:50:04 > 0:50:07I knew their reputation and I knew it was the right home for us.
0:50:07 > 0:50:15You go to CBS, you can't meet Mr C, Mr B or Mr S. You know. EMI.
0:50:15 > 0:50:19But A&M, their office was next to the big studio.
0:50:19 > 0:50:23So you could actually bring then in and say, you know, what do you think?
0:50:23 > 0:50:26What do we do now? It's not the norm.
0:50:26 > 0:50:29# Every little thing she does is magic
0:50:29 > 0:50:32# Everything she do just turns me on
0:50:32 > 0:50:34# Even though my life before was tragic
0:50:34 > 0:50:38# Now I know my love for her goes on... #
0:50:38 > 0:50:45You could go and sit on Mr A's desk and talk about interesting things like chords and middle eights.
0:50:45 > 0:50:48And he was a record executive but he was also an artist.
0:50:48 > 0:50:51So I felt there was a rapport there, instantly.
0:50:51 > 0:50:53Herb!
0:51:06 > 0:51:12In 1986, A&M had huge success with Janet Jackson's breakthrough album, Control.
0:51:12 > 0:51:16Herb was keen to work with the winning team behind that sound.
0:51:16 > 0:51:18- The boss!- The boss! - We were working with the boss.
0:51:18 > 0:51:20Not Bruce Springsteen.
0:51:20 > 0:51:22The real boss! Herb Alpert.
0:51:22 > 0:51:26# Don't you know, diamonds are a girl's best friend... #
0:51:26 > 0:51:31I think for him it was just time to have fun and just be a musician.
0:51:31 > 0:51:36Not think about the business, not think about producing.
0:51:36 > 0:51:38Just go have fun.
0:51:48 > 0:51:50These are two really interesting guys.
0:51:50 > 0:51:54They were right in the pocket, as you would say. They were in the groove.
0:51:54 > 0:51:56They knew where to put the notes, let's say.
0:51:56 > 0:52:00And they played this one song for me that I liked a lot and I wanted to record.
0:52:00 > 0:52:03I said, "What's the name of this thing?" They said, "Sausage."
0:52:03 > 0:52:06I said, "I don't know about that title, man.
0:52:06 > 0:52:10"I like the song, but can we come up with something a little better than Sausage?"
0:52:15 > 0:52:17# Keep your eye on me. #
0:52:19 > 0:52:25In this age of digital sampling and big-budget videos, Herb could still pick a hit.
0:52:25 > 0:52:30But, unlike the Tijuana days, he allowed someone else to take control.
0:52:30 > 0:52:35He allowed himself to become a blank canvas.
0:52:35 > 0:52:38He would allow himself to just be painted on by us.
0:52:38 > 0:52:44He wasn't, like, "This is my thing, you guys just do what I ask you to do."
0:52:44 > 0:52:47He just kind of said "Well, what do you guys think?"
0:52:47 > 0:52:51I was just proud to be a part of that. I mean, what an
0:52:51 > 0:52:54honour for the A of A&M to ask you
0:52:54 > 0:52:59to produce a record? You know, amazing.
0:53:00 > 0:53:04By the end of the '80s, the music industry had become a corporate monster.
0:53:04 > 0:53:08With huge multinationals absorbing smaller record labels,
0:53:08 > 0:53:11it was becoming difficult for A&M to compete.
0:53:11 > 0:53:17Artists were getting tremendous advances, which they deserved,
0:53:17 > 0:53:19and we had a few of those artists.
0:53:19 > 0:53:23And we wanted to make sure that we kept them.
0:53:23 > 0:53:24But yet,
0:53:24 > 0:53:29putting that much money on the line in advances was just not our style.
0:53:29 > 0:53:34We weren't that big, that we could do that, you know?
0:53:34 > 0:53:36So we had to do something.
0:53:39 > 0:53:42We decided to sell. It was a...
0:53:42 > 0:53:45mutual decision.
0:53:45 > 0:53:51Strangely enough, Jerry and I never signed a contract for when we started A&M.
0:53:51 > 0:53:55We just had a handshake and that was good enough for me and him.
0:53:55 > 0:53:57And...
0:54:06 > 0:54:08It makes me sad.
0:54:15 > 0:54:20We signed the contract, we gave each other a hug and that was it.
0:54:44 > 0:54:51I remember worrying at that time how he would adjust to changing such a deep routine.
0:54:51 > 0:54:54You know, to wake up, to get ready and to go to A&M.
0:54:54 > 0:54:58And then do what he does there, and then come home.
0:54:58 > 0:55:01I would say to him, you know, "What do you think it's going to be like?"
0:55:01 > 0:55:03He said, "Oh, I think it's going to be OK."
0:55:03 > 0:55:07And it was. I worried for nothing.
0:55:16 > 0:55:23I've been painting since 1970, for 40 years, and sculpting for 20.
0:55:23 > 0:55:27I get energy just painting, sculpting, blowing the horn.
0:55:27 > 0:55:30Something about it just feeds me.
0:55:30 > 0:55:33And I'm addicted to it.
0:55:33 > 0:55:35Here we go. One, two, three.
0:55:35 > 0:55:37And you tell me if I'm going too fast or not.
0:55:37 > 0:55:38You're going too fast.
0:55:38 > 0:55:40LANI LAUGHS
0:55:44 > 0:55:50Herb has been working on his latest project, a series of black totems,
0:55:50 > 0:55:52at his home studio in Malibu.
0:55:52 > 0:55:55- The ocean looks great today. - Beautiful. Look at that.
0:55:57 > 0:56:03Lani is Herb's artistic curator and many of his pieces are installed around their Malibu gardens.
0:56:03 > 0:56:07Here's Phantasm and First Impression. They're at the show.
0:56:07 > 0:56:10This is Ancient Source.
0:56:10 > 0:56:12She remembers them all by name.
0:56:12 > 0:56:14It's a big part of our lives, yeah.
0:56:14 > 0:56:18I don't know, there's something about them that's just in harmony with nature.
0:56:23 > 0:56:27I always thought of myself as a jazz interpreter.
0:56:27 > 0:56:31I just see these pieces as rhythms and forms that appeal to the eye.
0:56:31 > 0:56:35Because there is a universal aesthetic that most people get.
0:56:35 > 0:56:37I think that's intriguing.
0:56:37 > 0:56:40What makes something beautiful?
0:56:40 > 0:56:42What makes something interesting to look at?
0:56:42 > 0:56:44Very similar to music.
0:56:49 > 0:56:57Herb is centre-stage yet again, as the Los Angeles art scene take in his latest work.
0:57:12 > 0:57:17Well, I'm a long-term fan of Herb Alpert.
0:57:17 > 0:57:21Of course, he had this amazing first act with his Tijuana Brass.
0:57:21 > 0:57:25He had this amazing second act, founding A&M Records.
0:57:25 > 0:57:28Now he's having this extraordinary third act as an artist.
0:57:28 > 0:57:30I mean, what a talented man.
0:57:30 > 0:57:35He's quietly proven himself one of the most extraordinary men of his age.
0:57:35 > 0:57:37So, what do you think?
0:57:37 > 0:57:42I'm overwhelmed. I don't know what to think any more.
0:57:52 > 0:57:54Artistically...
0:57:54 > 0:57:56he may still be striving.
0:57:56 > 0:57:58He may not have achieved
0:57:58 > 0:58:04what he would feel was the ultimate accomplishment.
0:58:07 > 0:58:12But where he has reached is far above ultimate for many, many people.
0:58:20 > 0:58:24Have I been lucky in my life? Is the Pope Catholic?
0:58:28 > 0:58:32I must admit, I was at the right place at the right time.
0:58:32 > 0:58:35Lots of the time. Some of the time I wasn't.
0:58:35 > 0:58:39But, yeah, I've been lucky.
0:58:39 > 0:58:43I've been prepared, I've done my homework, I've put in my sweat.
0:58:43 > 0:58:44But I've got lucky too.
0:59:13 > 0:59:16Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:59:16 > 0:59:19E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk