Herb Alpert

Herb Alpert 的音乐成就 包括五人一点击，2008年登上排行榜的专辑，8个格莱美奖，14个白金唱片，15金唱片。截至1996年，阿尔珀特已售出72000000专辑全球。
 
by Jason Ankeny
One of the most successful instrumental performers in pop history, trumpeter Herb Alpert was also one of the entertainment industrys shrewdest businessmen: A&M, the label he co-founded with partner Jerry Moss, ranks among the most prosperous artist-owned companies ever established. Born March 31, 1935, in Los Angeles, Alpert began playing the trumpet at the age of eight. After serving in the Army, he attempted to forge an acting career, but soon returned to music, recording under the name Dore Alpert for RCA.
 
With Lou Adler, Alpert co-wrote a number of Sam Cookes most enduring hits, including Wonderful World and Only Sixteen. Under the name Dante & the Evergreens, he and Adler also recorded a cover of the Hollywood Argyles Alley Oop; additionally, Alpert produced tracks for the surf duo Jan & Dean. In 1962 he teamed with Moss to found A&M Records, scoring a Top Ten hit with the single The Lonely Bull.
 
From its humble origins as a company run out of Alperts garage, A&M grew to become the worlds biggest independent label; among its greatest successes were the Carpenters, Cat Stevens, Joe Cocker, and Sergio Mendes & Brasil 66. Nevertheless, Alpert and his backing unit, the Tijuana Brass, remained the labels flagship act: on the strength of the hit A Taste of Honey, his 1965 LP Whipped Cream and Other Delights topped the charts, popularizing his Latin-influenced style (dubbed Ameriachi). The follow-up, 1965s Going Places, also hit number one, launching the hit Spanish Flea.
 
After 1966s What Now My Love — his most popular effort, remaining at number one for nine weeks — Alpert continued to dominate the charts with records including 1966s S.R.O. and the following years Sounds Like and Herb Alperts Ninth. In 1968, he scored his first number one single by taking a rare vocal turn on a rendition of Burt Bacharachs This Guys in Love With You; the album Beat of the Brass followed the hit to the top of the charts, becoming Alperts fifth and final number one LP.
 
Released in 1969, Warm was the first of Alperts 11 albums not to crack the Top 20; by 1971s Summertime, his commercial fates had fallen to the point where he no longer reached the Top 100. As A&M continued to thrive, he moved his primary focus from music to industry, although he regularly recorded throughout the early 70s; 1974s You Smile — The Song Begins was his most successful outing in several years, but subsequent releases like 1975s Coney Island and 1976s Just You and Me met with greater chart resistance.
 
In 1979, Alpert staged a major comeback with Rise; not only did the album reach the Top Ten, but the title track topped the singles charts and became the biggest hit of his career. The follow-up, 1980s Beyond, was a Top 40 success, but subsequent efforts like 1982s Fandango and 1985s Wild Romance fared poorly. In 1987 Alpert enjoyed another renaissance with the album Keep Your Eye On Me; the lead single Diamonds hit the Top Five and featured a guest vocal from Janet Jackson, one of A&Ms towering successes of the late 80s.
 
Alpert continued recording throughout the 1990s, producing work like 1991s North on South Street, 1992s Midnight Sun, and 1997s Passion Dance. After selling A&M to PolyGram in 1990 for a sum in excess of $500 million, he and Moss founded a new label, Almo Sounds, in 1994; among the imprints hit artists was the group Garbage. His own albums, including 1997s Passion Dance and 1999s Colors, were also released on the label. Alpert also tackled other forms of media, exhibiting his abstract expressionist paintings and co-producing a number of Broadway successes, including Angels in America and Jellys Last Jam. He also established the Herb Alpert Foundation, a philanthropic organization dedicated to establishing educational, arts, and environmental programs for children.