5 Things You Never Knew About Herb Alpert; Plus, Upcoming Tour Dates
Herb Alpert may be turning 90 next month, but he is still moving, grooving and out on tour. Alpert is a famous trumpeter, pianist, songwriter and all-around talented musician and artist, best known for leading the band Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass in the 1960s. He also co-founded A&M Records with Jerry Moss and is the only musician to reach No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 as both a vocalist and an instrumentalist. Alpert was also instrumental in launching the career of Brazillian artist Sérgio Mendes; their biggest album was Herb Alpert Presents Sérgio Mendes & Brasil ’66, with their biggest hit being “Mas Que Nada.” The two were lifelong friends.
With so many talents and awards under his belt, it is no surprise that he is very passionate about what he does and hasn’t slowed down at all. Taylor Swift recently broke his previous record of having four albums in the top 10 on the Billboard 200, something Alpert accomplished back in 1966. Let’s learn some other fun facts about the artist:
1 Broke records in the Billboard 200
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Alpert and the Tijuana Brass were at the top of the Billboard 200 chart in 1966 more than any other artist. They were there for 18 weeks compared to 17 weeks for the Beatles.
2 He worked with Burt Bacharach to take a song to No. 1
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In the ’60s, many famous artists, including Dionne Warwick and Tom Jones, worked with the team of Burt Bacharach and Hal David for their songs. However, Alpert was the first artist to take a song written by this team to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It was Alpert’s version of “This Guy’s in Love With You” that topped the chart for four consecutive weeks.
3 He even topped the R&B chart
While you may not think of Alpert as an R&B artist, he did top the Hot Black Singles chart (now called the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs) with the song “Diamonds” featuring Janet Jackson in 1987. At the time, she was signed to Alpert’s A&M Records.
4 He helped write the classic song “Wonderful World” with Lou Adler and Sam Cooke
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In a recent interview, he spoke of Cooke’s influence on him. He shared, “I learned a lot from him. He didn’t know he was teaching me anything, but I just liked the way he approached his music. It was very authentic. He used to walk around with this notebook, and he showed me this one lyric. ‘Herbie,’ he said, ‘What do you think of this lyric?’ To myself, I said, ‘Man, this is the corniest lyric I’ve ever seen. It just doesn’t make any sense to me.’ So he picked up his guitar and started playing. All of a sudden, I got it. I got the feeling I knew what he was trying to convey. I try to use Sam’s advice: Close your eyes, don’t get sidetracked by if somebody is really beautiful or they can dance really well. Just listen to the music, listen to it and see if it touches you.”
5 His song “1980” was going to be used for the 1980 Summer Olympics
The song from his album Rise was going to be used as the theme song for the event, but President Jimmy Carter declared an American boycott of the Olympics. This was due to his protest of the Soviet Union’s occupation of Afghanistan, so the song choice was scrapped. The theme song ended up being “Olympiad.”
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Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass Band 2025 Tour Dates
Mar 25: Masonic Cathedral, Detroit – going quickly
Mar 26: Goodyear Theater Akron
Mar 28: Buffalo State PAC – sold out
Mar 29: Shubert Theatre, Boston
Mar 31: Jazz at Lincoln Center – sold out
April 1: Jazz at Lincoln Center, NYC
May 11: DeVos Hall, Grand Rapids
May 12: Byham Theater, Pittsburgh – going quickly
May 13: Taft Theatre Cincinnati
May 15: Miller Theater, Philadelphia
May 16: Capital One Hall, Tysons, VA
Jun 19: Capitol Theatre Salt Lake City
Jun 20: Las Vegas Encore at the Wynn
Jun 22: Paramount Theatre, Denver
Jun 23: Pikes Peak, Colorado Springs
More concert dates to be announced for Summer & Fall, get your tickets here.
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1965
February 2025
Flashback to 1965 and celebrate the very best of TV, Movies, Music, Fashion & more!
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