Hey, what’s this doing here? Now, I don’t really associate Herb Alpert with rock ‘n roll, but he was quite popular and definitely a part of the ‘60s.
If you’re not all that familiar (or that old), Herb and his group, the Tijuana Brass, actually were a rock band, but with a trumpet and trombone thrown in. Except for Alpert, they were all session musicians, with not a drop of Latino blood in the whole group. Pretty strictly commercial, they had a number of TV specials, and their music featured in several commercials, as well as intro music for The Dating Game.
That said, Alpert did write incredibly catchy tunes, several of which are on this album. Almost solely instrumentals, his hits include “The Lonely Bull,” “A Taste of Honey,” “Spanish Flea,” “Tijuana Taxi,” and more. If you’re of a certain age, I can guarantee at least one of those will take up residence as your own personal ear worm over the next couple of days. You’re welcome! Overall, Herb and the boys won 6 Grammys, outsold the Beatles in 1966, and had an album in the top 10 for almost 7 years running.
The model is one Dolores Erickson. She’s actually not covered in whipped cream, but is wearing a white bikini (with the straps down), covered with a white blanket, and doused with shaving cream. From Seattle, Dolores would become a Miss Maritime, Miss Greenwood, Miss Longshoreman, and a Seafair Princess. She would then move up to the big time, doing stuff for Macy’s and Max Factor, and signing with the Ford Modelling Agency. She also signed with a couple of movie studios (but appeared in only one movie, as “girl”) and did a number of other album covers as well.
The inspiration for the cover came from Peter Whorf, future art director for A&M. He did a fair amount of cheesy stuff for some lame-o acts like Bob Moore & the Acapulco Trumpets, Ruben Rodriguez & His Guadalajara Kings, Barney Kessel and His Men, and even Erma Bombeck.
He also did lots of jazz and even classical covers, though l believe I’m detecting a theme even there.
Herb Alpert is actually a pretty amazing guy. The LA-born son of Jewish immigrants, he was a musician in the Army, was in the USC marching band, co-wrote a number of top-20 hits, and cofounded A&M records – all before starting the Brass. He’s also a serious painter and sculptor, made enough money with A&M to become a major philanthropist, has an honorary doctorate from Berklee, and was a recipient of National Medal of the Arts.
Several of the band’s covers showed shots of Herb, who was quite a handsome guy.
Looking at these now is bringing back some serious memories. I’m pretty sure my dad had all of them (as did all groovy dads back in the mid-60s).
And here’s one of the band, none of whom would compete with Herb in any way. He called them “four lasagnas, two bagels, and one American cheese.” And with nary a taco or burrito to be seen.
Of course there were parodies – lots and lots of parodies:
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