Here’s why this album should be in your collection!
When The Lonely Bull entered music charts in 1963, it was more than just the debut album by Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass. It was also the debut of a music powerhouse that continues to operate today: A&M Records.
Herbert Alpert and Jerome “Jerry” Moss called their company Carnival Records. When they discovered the name was taken, they used their initials to rename it. “The Lonely Bull” was the first hit single from the label’s first album.
Every track is catchy and pleasant, but the favorites are pop covers: “Desafinado,” a bossa nova classic; “Never On Sunday,” from the hit movie, and “Let It Be Me,” a pop standard. Jazzy pop music with a Latin accent proved to be a winning formula; Sergio Mendes and Brasil ’66, another A&M band, featured a vocalist who eventually became Mrs. Herb Alpert.
The A&M label has hosted Wes Montgomery, Joan Baez, The Carpenters, Quincy Jones, Suzanne Vega, The Police, Janet Jackson, Chuck Mangione, Atlantic Starr, Joe Cocker, Brenda Russell, Supertramp, and dozens of other music stars. Mergers with Polygram and Universal Music Group have brought in even more.
This album is available in CD and MP3 format from major vendors. But please consider purchasing it from a local independent record store.
Here’s an interesting fact!
In 2000, A&M led nearly 20 record labels in a lawsuit involving copyright infringement. After a number of injunctions and appeals, the plaintiffs ultimately bankrupted the defendant: Napster.
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