What started as Herb Alpert himself overdubbing self-recorded tracks in his garage alone became one of the most popular jazz bands of the 1960s, later comprised of a team of sessions musicians in LA, inspired by a mariachi band Alpert had witnessed in Tijuana. Growing up, my friend's dad had their Whipped Cream & Other Delights record on vinyl. It was an instant favorite of mine and I soon sought out the rest of Herb Alpert's albums which remain in steady rotation to this day.
420 to 30: A Music Retrospective
Here's 7 of my favorites from Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass.
Week 44: HERB ALPERT AND THE TIJUANA BRASS
#302/420 - Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass, “A Taste of Honey”
I first recall hearing this on my friend’s dad’s record player when I was in the 9th grade. My friends and I really got a kick out of playing it and it didn’t take long before it became the focal point of a skit on my “Friday Night Weekly” series where it played every time the character of Officer Filmont, an angry policeman in a Hawaiian shirt, shouted in rage in a close-up.
The song brought me a lot of joy and Herb Alpert became my go-to for my amateur productions’ unlicensed soundtracks. In the process, I discovered a lot of great music and this is the song that started it all for me—and as a great fan of the trumpet, it was a great discovery indeed.
#303/420 - Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass, “Lady Fingers”
Ah, Lady Fingers. What a mood, what a sound. I love every instrument choice and the precision and perfection with which they are played. The way they so seamlessly and gently sway from one to the other is a soothing, comforting joy and rush of fondness to the senses. It builds and flutters with the heart and brings a smile to my face.
Today was a fine day and I am very glad to have had it.
#304/420 - Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass, “So What’s New?”
This has to be the toe-tappin’est, finger snappin’est, hap-hap-happiest song to ever grace pop culture and we have Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass to thank. My favorite song from 1966’s What Now My Love, I greatly enjoy the trumpet playing on this one with the snappy percussion and strumming, and the whistle substitution verse is extremely satisfying when it comes in.
Herb Alpert and his Tijuana Brass excelled in many moods, but this a fine example of where they excelled in feel-good music and this just makes me want to take a stroll while looking like that Leonardo DiCaprio meme. Great music to make a good mood even gooder.
#305/420 - Herb Alpert, “Rise”
Perhaps Herb Alpert’s best known and most acclaimed single, it was a number one hit for him and made him the first, and still only, musician to ever have each a vocal and instrumental-only as number one hits, not to mention this song was later sampled for The Notorious B.I.G.’s “Hypnotize”, which also hit number one.
This was Herb Alpert’s first album without The Tijuana Brass, and while they are missed in terms of the iconic sound, songs like this really justify the temporary time apart.
It’s always been a favorite of mine, that I once featured on “Friday Night Weekly” as well, and one I dreamed of featuring in the end credits of an eventual crime genre film I planned to make.
Listening, it’s easy to hear why the song became as popular as it did. It’s relaxing, passionate, the trumpet playing is on point, the groove is funky, and the clapping is involving and satisfying. It’s got fluctuations in its phases, going from sunny rooftops to neon puddles in back alleys.
Definitely one to kick back and groove to, and the best, in my opinion, of Herb Alpert’s solo tracks.
#306/420 - Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass, “Green Peppers”
There’s a reason I once named an episode from “Friday Night Weekly” Series 2 after this album (titled, “Shaving Cream & Other Delights”) — because this is an excellent, excellent album. And everything is food-themed, which is a delight in itself. My favorite food—er, song of the bunch is this gem, which I just love. It’s almost impossible not to get your hips and shoulders moving with those shakers and Herb on trumpet is positively jubilant.
It’s incredibly short, sweet, and simple, but it’s absolutely a top track from the Tijuana Brass for me. Top form from the full band and top marks from me.
#307/420 - Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass, “Bud”
From Herb Alpert’s Ninth (my favorite number) in my favorite year of music, this is a masterfully done work from the Tijuana Brass and my kind of low-key music. Haunting and sorrowful, this was dedicated to its author, Ervan “Bud” Coleman, writer of their iconic “Tijuana Taxi”, who passed away before the completion of the album. The musicians all play beautifully here and I love the calmness and the peaceful, musical journey it provides.
It’s sentimental and reflective in a way that allows me to reflect on many things. Music to take you through winding mountain roads, while gazing out the window into the green, misty valleys below.
It’s a song I really enjoy and one that reminds me of an old “bud” of mine who was (and surely still is!) as big of a fan of Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass as me. Though even great friendships may falter in time and people pass on, there is always music to take you back to the best of times. To all the "buds" out there.
#308/420 - Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass, “Mae”
This is a top 10 song of all time for me, personally. It is, to me, the most beautiful song that Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass ever did, and for that matter, it is one of the most such recordings ever done by anyone. While Whipped Cream & Other Delights fills its track list with food-themed songs, Going Places takes a trip around the world with music from the U.S., Mexico, Spain, Italy, Germany, Greece. This one is from Italian film composer, Riz Ortolani, who wrote music for over 200 films, in particular, from the film The Yellow Rolls-Royce, where Shirley MacLaine portrays Mae, who it is is named for.
The song has a very nostalgic, classic, sweeping, big band and swing sound. Here, the band plays it full of emotion. Herb has some of the most gusto on trumpet he has ever had, nearly at Al Hirt levels of wind-power, and the Tijuana Brass turns into an orchestra. The daydreamy keys and purposeful drum hits are full of heart, and the string verse lifts the music from the ballroom floor to be floating in the air.
This was one of my favorite records in my collection while living in my Chicago apartment in 2007/08, and I recall many nights, looking out at the city lights with candlelight dancing inside, while listening to this one, imagining what beauty the future could hold. Hearing it still, it is one that fills me with emotion on all levels, and I consider it quite an achievement by the song and band. If I am ever married, I would call this one of my few musts at the wedding.
Herb Alpert is my favorite trumpet player, and I consider the trumpet my favorite instrument, and with the Tijuana Brass, they are one of my favorite bands, and probably my favorite instrumentalists for sure. They produced album after album of great new songs and fantastic takes on standards and classics and they are one I will surely be listening to for album after album to come.
Next week, another group that had a special place in my vinyl record collection. They are one of my earliest expansions into progressive rock with some awesome themes and topics explored in their music, as well as some very catchy tunes, it’s Supertramp.
420 to 30: A Music Retrospective
Week 2: The Jackson 5/The Jacksons
Week 3: A Tribe Called Quest
Week 4: Weezer
Week 5: Bob Dylan
Week 6: Led Zeppelin
Week 7: 2Pac/Makaveli
Week 8: Billy Joel
Week 9: Electric Light Orchestra
Week 10: Elvis Presley
Week 11: Dr. Buzzard’s Original Savannah Band
Week 12: The Jimi Hendrix Experience
Week 13: Nirvana
Week 14: The Doors
Week 15: The Rolling Stones
Week 16: Gnarls Barkley
Week 17: Gábor Szabó
Week 18: Galaxie 500
Week 19: Simon & Garfunkel
Week 20: Gorillaz
Week 21: Ennio Morricone
Week 22: The Moody Blues
Week 23: Koji Kondo
Week 24: Rob Zombie/White Zombie
Week 25: Paul McCartney/Wings
Week 26: George Harrison
Week 27: Phil Spector
Week 28: John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band
Week 29: Public Enemy
Week 30: The Love Language
Week 31: Barry White
Week 32: Frank Sinatra
Week 33: David Bowie
Week 34: Queen
Week 35: The Offspring
Week 36: Louis Prima
Week 37: The Notorious B.I.G.
Week 38: Nancy Sinatra
Week 39: Stevie Wonder
Week 40: Roger Miller
Week 41: Röyksopp
Week 42: N.W.A
Week 43: Sly and the Family Stone
View the full list of "420 Songs" here: https://tinyurl.com/y8fboudu (Google spreadsheet link)
I always loved Herb!
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