In my elementary school that had a band appreciation class, and they had this table filled with various instruments and I was able to just pick one up.Īlec Baldwin: Where were you going to school then?
I loved playing.Īlec Baldwin: What happened when you were eight? What had you seen or heard that made you say, 'I want to pick up a trumpet and start playing?' Herb Alpert: I started playing when I was eight, and I was earning a living on weekends playing. In 1966, the Tijuana Brass sold over 13 million records, outselling The Beatles. Whipped Cream and Other Delights was the number one album in the country in 1965, remaining on the charts for three years. When he decided to overdub his trumpet on two different tape machines, he captured it. Herb Alpert had no Latin roots, but wanted to re-create the sound he’d heard at the bullfights in Tijuana. And right up there with the Supremes and Frank Sinatra and even the Beatles, was this guy. If you were listening to the radio in 1966, it was a true hodgepodge of what was then considered popular music. This is Alec Baldwin and you’re listening to Here’s the Thing.