Sergio's departure from A&M

[Aqua do Brasil]

Dear Forum Members,

Sergio Mendes and Brasil 66, Chris Montez, The Baja Marimba Band, Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass, Claudine Longet rocketed the record sales in the first five years of A&M excistence with 800% in sales to a sky high level.

Major record companies as RCA and Capitol were surpassed in biddings for key artists by A&M and Warners at the end of the '60s against another major as Columbia records.
In his book publication `CLIVE inside the record business, by Clive Davies with James Willwerth `he stated, Yes, you could have hits with AM but how long will you stay at the top.

And during the´70s A&M changed its artist roster dramaticly. From a contemporary yet moderately middle/of/the/road image which worked quite well for a while trough a more rock orientated company.
Jerry Moss, through his English contacts and the invaluable support of his laywer, Abe Somer he aquired Cat Stevens, Humble Pie, Joe Cocker and Procul Harum and with the acquisition of Lou Adlers Ode Records, Carole King, Cheech and Chong the company move to the third place abreast of RCA and Capitol and under Columbia and Warners.

That period marks the departure of Sergio Mendes, his sound was not anymore commercially valuable for A&M, so the label dropped Sergio.

The label changed it music direction and went high in the 70s with The Carpenters, The Police, Styx, Supertramp, The Captain and Tenille, and Peter Frampton amongst other as moneymakers, but the label lose its commercial strenght at the 80s with an exception for Sting, Human league and Janet Jackson who left A&M at the top of her career.

All the best,
Aqua do Brasil

 

[TallPaulInKy]

This is my personal take on this from living through the period of change 1970 - 1973, and working as a DJ at several stations during the period.
One of the big strengths for A&M's Middle of The Road roster in the 1960s was two things, the television variety shows (Dean Martin, Red Skelton, Ed Sullivan). These type shows wer always on the lookout for good looking performers that could come out do a few minutes and be gone. These shows ceased in the 70s.
Additionally most all the major market TV stations had an AM station affilitated with them. Usually these stations programmed to adults, and the A&M roster of artists fit this format perfectly. Well written songs, excellent performances and recording quality was very high. Unfortunately, during the early 1970s as automation moved into radio (first on FM because it was cheap) those major market TV stations started doing away with their AMs. The market for A&M styled artist shrank fast. The automated FMs and as automation invaded AM only wanted a few songs that could be run in continuous style. I remember (even in the late 60s) we were playing the same few top songs every two hours.
The same basic thing has happened in country music. Even though all the new hot country stars buy a big cowboy hat and try to sound like Merle Haggard, you don't hear the real Merle Haggard on the radio just the imitators.
This is not to say things are better or worse now than they were, just an observation on the changing times.
I have Clive Davis book, its an excellent read if you can pick up a used copy. Lots of behind the scenes info.

 

[Brasil_Nut]

...I have Clive Davis book, its an excellent read if you can pick up a used copy. Lots of behind the scenes info...

Excellent points all, Paul. My brother-in-law, being a local and long-standing Bay Area DJ holds the same opinion about this particular period of the recording industry and how it changed.

As for the Clive Davis book it does, indeed, provide an interesting look into what makes the music industry tick.

Jon

 

[RichardWarner]

Herb Alpert told me in a radio interview (as I was changing reels of tape) that Sergio left "because I stole his girl." That was when Lani Hall launched her solo career.

 

[Mike Blakesley]

I've heard that before and always thought Herb meant it as a bit of a joke. The cold fact is, Sergio's post-FOOL records did not really burn up the chart -- and then he went and put out PRIMAL ROOTS, which was a great record but was guaranteed to be a non-seller. So it's not too surprising that A&M didn't renew him.

The LOVE MUSIC album on Bell was clearly the result of contract negotiations -- big-name producer, big-name pop arranger, a return to the hitmaking B'66 style, no Portuguese lyrics. His agent was probably told, "Make us a record we can sell."

If he'd been churning out hits on A&M, you can bet he'd have stuck around, stolen girl or no stolen girl.

 

[A&Mguyfromwayback]

I've come to believe that with Sergio's records (especially the 70s ones), the amount of Brazilian influence on an album has a lot to do with how the previous record did in sales - there are marked shifts from album to album in that department....

 

[PartyRico]

To this day, Sergio Mendes is one of my favorite musicians, and Ms. Lani Hall is our "favorite girl" singer. Herb Alpert is quite right, Lani sings more beautifully than a bird! I love all of Sergio's A&M albums, and some of the Bell ones too, but I was somewhat dissapointed when in the early 70's, he began recording less and less Brazilian material. One cannot discount the wonderful MPB (Musica Popular Brasileira) content. Brazil has tons of great composers, and musicians with so much variety and beauty. I feel that Sergio lost his "Primal Roots" at that point. My theory was confirmed when he returned to his "roots" and recorded his best post A&M album in my opinion, the magical "Brasileiro", which earned him a well deserved Grammy.
As for Ms. Lani Alpert Hall, it is nothing short of a crime that she has not recorded more. If her earlier works ever get re-issued, some measure of justice will have been metted out.

 

[A&Mguyfromwayback]

As for Ms. Lani Alpert Hall, it is nothing short of a crime that she has not recorded more. If her earlier works ever get re-issued, some measure of justice will have been metted out.

I have to say that, as nice as she sounds on her solo albums in a folk-pop vein, something about the combination of Brazilian w/slight pop and jazz shadings in the Brasil '66 stuff really brought out something special in her voice........

 

[walterphil]

i propose ms. lani i does a brand new lp
produced by hubby herb & sergio--
sergio on piano and herb blowin a horn solo or two

maybe half the tunes have a brazilian vibe and the other half
a pop classic tijuana sound-i'm not too worried that it will sound too retro--
as long as it's loud, clear, clean & polished, it will sell
(hey i'm betting the farm on this one!)

and i get to pick out the tracks
the lp's called "hit the road to dreamland"

1. i've got the word on a string
2. take me to arawanda
3. how are things in glocca morra
4. third time lucky (basia)
5. nobody does it better (carly simon)
6. hit the road to dreamland "bye bye baby...time to hit the road to dreamland"
7. color my world (petula clark)
8. turbulent indigo (joni mitchell)
9. endless love (maybe a duet with someone...herb?...sergio?...leon russell?
10. snowfall (doris day)
11. knowing when to leave (burt baccarach)
12. the more i see you
13. summer wind ("came blowin' in from accross the sea...")
14. moonlight in vermont
15. i've got the world on a string (reprise)

(it could be on any record label
but the label itself had better be tan!)