BBC Radio 2-THE HERB ALPERT STORY

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TonyCurrie

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Industry Member
Just when you thought it couldn't get any better..............

For the past six months I've been working on a four-part series for BBC Radio 2, titled THE HERB ALPERT STORY. Until now I couldn't tell you all about it (although one or two of you were 'in the know') but now I can.

First of all the important bits. The series will air on BBC Radio 2 on WEDNESDAYS 21 June to 12 July from 22:03 to 22:30 British Summer Time. That will be 11 - 11.30pm across Continental Europe; 5 - 5.30pm in New York, 2 - 2.30pm Los Angeles.

The narrator will be Richard Carpenter, and the series is being made by the independent Scottish production company Demus.

At the beginning of March, I spent a week in Los Angeles recording interview material for the series. I spent an afternoon in Herb's recording studio at the Foundation with Herb and Jerry, and recorded a great deal of Herb talking about his musical life.

The following day, I visited John and Jean Pisano, and John had gathered together Pat Senatore and Bob Edmonson. We all enjoyed lunch (John's a great cook!) and a happy afternoon made even more so by the fact that we celebrated Bob's birthday, albeit a couple of days early.

I also spent an afternoon with Richard Carpenter, who has kindly agreed to narrate the series; I also spent time with Burt Bacharach who tells some stories about his long association with Herb; with Bob Findlay who is such wonderful company; and with Chris Montez who is a joy to spend time with.

I took Cissy Wechter and her sons to dinner, and we spent a very happy evening talking about Julius, the Baja Marimba Band, and how the TJB were more than just a musical act - they were, quite simply, a family.

I shan't spoil the fun of the series by telling you any of the many stories in advance, although in the end I recorded more speech material than we could possibly use in the series, and of course there will be plenty of music as well!

But I can tell you a couple of things, straight from the boss's mouth.

There are more "Lost Treaures" for sure, although probably not an album's worth.

Mexican Shuffle is in mono on the album and CD because although there was a stereo master, it got lost or destroyed.

And neither Herb nor Jerry knew about the two versions of "What Now my Love". In fact Herb asked me to send him a copy of the version that ended up in Europe (the non-bump'n'grind 'Plucky) which I have done.

The week ended on the highest note possible on Oscar night, when I fled downtown LA and spent my last night at the Vibrato Jazz Grill enjoying a fabulous dinner with John and Jean and listening to Pat and and Alan Broadbent playing, and although I had intended that to be my treat, I was pre-empted by Herb and Pat who, as a surprise, very kindly and graciously insisted that we were guests for the night. And Jean was persuaded to get up and sing, which was the icing on the cake!

More tales to come later, but I wanted you all to be the first to know about the series. There was much setting-up behind the scenes and I would like to publicly thank Steve Sidoruk, Leslie Mulligan and Ian Findlay for their help in making it happen.

I hope you will enjoy the fruits of our labours.

TONY

[Edited by Moderator to make it a sticky topic]
[Edited again to put in the correct dates and add starting date to the headline.]
Edited again to remove the play dates since the show has now completed airing.
 
Let's see. It's April 13th...not April Fool's Day...

How can we hear this stuff?
Does Radio2 stream?
Will there be podcasts of it? Did he say anything about future CD releases?

This is great stuff, sir.
 
TonyCurrie said:
And neither Herb nor Jerry knew about the two versions of "What Now my Love". In fact Herb asked me to send him a copy of the version that ended up in Europe (the non-bump'n'grind 'Plucky) which I have done.

Tony--I actually made up a sound sample containing the differences between the two versions of the album. I should send it your way. For copyright reasons I won't post it publicly.
 
Well, I personally am experiencing a quiet but very definite AWE.

What memories you will have of this experience!
 
This is unbelievable! To hear interviews with all these musical stalwarts is amazing stuff!
As a complete digital idiot, I am quite certain I will never figure out how to listen to these programs, so I beseech the computer geniuses here at the forum to somehow record these things onto cd so novices like me can share the experience.
There shouldn't be a legal problem, should there? The shows are being broadcast over the public airwaves, and as long as no one mass-produces the cds, I don't see a problem in sharing them "for private consumption only." Or am I being naive?
Anyway, it sounds like a great 2-cd set to me!
---SteveM
 
And Tony...what are the chances of the unused editorial being made available for listening after the broadcast, even if it's raw tape?

There are ownership considerations, of course, but it's awful to think of stuff on the cutting room floor...sort of your own "Lost Treasure."
 
Tony,

Wow! What a fantastic experience. I hope to be able to listen to this series over the internet.

Uh, did you ask Herb about Warm . . . ?

Cheers,

Greg Shannon :cool:
 
Great story, Tony! I bet you had the time of your life doing that. I'll be looking forward to listening to all of this. Good job! You da man! :D


Capt. Bacardi
 
It is still amazing that nobody has yet written a book about the history of A&M Records. There was that one publication for one of A&M's anniversaries, but a thorough history of the label, from "Lonely Bull" up through the sale to Polygram, would be great reading.
 
Rudy said:
It is still amazing that nobody has yet written a book about the history of A&M Records. There was that one publication for one of A&M's anniversaries, but a thorough history of the label, from "Lonely Bull" up through the sale to Polygram, would be great reading.

...depending on the author, of course...

Harry
 
Harry said:
Rudy said:
It is still amazing that nobody has yet written a book about the history of A&M Records. There was that one publication for one of A&M's anniversaries, but a thorough history of the label, from "Lonely Bull" up through the sale to Polygram, would be great reading.

...depending on the author, of course...

Harry

For sure. I'd loved to have seen the late Ray Coleman do a treatment of A&M, although in my experience, he seemed to specialize more in biographies. As long as the book stuck to factual information, and interviews with those involved, it would make a good volume. But if it got into the speculation, opinionizing or tabloid-isms, it would spoil it for me. I haven't read a lot of Beatles books in my day, but one I read seemed to be a lot of speculation and the authors' own distorted views of the situations.
 
What about that book(s) by "She-Whose-Name-Shall-Not-Be-Mentioned" -- doesn't that count for something? :laugh:

--Mr Bill
batting a little Saturday Sarcasm around the corner...
 
Tony: Others have asked, but I'll add my voice—Is there a chance that these interviews may be repoduced in some form for the benefit of American audiences that could not stream the BBC2 broadcasts?

I realize we are talking money—when are we not?—and yet … .
 
Numero Cinco said:
Tony: Others have asked, but I'll add my voice—Is there a chance that these interviews may be reproduced in some form for the benefit of American audiences that could not stream the BBC2 broadcasts?

I realize we are talking money—when are we not?—and yet … .

Not sure about the rights situation. The BBC has commissioned the series from Demus Productions, so the BBC will hold the copyright. I'm checking out options for Forum members. Do not despair!
 
What an amazing opportunity to actually record a "living history" of the TJB story and of Mr. Alpert and Mr. Moss and their extended artistic "family". I am so pleasantly envious that my hands are turning green! (Actually, I just mowed our lawns on this beautiful Spring day, and their color is from picking up piles of stray grass :cool:

Thank you in advance, Mr. Currie, for your work on this radio project; I eagerly look forward to hearing it on the BBC when it's broadcast.

At the risk of sounding like a "net nag", I enthusiastically second the idea of an authorized biography of Mr. Alpert and the whole A&M story in print. As I have mentioned in previous posts, I am just as surprised as many of you fellow afficionados of the A&M catalog that something like an exhaustive telling of the company's story has not been done. Wouldn't it be fun to see something like the Beatles' Anthology done with the TJB and A&M catalogs in print and DVD/video format?

Among the benefits of such an Alpert/Moss/A&M bio: it would be tremendously inspirational to both fledgling entepeneurs as well as artists struggling to make a place for themselves in the world of popular culture. The fact that Mr. Alpert was (and is) generous with his time and resources to make sure that up-and-coming new artists deserve a break, and that he was extremely successful in establishing a pace-setting, independent record company are certainly reasons enough to tell his story on radio, in print, and on a DVD/video series. I say "Bring It On!".

(My vote, by the way, for someone to write such a bio of A&M and its founders would be Nelson George, who did an exemplary job in telling the Motown Records story in Where Did Our Love Go?. Where are you, Mr. George?)
 
While we all would love to see the A&M story in print, we must be realistic. 99% of people don't know and don't care what label their music is on. A&M, while a great label, has not achieved the "legendary" American icon status of a label such as Motown or (to a lesser extent) Stax or Sun.

A Herb Alpert/Jerry Moss sanctioned website, with the whole story in words and sound and pictures, would be a better idea, cheaper to produce than a book, and easy to start and update as more information (pictures, archival items, etc) become available. Video clips could be added too.
 
I'm hoping that Herb will write an autobiography someday...that could encompass a lot of the A&M story...in fact, all of it...


Dan
 
I would love a book devoted to his amazing career. Especially if it suceeds in capturing that light sense of humor he has. He doesn't seem
to really like droning on about himself though-so I guess Herb doing the book on tape is out of the question!!

Because A&M is so furiously loved and celebrated here and elsewhere, it's legend does exist. It exists with the people who remember the feeling of cracking open a new TJB album, and seeing than tan or ochre label with the letters and little trumpet going around and around. Staring at the those beautifully done covers, reading the insert promoing all the other titles I wish I had. I also remember thinking I should have bought two, because I knew I would already like it and would wear it out at some point! A&M's legend is just like a lot of the music that came from it and the two guys that started it-creatively tasteful!

Don't tell me I am being too nostalgic, the music was and is still great...
and sometime CD's just really suck!!
 
Bullish '84 said:
...Sometimes CD's just really suck!!

That's actually #15 on "The List..."! :twitchy:

I agree, with a legacy at least on a par with Atlantic, Much Better (in MY opinion) than Motown and ALMOST as Legendary as Sun (Let's face it--it started with Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis and Johnny Cash!) A&M is long-overdue for some Immortalization in Documentation... I don't know how long before something In Print that details EVERYTHING A&M will come out as we have it here, but if it doesn't, then, well, this is the next-best-thing!



Dave
 
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