The man in Best Buy buying Definitive Hits

[Harry]

This evening, in a spurt of last minute Christmas buying, my wife and I were in Best Buy picking up a few things like a new microwave oven to replace our old worn-out one. As I meandered my cart through the check-out line, I inadvertently bumped it into the man in front of me. After a quick apology and an exchange of polite smiles, we continued on. As he rounded the bend in the line, I caught a glimpse of what he was buying - a copy of Definitive Hits .

I decided to engage him further by saying, "I can't believe I almost ran over someone buying a Herb Alpert disc!" We then chatted about it being the only CD left in print. He said he had searched all over for a copy of the song, "Rise", with no luck until this evening. He mentioned that he'd been to Tower Records, but they couldn't even find a reference for it (but then he mentioned that he might have had them looking under "Albert").

My wife joined the exchange and told him that I knew just about everything there was to know about Mr. Alpert, whereupon he then asked me if I knew what year "Rise" was from. "1979" was my instantaneous and knowledgeable reply. After he paid for the disc, he engaged me again as we exited the store. He said he wished I could tell him from what year all of the songs came. I assured him that the booklet had all of the info he needed, and he seemed happy.

Another satisfied customer - let's hope he's not too disappointed by the dropouts on "Taxi" - he didn't seem the type.

Harry
...who hasn't run into a Herb Alpert purchaser personally in years, online...

 

[Antonio]

Hi Harry,

"My wife...told him that I knew just about everything there was to know about Mr. Alpert..."
I know Lani Hal is Herbs wife since 1974 I guess.
But I remember that I once read when "This guy.." was released that Herb sang that song for his wife Sharon.
So was he married before?
Who were his parents and does he have brothers and sisters and/or children? Where and when were they born?
Maybe you can tell me more about Herb's personnal life.
And of course I wish you all the best for 2003 !

Antonio

 

[DAN BOLTON]

Well, I'm not Harry, but I can fill in a few details... Herb Alpert was born on March 31, 1935. His Father was a Russian immigrant of Jewish extraction; who, as the story goes, didn't seem to have a name, so the officials at Ellis Island gave him the name "Alpert". His first name was Louis[Grandpa Lou...if you remember the song]. He died in 1976.

Herb's mother's name was Tillie...she was also Jewish, and was of Mediterranean extraction; that's where Herb gets his good looks from...everyone thought he was a Latino in the '60's, but it was his mother's European ancestry showing through.

Herb's dad was a tailor and musician. Herb has a brother, Dave, who is a musician, as well; Dave is credited with writing ACAPULCO 1922 and PLUCKY, as well as part credit for several other TJB hits. Dave's official position at A&M was as a building contractor. He was evidently in charge of building construction and maintenance at the studio complex. He also is a very fine drummer.

Herb has a sister, but her name escapes me.

Herb and Julius Wechter attended the same high school in Los Angeles, and according to some reports were close friends even then, other sources state that they barely knew each other.

Herb married Sharon on August 5, 1954...a date that will live forever in my mind, because that's the day I was born[I always felt responsible for his divorce....]. He also was a trumpeter in the Army, playing for several funerals a day at the Presidio.


Herb worked in the music industry as an A&R man, with Lou Adler...they cowrote WONDERFUL WORLD with Sam Cooke[I wonder why THAT song never made it on a TJB album...]. Herb recorded several singles in the late '50's and early '60's, most of them vocals...but nothing really happenned until THE LONELY BULL in late 1962...that's when A&M really took off.

Herb and Sharon divorced in the late 1960's, and Herb married Lani Hall, lead singer with Sergio Mendes and Brasil 66 in the early 1970's.

Herb and Sharon had a couple of children, and Herb and Lani have a daughter, Aria, who is an actress. Herb's oldest son, Dore, appears on the BEYOND album on a couple of tracks.

Herb's business partner is Jerry Moss, and together they built A&M Records to become the world's largest independent recording company. In 1987, it was sold to MCA for half-a-billion dollars, so Herb isn't exactly a pauper. His HERB ALPERT FOUNDATION is one of the world's largest and most well-funded charities.

He hasn't recorded an album of his own in a few years, but has appeared on other artists' albums, most notably a project released earlier this year with Gato Barbieri.

I probably left a few things out, Herb has led a very full life...both as a musician and humanitarian.

Hope this has been of help...check the forum index...there's a lot of info on Herrb and other A&M artists available there...


Dan

 

[Rudy]

Herb married Sharon on August 5, 1954...a date that will live forever in my mind, because that's the day I was born[I always felt responsible for his divorce....]. He also was a trumpeter in the Army, playing for several funerals a day at the Presidio.

The Army could very well be where he met Tonni Kalash--somewhere on an older computer I had a photo of them both in uniform with an Army band.

 

[DAN BOLTON]

They must've been the original Boogie-Woogie Bugle Boys...


Dan

 

[Rudy]

About Definitive Hits: your new-found acquaintance in Best Buy is just the type of buyer Universal is after. The casual, "Hey, I remember that song" buyer who would have no interest in buying an entire album containing one well-known hit. There will always be a need for compilations like this one, flawed as they may sometimes be.

 

[Munchkn]

I think I can fill in a few details about Herb's family that Dan omitted from his post. Herb's father was born Leib Alpert in Radomyshl in the the Zhitomir district of the Ukraine on 21 June, 1894 and died in Beverly Hills in January, 1976. (The Ukraine at that time was part of Russia.) Herb's mother was born on 19 January, 1905 and died on 14 November, 1994. The California Death Index gives her birthplace as New York, but I remember Herb saying on 20/20 about 20 years ago that his mother was born in Rumania. I'd trust Herb to know where his mom was born over the California Death Index any day!

Herb's sister's name is Mimi. UCLA gives a music scholarship in her honor -the Mimi Alpert Feldman Award.

Eden is Herb's and Sharon's daughter. When Eden was a baby, I remember reading -and not just in movie magazines- that she was adopted by Herb and Sharon.

While some of this is from memory and I learned Herb's dad's original name and hometown right here at A&M Corner , I found the information on Herb's parents through searches on rootsweb.com and google. At one time, you could search California birth records on Rootsweb. I did look up the birth records for Herb, his brother and sister as well as his children. There is no birth record for Eden which I take as corroboration of her adoption. California birth records are no longer available through Rootsweb due to privacy concerns, btw.

Carol
-curious person and amateur genealogist

 

[DAN BOLTON]

Hopefully, someday the man will write a book...his life story is very colorful and quite interesting. Some title ideas: A TASTE OF HONEY, SOLID BRASS, GOING PLACES...but not THE LONELY BULL...


Dan, thinking MY ABSTRACT HEART might also be nice...anybody else got any ideas?

 

[Captain Bacardi]

Herb's mother was born on 19 January, 1905 and died on 14 November, 1994. The California Death Index gives her birthplace as New York, but I remember Herb saying on 20/20 about 20 years ago that his mother was born in Rumania.

I remember seeing that his mother was actually born in Hungary. This was according to Biography 1966, which I've read in libraries a few times.


Capt. Bacardi
...just back from the New Year's Eve festivities, and finding it incredibly difficult to type, online...(and why are ther two 'L's on this keyboard?)

 

[Steven J. Gross]

Dan Writes-
Herb and Julius Wechter attended the same high school in Los Angeles, and according to some reports were close friends even then, other sources state that they barely knew each other.

Dan,
I beleive that Herb Alpert went to Fairfax High and Julius Wechter went to North Hollywood High.
sjg

 

[DAN BOLTON]

Maybe they were cross-town rivals...but I thought I saw something that said they knew each other in school, at least...all the more reason for a book...


Dan

 

[Steven J. Gross]

I think that Alpert and Moss went to Fairfax together though.
Perhaps one of you guys (Herb or Jerry) will confirm.
Time to come on into the A&M Corner!

 

[Captain Bacardi]

I think that Alpert and Moss went to Fairfax together though.

Jerry Moss is from New York.


Capt. Bacardi

 

[Rudy]

And I thought Julius was from Chicago...?

 

[Captain Bacardi]

And I thought Julius was from Chicago...?

So did I. I remember back when I was in high school a Chicago station played music by the BMB and said that Julius grew up in Chicago (as did Lani Hall, BTW). I may ask Cissy to verify that.


Capt. Bacardi

 

[Captaindave]

Not real sure about Jerry Moss and Julius Wechter, but I have a 1986 WINDPLAYER magazine article where Herb states in an interview that he attended Fairfax High in Los Angeles.

 

[DAN BOLTON]

According to the LINER NOTES section of the program from the tribute concert for Julius in L.A. last year, Julius Wechter's family moved from Chicago to L.A. when he was 8 years old, and he attended North Hollywood High. Herb Alpert attended Fairfax High, and they didn't meet until after school, when they were both struggling musicians in Hollywood.
They were good friends long before they actually worked together.

I wonder just when they first played together...some say it was on "DESIFINADO" on THE LONELY BULL; but I think that the vibe work on "TELL IT TO THE BIRDS" sounds like Julius...that would make 1961 instead of '62...



Dan

 

[Munchkn]

I remember seeing that his mother was actually born in Hungary. This was according to Biography 1966, which I've read in libraries a few times.

I remember reading that, too and in Current Biography 1966 in the school library.

I've got a possible explanation for the apparent discrepancy about Herb's mother's birthplace. Three eastern provinces of old Austria-Hungary, Banat, Bucovina, and Translyvania were ceded to Rumania by the peace settlement at the end of World War I. These three provinces comprise about half the land of present-day Rumania. If Tillie Goldberg Alpert was born in one of these provinces, she would have been born in Hungary, but in territory that is now in Rumania. Without knowing her birthplace. I can't be sure that's what happened, but I think it's a pretty good guess.

Btw, a search on Ancestry.com yielded no New York birth records for Tille Goldberg for the early 20th century, but there is a Tillie Goldberg in the New York County Supreme Court Naturalization Petition Index for 1907-1924.

Carol

 

[miguelk]

The 1930 Census lists Herb Alpert's parents in Los Angeles. They lived at 809 N. Ninth St (near Fairmount St). Louis was 32, his wife Tillie was 25 and they had been married nearly 5 years. Louis was born in Russia, as were his parents. Tillie was born in New York; both of her parents were born in Rumania. Louis entered the US in 1910; his native language is listed as Yiddish. He was a manufacturer of coats and suits. Louis & Tillie were renters - they paid $45 a month in rent. On April 9, 1930, the date of the census, daughter Miriam was 3 years & 4 months old; son David was 1 year & 1 month old.

A post by Munchkn states that Herb's father immigrated as Leib Alpert and was born in 1894. I checked the Ellis Island records. Leibe Alpert (age 7) entered the US on 25 August 1902 with his mother Chianne (age 32) and sister Asiel (age 5). They arrived on the ship Zeeland, which had departed from Antwerp. Their last residence was illegible, but they were joining Chianne's husband, who lived at 40 Canal St in New York City. Note that this information slightly contradicts the 1930 Census, which indicates that Louis entered the US in 1910 and was born in 1897.

 

[aymnostalgico]

Dan, I don't know who asked for the Herb Bio , but I enjoyed reading it. You have answered all of my questions about Herb. I thought Herb could be Latin, but now you tell me his mother is meditarrenean. Who would've known with all those latin induced songs he did, anybody would think he was reaching out to his roots. I have an uncle that I call Herb Alpert, because he looks so much like him.

 

[Rudy]

I wonder just when they first played together...some say it was on "DESIFINADO" on THE LONELY BULL; but I think that the vibe work on "TELL IT TO THE BIRDS" sounds like Julius...that would make 1961 instead of '62...

I seemed to think that Julius got a call out of the blue to play on "The Lonely Bull" for a princely sum of $15. But there's no telling if that's the first time they ever worked together. With Herb's vocal works before the TJB, working in various sessions around the area, it's entirely possible they may have crossed musical/professional paths before then.

 

[Mr Bill]

Someone at the Julius tribute (maybe it was Herb himself) mentioned that while in high school and playing for weddings, bar mitzvahs and the like that they met and played together for the first time. Then Herb went into the Army (where he met Tonni Kalash) and Julius went to Hawaii. We can assume they reconnected in LA in '61 or 62 when the "A&M thing" happened...

--Mr Bill