Who was responsible for signing acts at A&M?

[dostros]

Hi all,

The recording of "The Lonely Bull" in Mr. Alpert's garage and the subsequent rise of A&M records has always been THE great legend of my musical era (tied in importance with that traffic jam that brought Stills and Young together to form the Buffalo Springfield).

I've always yearned to read the story in a biography on Mr. Alpert, which has (incredibly) never been written.

In that biography, one of my favourite chapters would be where Herb is introduced to Joe Cocker and signs him to A&M. I of course have no idea whether or how this happened, or how any of the A&M acts were signed.

The best music of my youthful era was more often than not on that label. Obviously this is because the people who signed the acts cared more about the music and let the artists follow their muse rather than packaging them for maximum commercial potential.

But who was responsable for this aspect of the business? Any ideas of how A&M developed its roster in the early days? Any little anecdotes on the signing of the artists?

David O

 

[Mike Blakesley]

I think Alpert and Moss signed most of the acts early on. We know for sure that Alpert brought Sergio Mendes into the fold, and that he encouraged Julius Wechter to record under the Baja Marimba banner. We also know that Herb gave the Carpenters the opportunity to make their first album.

Although Herb and Jerry probably had final approval on just about everything, I am sure there were probably different people for different styles of music as the company grew.

 

[Michael Hagerty]

Dostros:
I'm sure many of the folks on this board will be able to give a more complete answer, but the short version is that A&M was Herb Alpert & Jerry Moss...Herb was the creative side, Jerry was the business end.
In the early days, Herb no doubt signed many of the acts (or had them signed). But the accounts I've read say the turning point in how A&M operated and the label's direction came at the Monterey Pop festival in 1967.
Jerry Moss attended and noticed that almost every label had an act (or more than one) on the bill...but not A&M. According to Moss: "Our image was that of a latin-flavored jazz label that used MOR(Middle-Of-The-Road) radio airplay to sell albums." Moss saw the future, and it was rock and roll.
The meeting you envision between Herb Alpert and Joe Cocker may not have happened...at least not until Joe had already been on A&M for some time. Cocker was part of a distribution deal Jerry Moss signed with Island Records in the UK....a quick way to get rock and roll talent to the label. It also resulted in Procol Harum, Spooky Tooth, Cat Stevens and others being released on A&M in the United States. A distribution deal with Lou Adler's Ode label (previously distributed by CBS) brought Carole King and Cheech and Chong into the fold.
Once on the rock and roll path, A&M didn't look back much...with one notable exception. It was Herb who brought Karen and Richard Carpenter to the label (much to the dismay of employees who thought it would kill the label's developing rock image).

---Michael Hagerty

 

[Steven J. Gross]

This thread reminds me of the story about Gino Vannelli literally flagging Herb Alpert down at the entrance to A&M, to talk about a deal!

 

[Captain Bacardi]

Herb, Jerry and Gil Friesen signed the early acts until they developed their own A&R staff. As far as Joe Cocker goes, I believe it was Jerry who signed him. There was an old Rolling Stone article where Jerry talked about scouring the bands in England at the time. On the Bob Costas show Herb talked about the first time he had listened to Cocker on the A&M Soundstage during rehearsals for the Mad Dogs & Englishmen tour. At the time Herb wasn't big on rock 'n' roll, but Cocker was a real eye-opener to him.


Capt. Bacardi

 

[Steven J. Gross]

Herb, Jerry and Gil Friesen signed the early acts until they developed their own A&R staff. As far as Joe Cocker goes, I believe it was Jerry who signed him. There was an old Rolling Stone article where Jerry talked about scouring the bands in England at the time. On the Bob Costas show Herb talked about the first time he had listened to Cocker on the A&M Soundstage during rehearsals for the Mad Dogs & Englishmen tour. At the time Herb wasn't big on rock 'n' roll, but Cocker was a real eye-opener to him.


Capt. Bacardi

And the Island Records connection....

 

[dostros]

Thanks for the great background on this subject. I imagine even if it was a distribution deal with Island, Jerry Moss wouldn't just sign sight unseen. He would have gone to England to see Joe Cocker and the other groups. But Island wasn't a British label, was it? It just distributed English bands in the areas where it was active.

But, apart from the British bands, there was Lee Michaels, from San Francisco, I believe. Local recruit.

Oh well, we'll just have to wait for the "A&M Story" to be published.

 

[Mr Bill]

Both Island and Chrysalis made their first inroads into America via distribution deals with A&M. Many LPs in about the SP4175 to 4300 range bear the labelling "A Chrysalis Production" or "licensed from Island Records, LTD."

I believe both labels are of UK origin, (though many think of Island as "Caribbean" for the large representation of reggae and ska acts on the label). Later they both became strong indy labels. Amazingly, Island and A&M are together again under UNi's languishingly indescript "IGA" label...

--Mr Bill

 

[Michael Hagerty]

Dostros:
Chris Blackwell launched Island Records in London in 1962 (good year for starting good labels!). Interestingly enough, Island was built on licensing Jamaican acts (Millie Small, Jimmy Cliff, Bob Marley).

In 1967, Blackwell began signing rock acts. The A&M deal gave him distribution in the US...good for both parties. Would Moss have approved the artists sight unseen? I don't know. It's reasonable to assume A&M had some control, since the only Island reggae artist to be issued on A&M was Jimmy Cliff.

Other licensing deals brought other artists. The deal with Creed Taylor for A&M/CTi a few months before the Island deal in 1967 gave A&M jazz credentials. Consider what a breakthrough CTi was...at the time of that deal, the A&M roster was The Sandpipers, Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass, Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66, Claudine Longet, and Chris Montez....five artists(We Five, Lucille Starr, Dave Lewis and George McCurn had all been dropped).

The brief relationship with Phil Spector in 1969 resulted in Ike & Tina Turner and Sonny Charles & Checkmates, Ltd. being released on A&M.

It's true A&M didn't rely entirely on licensing in signing rock acts. Lee Michaels, as you noted, was signed as an A&M artist, as were Tommy Boyce & Bobby Hart, Phil Ochs, Brewer & Shipley, The Flying Burrito Brothers, Shango, Dillard & Clark, and Shawn Phillips.

All good acts, to be sure...but the Island deal was the key to A&M's image as a rock label...bringing Procol Harum, Spooky Tooth(with that, Gary Wright), Free, Joe Cocker, Jimmy Cliff, Humble Pie (and with that, Peter Frampton), Cat Stevens and others.

While CTi was a 3-year relationship and the Spector deal lasted less than a year, it was the Island distribution agreement that transformed A&M Records.

---Michael Hagerty