He's hardly the epitome of a rock star. Yet Herb Alpert had a large number of massive hits in the 60s and 70s and his influence continues to the present day. 

In this terrific story on the trumpet great from the BBC, Alpert reveals why he wound up starting his own label (A&M Records). And it wasn't just to make money.

"I had a bad experience with [RCA Victor]," Alpert, now aged 91, tells the BBC. "They treated me like a number. I didn't even have a name in the studio. It was, '78452, take one.' So I said, 'Man, if I ever had my own record company, it would revolve around the artist.' And that was the concept of A&M. It was all about the artists." A&M went on to become one of America's biggest independent record labels, the home of the Carpenters, Carole King, Peter Frampton and more, but its initial success was fuelled by Alpert himself."

And I didn't realize this, but Alpert is the only artist in history to go to #1 on Billboard with both an instrumental and a vocal ("This Guy's In Love With You.") That's quite an amazing feat. 

There's a lot more in the article below - including how he's influencing the TikTok generation. Even if you're not an Alpert fan, it's worth a read. 

'Slick, suave and a little sexy': Herb Alpert - the unlikely kitsch 1960s act that dominated the US charts