A & M
The American label A&M
A&M was the name of the label founded by Tijuana sound inventor and star trumpeter Herb Alpert and renowned sound engineer and recording manager Jerry Moss in Los Angeles in 1962.
A&M operated until the year 2000; competition on the music market initially brought the label all kinds of restructuring and changes of ownership. Moss and Alpert finally left the company at the end of 1992 and founded "Almo-Sounds".
Herb Alpert still releases his albums here today and continues his success in the jazz and funk segment. Sergio Mendes & Brasil 66 released "Mass Que Nata" on A&M and other labels, to which he remained loyal until the mid-1970s, when he founded "Brasil77" and switched to Bell Records.
Procul Harum ("A Salty Dog", "A Whiter Shade Of Pale") and Mr. Joe Cocker, "Officer Of The Order Of The British Empire" since 2007, were also signed to A&M early on. The world-famous pianist and composer Burt Bacharach worked for the label and wrote wonderful music for The Carpenters, among others, who have been under A&M contract since 22.04.1962 and, like Bacharach himself, are icons of the easy listening sound. Their (They Long To Be) Close To You sold 3 million copies worldwide and was awarded 2 Grammys. In the 1970s, A&M was divided into a jazz, dance and soul imprint.
The label received numerous awards and had other top stars under contract. Quincy Jones, for example, released no less than nine great jazz albums on A&M, starting with "Walking in Space" in 1969 and ending with "Sounds And Stuff Like That" in 1978. Carol King ("Hard Rock Cafe"), Cat Stevens ("Lady D'Arbanville"), Supertramp ("Dreamer") and The Police ("Massage In A Bottle") released their hits on A&M, defined the musical zeitgeist of the 1970s and led the A&M label to further successes. The following years were no different: stars such as Janette Jackson, Amy Grant, Chris de Burgh, Brian Adams, Dire Straits, Pussycat Dolls and Falco as well as Sting ("If You Love Somebody Set Them Free"), Suzanne Vega ("Luca"), Joan Armatrading ("Love & Affection") and Cherril Crow ("All I Wanna Do") released on A&M Records.
The path taken by Jerry Moss and Herb Alpert was a successful one. At the end of the 1990s, the two men's corporate philosophy was also recognized with a Grammy. In 2006, they were inducted into the "Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame".
As a successful musician, Herb Alpert has sold 72 million records around the world and is involved in social projects through the Herb Alpert Foundation. He also works as an actor, director and painter.
Jerry Moss runs a famous American horse racing stable and a horse breeding farm. His 6-year-old mare Zanetta won the world galloping championships in Louisville, Kentucky, in November 2010.
