Herb Alpert a vocalist at Dot Records under the name of Dore Alpert. "Tell It to the Birds" was recorded as the first release on the Alpert & Moss label Carnival Records. When Alpert and Moss found that there was prior usage of the Carnival name, they renamed the label A&M Records. Alpert set up a small recording studio in his garage and had been overdubbing a tune called "Twinkle Star", written by Sol Lake, who would eventually write many of the Brass's original tunes. During a visit to Tijuana, Mexico, Alpert happened to hear a mariachi band while attending a bullfight.
Tommy LiPuma representative for Liberty Records which eventually acquired Imperial Records and its publishing catalog. From here, LiPuma began working in music publishing, but also produced demo sessions for young songwriters such as Jackie DeShannon, Randy Newman and P.J. Proby. In late 1964, LiPuma produced his first recording for release with fellow Clevelanders The O'Jays, yielding the Top 40 R&B hit, "Lipstick Traces". In 1965, Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss hired him to be the first staff producer for their A&M label. Over the next four years, he produced the Top 40 hits, "Guantanamera" for the Sandpipers, "The More I See You"