Carnival Records Carnival Records Carnival Records was the name given to at least three record labels. Carnival was the name of a record label by Wanamaker's department stores. Records produced for the John Wanamaker Carnival label were often 78 rpm records in the jazz genre. In 1961, Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss started a short-lived label that was the precursor to A&M Records. They released two singles. "Tell It to the Birds"/"Fallout Shelter" by Dore Alpert was distributed by Dot Records outside California. "Dore Alpert" was the name Herb Alpert used as a vocalist. The second single, "Love Is Back in Style"/"Peppermint
Karen Carpenter (album) heart." The liner notes (including comments from Richard Carpenter and producer Phil Ramone) include Richard's explanation for shelving the album in 1981, and his later decision to release it as Karen approved it. Karen was backed by various New York and Los Angeles studio musicians, including Steve Gadd, Greg Phillinganes, Louis Johnson and members of Billy Joel's band. A&M executives in New York approved the material, but the executives in Los Angeles, including label owners Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss, responded negatively. Ramone recalls that Carpenter broke down in tears. Devastated, she accepted A&M's urging not to release the album.