Jerry Moss Jerry Moss Jerome S. "Jerry" Moss (born May 8, 1935) is an American recording executive, best known for being the co-founder of A&M Records, along with trumpeter and bandleader Herb Alpert. After graduating with a degree in English from Brooklyn College and a stint in the Army, Moss began his music career by promoting "16 Candles", a hit for the Crests on Coed Records. In 1960 he moved to California where he teamed up with Alpert, forming Carnival Records in 1962 and running the company from an office in Alpert's garage. Discovering that the name was already taken, they dubbed
Herb Alpert a career in music. While attending the University of Southern California in the 1950s, he was a member of the USC Trojan Marching Band for two years. In 1956, he appeared in the uncredited role as "Drummer on Mt. Sinai" in "The Ten Commandments". In 1957 Alpert teamed up with Rob Weerts, another burgeoning lyricist, as a songwriter for Keen Records. A number of songs written or co-written by Alpert during the following two years became Top 20 hits, including "Baby Talk" by Jan and Dean and "Wonderful World" by Sam Cooke. In 1960, he began his recording career as