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.
Herb Alpert had his biggest instrumental hit, "Rise" (from the album of the same name), which went to No. 1 in October 1979 and won a Grammy Award. It was later sampled in the 1997 No. 1 rap song, "Hypnotize" by Notorious B.I.G. "Rise" was written by Alpert's nephew, Randy "Badazz" Alpert and his friend Andy Armer. "Rise" made Alpert the only artist ever to hit No. 1 on the "Billboard" Pop Singles chart with both a vocal piece and an instrumental piece. Another Randy "Badazz" Alpert / Andy Armer song, "Rotation", hit No. 30 on the "Billboard" Pop Singles chart. The