A Very Special Christmas wife Vicki, as she was a volunteer for the organization. Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss, the founders of A&M Records, along with Bobby Shriver, helped the Iovines realize the project. Since the release of the first album in 1987, the series has raised over $100 million for Special Olympics, more than any other benefit series. The album cover art is designed by artist Keith Haring. In 1995, the jazz-oriented "Jazz to the World" was released by Blue Note Records. The following year, "World Christmas", which focused on diverse artists from around the globe, was released by Blue Note subsidiary Metro
Herb Alpert No. 1 albums and 28 albums total on the "Billboard" Album chart, nine Grammy Awards, fourteen platinum albums, and fifteen gold albums. Alpert has sold 72 million records worldwide. Alpert is the only recording artist to hit No. 1 on the U.S. "Billboard" Hot 100 pop chart as both a vocalist ("This Guy's in Love with You", 1968), and an instrumentalist ("Rise", 1979). Herb Alpert was born and raised in the Boyle Heights section of Eastside Los Angeles, California, the son of Tillie (née Goldberg) and Louis Alpert. His parents were Jewish emigrants to the U.S. from Radomyshl (in present-day