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.
Fandango (Herb Alpert album) positive review, calling it "a masterpiece" and some tracks "spine-chilling". He further stated the material in "Fandango" surpassed that of the earlier Tijuana Brass output. "Stereo Review" was much less enthusiastic, stating that there was "nothing new or different" in the album. Alpert found his Mexican recording experience so positive that he decided to form a sub-label for the Latin market, both in the U.S. and abroad, under the direction of José Quintana. A single from this album, "Route 101", hit the top 40. As of 2018, it is Alpert's last instrumental single to surpass that level. Fandango (Herb Alpert