Independent record label helped launch the career of newer artists with her Maverick label. A&M Records is widely believed to have been the most successful independent label in history due to its 37-year run and catalog of commercially successful and critically acclaimed records. Founded in 1962 by trumpeter Herb Alpert (A) and record promoter Jerry Moss (M), A&M was initially the label and distributor for Alpert's own Tijuana Brass recordings, but the label quickly began signing other artists. Over its 37-year run, A&M sold records from such artists as Sergio Mendes & Brazil '66, Claudine Longet, The Carpenters, Phil Ochs, Carole King (A&M
Herb Alpert 1997 "Billboard" Latin Music Awards. Alpert has worked as a Broadway theatre producer, with his production of Tony Kushner's "Angels in America" winning a Tony Award. Alpert was awarded Society of Singers Lifetime Achievement Award by Society of Singers in 2009. Alpert was awarded one of the 2012 National Medal of Arts awards by President and Mrs. Obama on Wednesday, July 10, 2013, in the White House's East Room. Alpert won a Grammy Award on January 26, 2014 for Best Pop Instrumental Album for his work on "Steppin' Out". In the 1980s Alpert created The Herb Alpert Foundation and the