It’s funny that no matter how old I am, I still feel my parents’ influence. Maybe this is true for most people. Afterall, we are first shaped by what we’re exposed to and what we learn growing up in our childhood homes. Like, I still believe in treating people and all creatures great and small with kindness and respect. I still enjoy Polish food that my parents taught me to cook when I was young. And I still connect with the music I heard playing constantly on our living room stereo from the 1960s to the1980s. And what a variety of music it was! Country western, pop, rock, jazz, R&B, folk, and soul! Everything from Johnny Cash to The Beatles to Aretha Franklin, we listened to them all.
Even now, songs by these musicians and bands can be heard on the radio, in retail stores, and (much to my dismay!) on TV commercials. While some of these artists are no longer with us or are performing, some are still selling out shows! Paul McCartney, The Rolling Stones, and Santana among others. Just last summer, I wrote about going to a Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson concert in my Twice in a Lifetime post. Perhaps it shouldn’t surprise me that some groups are still touring, but it does. Another case in point is the concert we attended two weeks ago. Simply mentioning that we were going elicited the response, “My parents listened to them!” Ours did, too.
From my journal: May 1, 2026, Newbury Park, California
“…our first concert at the HB (Hollywood Bowl) this summer is Herb Albert and the Tijuana Brass! I remember that one album we had… played it over and over…”
I was a toddler when Herb Albert and the Tijuana Brass’s most famous album topped the Billboard 100 chart in 1965-1966 for eight whole weeks! “Whipped Cream & Other Delights” had all the hits I remember like, “A Taste of Honey”, “Love Potion No. 9”, and “Ladyfingers”. All it takes is the sound of the first few notes and I’m humming along!
And just recently when this man, this myth, this legend and his six-piece ensemble took center stage at the Hollywood Bowl, I was transported in time. Jumping right into their first three songs, “The Lonely Bull (El solo toro)”, “The Work Song”, and “Memories of Madrid”, Alpert laid down his trumpet just long enough to say being there that evening was a dream come true. And I’d like to add, for him and us, too! He then went on to say that he didn’t think he’d be “doing this” at 91. 91? Yes, 91(this is not a typo)! Perhaps the only indication of this age was that he was mostly seated as he led his band through 20 more numbers.
If the feel-good tunes weren’t enough, during their two-plus hour performance, vintage footage of Alpert and his band played on a screen behind them. Clips from Alpert’s appearances on the 60s TV shows “What’s My Line?”, “The Dating Game” which also happened to feature several of their songs as cues, and “Rowan & Martin’s Laugh In” were showcased. What a trip down Memory Lane! And I laughed when the Teaberry Shuffle gum commercial appeared. In it, people from all walks of life are doing “shuffle” steps to their “The Mexican Shuffle” song – ha! I loved that gum!
For me, the high point of the evening was when Alpert asked us to join him in singing his first No.1 hit, the 1968 song written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, “This Guy’s in Love with You”. Thrilled to participate, I knew every word. While our voices blended as one, black and white photos of Alpert and his wife appeared on the screen making these moments even more intimate.
Throughout the evening, Alpert shared anecdotes that offered a glimpse into his personal life and as a man behind the music. Did you know the A in A&M Records belongs to him? He co-founded the company with Jerry Moss in 1962 and made the deal on a handshake no less. They signed phenomenal artists such as the Carpenters, Carole King, and Sergio Mendes and Brasil ’66. And incidentally it was through Mendes that Alpert met his wife of 52 years, Lani Hall, as she was one of the lead singers of Brasil ’66. Not only a musician, Alpert is a respected artist of another kind too. Pictures of his abstract expressionist paintings rotated between the retro clips. He is also the first and only artist to top the Hot 100 chart with both a vocal and instrumental track, which became official when their song “Rise” hit No. 1 in 1979. One of the tidbits I enjoyed hearing most was that recently his grandchildren informed him that his 1965 song “Ladyfingers” went viral with billions of views on TikTok, a mere 60 years after its release!
Through their upbeat and lively music Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass connected all of us that evening, joyously bridging the past and the present. All the while the time capsule of memorable visuals and insightful stories offered us the other delights.
A Journal Journey 