Discover A&M
by Leslie Pfenninger, OnAMRecords.com
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Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss founded A&M Records in 1962 – with $200 and a handshake – and nurtured its rise into the world’s largest independent record label. Say their names and you hear their songs – The Tijuana Brass, Burt Bacharach, the Carpenters, Sergio Mendes, Quincy Jones, Carole King, Peter Frampton, Janet Jackson, Styx, |
| Supertramp, Bryan Adams, the Police, the Go-Go’s, George Winston, Amy Grant, Sting, Sheryl Crow. |
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Alpert and Moss averaged two Grammys, seven gold records and four
platinum albums every year for the next 30 years, and A&M Records
evolved from an easy listening label into one that successfully added every
musical genre. A&M garnered over 200 gold records, nearly 100 platinum
and multiplatinum records in the US and countless awards from around
the world. Sales figures and awards are the legacy of the A&M story.
In 1966, A&M Records made its permanent home in the Charlie Chaplin Studios. Artists and employees often said that the A&M lot felt like home, because that was the "Alpert & Moss" way: to respect people; to be open to ideas; to ensure an atmosphere supporting creativity for artists and employees. Herb and Jerry often walked around the lot visiting A&M’s departments, and they knew every employee.