Trumpet player, songwriter, composer, bandleader, record producer, singer—Herb Alpert has worn many hats and looked quite spiffy wearing them (these are metaphorical hats so don’t go trawling the Internet for pictures). His career spans decades and genres; his albums have gone multi-platinum; he has several Grammys decorating his mantelpiece; and if you’re ever near the UCLA campus, be sure to swing by the Herb Alpert School of Music.

Herb Alpert started playing the trumpet at age 8 and stayed in the music business for a long time. First as a singer and songwriter—he penned songs for Jan and Dean and Sam Cooke—then as a producer. While arranging an instrumental piece called “Twinkle Star,” he visited the Mexican city of Tijuana where his attendance at a bullfight inspired him to incorporate mariachi fanfare and crowd sounds into the recording and rename it “The Lonely Bull.” Alpert had formed his own record label—A&M—with buddy Jerry Moss and released “The Lonely Bull” as a single; radio jockeys loved it and it became a top ten hit in 1963. The Lonely Bull, the debut album of Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass followed closely behind the single’s success, using studio musicians as the band. The Latin sound proved very popular and after increased demand for live performances, Alpert hired several talented musicians to comprise the full-time Tijuana Brass. Their act was more like a revue, with choreographed numbers and comedic routines that complemented the buoyant beats.

When “Mexican Shuffle”, a song off their album South of the Border appeared in a national gum commercial, the Tijuana Brass became more popular than ever and even spawned similar Latin-themed acts. The next album, Whipped Cream and Other Delights was a tremendous success, due in no small part to the playful eyeful on the album cover—a pretty model ostensibly covered in nothing but whipped cream. Also released in 1965, Going Places featured some of the band’s best known hits like “Spanish Flea”, “Tijuana Taxi” and “Third Man Theme.” If the names mean nothing to you, don’t worry: these instrumental classics have graced so many commercials, other songs and TV shows that you’d definitely recognize the tune if not the title. The Tijuana Brass won six Grammy awards and topped the Billboard Pop Album charts, with four out of five albums placing in the Top Ten simultaneously. Do the math, folks, these guys were hotter than the Beatles.

Alpert dissolved the Tijuana Brass in 1969 but continued to reunite the band—now known as the T.J.B—periodically, touring and releasing new albums. In 1984, the on-again off-again T.J.B. released Bullish and embarked on an eponymous tour. Having earned a top place in pop culture, Herb Alpert continues to reinvent himself, as a Broadway producer, a sculptor and a painter.