Demands for a single resulted in a rare vocal hit for Alpert. In 1967, Herb actually sang again, performing Burt Bacharach's 'This Guy's in Love With You' on a Tijuana Brass TV special. The single 'A Taste of Honey' was a smash.
His 1965 album Whipped Cream and Other Delights became a landmark in the adult contemporary field, defining the sound for the decade. Having released 'Bull' with the name 'Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass,' he set about finding musicians for his fictional band. He has been portrayed in numerous novels and movies, and his exploits have been spoofed by many, including the Muppets.
It was an instant hit, and both Alpert's career and the label's took off. James Bond is a fictional British spy, created by Ian Fleming in 1953, who has become the popular archetype of the debonair secret agent.
After seeing a mariachi band at a bullfight in nearby Tijuana, Mexico, he revamped the tune to match the style, and dubbed the result 'The Lonely Bull.' Alpert had already formed his own label, Carnival Records, with partner Jerry Moss, and had released a vocal solo single as Dore Alpert he used this label, later renamed A&M, to release the new single. Alpert's friend Sol Lake had written an instrumental entitled 'Twinkle Star,' which the trumpeter began to record in his studio, overdubbing his horn with very slight delay in order to create the illusion of a full brass section.
