BILL MESNIK PRESENTS: THE SUNNY SIDE OF MY STREET - SONGS TO MAKE YOU FEEL GOOD - EPISODE #52: THE MEXICAN SHUFFLE by Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass (A&M, 1964)

Herb Alpert: you’ll never find a more beloved figure in the pop music world. A mensch. Did you think he was Latin? Nope. He IS an Angeleno, but….he was a Jewish kid, born in Boyle Heights; went to Fairfax High and USC. Before “cultural appropriation” became a dirty word, Herbie had a revelation while attending a bullfight in Baja - came back with “The Lonely Bull”, and ignited a career that has won him a Tony, 8 Grammies, and, a National Medal of Arts. He is the only musician to have #1 hits, both as a vocalist and instrumentalist. In his mid-sixties heyday he outsold The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and Frank Sinatra. Always smiling behind his trumpet, the handsome Mr. Alpert became an unlikely pin-up, then he scored big-time as a record producer and mogul (with partner Jerry Moss), and today, at 88, as an artist of renown, crafting massive sculptural installations and paintings, he continues to thrive creatively. I guess you could say that in addition to being a dedicated, hard worker, that he also was blessed. The Mexican Shuffle, (or, as some may remember from the chewing gum commercials)- The Teaberry Shuffle, was ubiquitous. It was all over the tv. This is happy music, pure and simple. In the ad folks of all walks of life, just going about their business, start dancing whenever they pop in a stick of Teaberry gum. And, Herbie’s percolating soundtrack conveys that propulsion perfectly. (I recommend YouTubing it). The record received a sizable boost of recognition from this exposure - as did A Taste Of Honey (from the Whipped Cream and Other Delights album) - as The Dating Game theme song. Along with Motown and The Beatles, Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass were the soundtrack of the 60s.