Herb Alpert

Herb Alpert - Rise (Soul Train 1983)

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• published: 17 Apr 2014
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"Rise" is a song written by Andy Armer and Randy Badazz Alpert, and first recorded by trumpeter Herb Alpert. The instrumental track was included on Alpert's solo album Rise and released as a single in 1979. It reached number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in October of that year and remained in the top position for two weeks. Herb Alpert thus became the first (and only) artist to reach the top of the Hot 100 with a vocal performance ("This Guy's in Love with You", 1968) as well as an instrumental performance. "Rise" also spent one week atop the adult contemporary chart. "Rise" was successful on the other charts, peaking at number four on the R&B; chart and number seventeen on the disco chart. The recording also received a Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance. Songwriters Andy Armer and Randy Badazz Alpert were both nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition. "Rise" was originally recorded as an uptempo dance song, however, while recording the master at A&M; studios, the drummer on the session, Steve Schaefer, strongly suggested that Herb and Randy try slowing the tempo down to 100bpm. It was a good move. Upon release, the song received an unexpected burst of promotion: Jill Farren Phelps, musical director of the ABC soap opera General Hospital, decided to use "Rise" as the musical backdrop for the rape of Laura Webber by Luke Spencer. For several weeks afterward, the recording was played on the show to evoke the memory of Luke's act. The added exposure in an extremely popular program boosted sales to the point of selling more than one million copies. Shortly after "Rise" became a hit in the United States, it became a hit in the United Kingdom when British disk jockeys were playing import copies of the record at the wrong speed. In the 1981 Hindi movie Yaarana starring Amitabh Bachchan and Neetu Singh, Neetu Singh teaches Amitabh some dance moves to this song. The song almost plays full length as Amitabh masters disco dancing. A sample of "Rise" is the entire musical groove of the 1997 number-one worldwide hit song, "Hypnotize", recorded by The Notorious B.I.G. and co-produced by Sean "Puffy" Combs. The sample is credited on both the single, "Hypnotize" and in the liner notes for the Notorious B.I.G's album, Life After Death. In 1999, Brazilian saxophonist Léo Gandelman did a remake of "Rise" for his album "Brazilian Soul". R&B; singer Monica sampled the song on the song I'm Back on her 2002 album All Eyez on Me (Monica album) Herbert "Herb" Alpert is an American musician most associated with the group variously known as Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass, Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass, or TJB. In print, he is often erroneously referred to as Herb Albert. Alpert is also a recording industry executive, the "A" of A&M; Records, a recording label he and business partner, Jerry Moss, founded and eventually sold to Polygram. Alpert has also created abstract expressionist paintings and sculpture over two decades, which are on occasion publicly exhibited. Alpert and wife Lani Hall are substantial philanthropists through the operation of the Herb Alpert Foundation. Alpert's musical accomplishments include five No. 1 albums and 28 albums total on the Billboard Album chart, nine Grammy Awards, fourteen platinum albums, and fifteen gold albums. As of 1996, Alpert had sold 72 million albums worldwide. Alpert is the only recording artist to hit No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 pop chart as both a vocalist ("This Guy's in Love with You", 1968) and an instrumentalist ("Rise", 1979). Soul Train is an American musical variety television program, which aired in syndication from 1971 until 2006. In its 35-year history, the show primarily featured performances by R&B;, soul, and hip hop artists, although funk, jazz, disco, and gospel artists have also appeared. The series was created by Don Cornelius, who also served as its first host and executive producer. Production was suspended following the 2005--06 season, with a rerun package (known as The Best of Soul Train) airing for two years subsequently. As a nod to Soul Train's longevity, the show's opening sequence (during later seasons) contained a claim that it was the "longest-running first-run, nationally syndicated program in television history," with over 1,100 episodes produced from the show's debut through the 2005-06 season. Despite the production hiatus, Soul Train will continue to hold this honor until at least 2016, if and when its nearest competitor, Entertainment Tonight, completes its 35th season. (If ET does not complete a 35th season, Wheel of Fortune would pass in 2018 if it continues to air.)