The lives and careers of Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss, and the music empire they built in A&M Records, will be explored in a new two-part documentary series. Alpert and Moss, the “A” and “M” in the legendary label, which launched the careers of The Police, Janet Jackson, The Carpenters, The Go-Go’s and so many others, are the focus of the new doc, premiering next month on EPIX.
Mr. A & Mr. M: The Story of A&M Records promises to give a weighty account of the record company, with a blend of rare archival footage, interviews, and music from its roster of stars.
A&M was masterminded by a pair boasting complementary skills (Alpert, a great jazz trumpeter, and Moss, the businessman), who trusted their gut instincts.
Their lifetime achievements were recognized in 2006, when Alpert and Moss were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, with duties performed on the night by one of their signings, Sting of The Police.
“Whether they were totally obscure or fabulously successful,” reads an essay on the pair, published by the Rock Hall, “they always recorded acts that they believed in.”
Episode One of Mr. A & Mr. M airs on Dec. 5, and traces the early days of the label, which, like so many other great creative endeavors, began life in the humblest of beginnings: a garage in Los Angeles.
A week later, on Dec. 12, tune in for a second episode and the tale of A&M Records’ commercial heyday, its sale in 1989 to Polygram, and the big-picture perspective from Alpert and Moss, as they recount their work and friendship.
The trailer for Mr. A & Mr. M arrives today (Nov. 4), featuring snippets of interviews from the late Karen Carpenter and other label insiders. Watch here:
Mr. A & Mr. M: The Story of A&M Records is a Kennedy/Marshall Company production in association with Polygram Entertainment, Interscope Films and Universal Music Publishing Group. Executive producers for Polygram Entertainment are David Blackman, Bruce Resnikoff and Steve Berman.
The series will be internationally distributed by MGM on dates yet to be announced.
