S.R.O.

S.R.O., issued in 1966, was Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass' seventh album. It included work by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, as well as the band's cover of "Mame" (from the hit musical of the same name), one of the first TJB recordings to include vocals from Alpert, as he and the group sang the song's chorus in the middle of the otherwise-instrumental rendition. Released as a single, "Mame" reached the U.S. singles top 40, as did "The Work Song," which featured the "ping" sound effect of a hammer or a pickaxe hitting rocks or other solid objects. The album reached number 2 on the U.S. album chart.

S.R.O. means "Standing Room Only," and perhaps suggests the size of crowds that the Brass were drawing, then being at the peak of their popularity.

Bean Bag became famous in the UK as the theme tune to the popular long-running game show It's a Knockout, as well as a prize cue for the game show The Guinness Game.

The Dixieland-inspired song "Wall Street Rag" from this album was not to be confused with the Scott Joplin song of the same name.

"For Carlos" was re-titled Wind Song which was covered by jazz guitarist, Wes Montgomery

Track listing

1. "Our Day Will Come" (Mort Garson, Bob Hilliard) - 2:21
2. "Mexican Road Race" (Sol Lake) - 2:30
3. "I Will Wait For You" (Jobim, Mendonça, Gimbel) - 3:15
4. "Bean Bag" (John Pisano, Julius Wechter, Herb Alpert) - 1:58
5. "The Wall Street Rag" (Ervan Coleman) - 2:25
6. "The Work Song" (Nat Adderley, Oscar Brown, Jr.) - 2:10
7. "Mame" (Jerry Herman) - 2:08
8. "Blue Sunday" (Julius Wechter) - 2:49
9. "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" (Burt Bacharach, Hal David) - 2:38
10. "For Carlos" (John Pisano, Nick Ceroli, Herb Alpert) - 2:46
11. "Freight Train Joe" (John Pisano) - 2:37
12. "Flamingo" (Ted Grouya, Edmond Anderson) - 2:25

Personnel

The recording personnel for this album mirrors the album cover (excepting Julius Wechter, not pictured):

• Nick Ceroli - drums
• Bob Edmondson - trombone
• Tonni Kalash - trumpet
• Lou Pagani - piano
• John Pisano - guitar
• Pat Senatore - bass
• Julius Wechter - marimba, vibes