Coffee Chat & Spanish Flea by Herb Alpert

https://juxtaposition1.substack.com/p/coffee-chat-and-spanish-fea-by-herb
"Spanish Flea" is a popular song written by Julius Wechter in the 1960s with lyrics by his wife Cissy Wechter. The original version was recorded by Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass in 1965. Cover versions of the song have been recorded by dozens of artists worldwide.

The Dating Game is an American television game show that first aired on December 20, 1965, and was the first of many shows created and packaged by Chuck Barris from the 1960s through the 1980s. ABC dropped the show on July 6, 1973, but it continued in syndication for another year (1973–1974) as The New Dating Game. The program was revived three additional times in syndication afterward, with the first from 1978 to 1980 as The All-New Dating Game, the second from 1986 to 1989, and the third from 1996 to 1999.

Jim Lange hosted The Dating Game for its entire ABC network run and for the 1973 and 1978 syndicated editions. The 1986 revival was hosted by Elaine Joyce for its first season and Jeff MacGregor for its remaining two seasons. When the show was revived with a different format in 1996, Brad Sherwood was named as its host. Chuck Woolery took over for the two final seasons, with the original format reinstated, in 1997 after he had left The Home and Family Show.

James John Lange (August 15, 1932 – February 25, 2014) was an American game show host and disc jockey. He was known to listeners in the San Francisco and Los Angeles radio markets with stints at several stations in both markets, racking up over 45 years on the air. Lange was also known to television viewers as the host of several game shows, including The Dating Game.

Herb Alpert was born on March 31, 1935, and raised in the Boyle Heights section of Eastside Los Angeles, California. He was the youngest of three children (a daughter and two sons) born to Tillie (née Goldberg) and Louis Leib (or Louis Bentsion-Leib) Alpert. His parents were Jewish immigrants to the U.S. from Radomyshl (in present-day Ukraine) and Romania.

Alpert was born into a family of musicians. His father, although a tailor by trade, was also a mandolin player. His mother taught violin at a young age, and his older brother, David, was a drummer. His sister Mimi, who was the oldest, played the piano. Alpert began to play trumpet at eight years old.

Alpert started attending Fairfax High School beginning in 10th grade. In 11th grade (1952) he was a member of their gymnastics team. One of his specialties was performing on the rings, but an appendectomy a week before a League Meet sidelined him. In his senior year (1953), he began focusing on his trumpet.

While attending the University of Southern California in the 1950s, he was a member of the USC Trojan Marching Band for two years. Alpert served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War and played in the 6th Army Band. In 1956, he appeared in an uncredited role as "Drummer on Mt. Sinai" in The Ten Commandments