A&M Records’ History to Be Explored in Two-Part Epix Docuseries, ‘Mr. A & Mr. M’

Chris Willman
·2 min read
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The story of one of the most celebrated labels in recorded music history will unfold in a two-part docuseries, “Mr. A & Mr. M: The Story of A&M Records,” newly announced for the Epix network and being produced by the Kennedy/Marshall Company and Polygram Entertainment.

The first episode will premiere on the premium network Dec. 5 at 10 p.m., with the finale airing a week later in the same time slot.

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One-time A&M artists Sheryl Crow, Yusuf/Cat Stevens and Peter Frampton are among those who sat for interviews for the doc series, which will include the music of the Police, the Go-Go’s, the Carpenters, Carole King and Joe Cocker, among others.

Producer Frank Marshall described it as following in the tradition of another two-part music doc that the Kennedy/Marshall Company did for Epix, last year’s acclaimed “Laurel Canyon: A Place in Time.”

“In the same way we approached our Laurel Canyon docuseries for Epix,” said Marshall in a statement, “‘Mr. A & Mr. M: The Story of A&M Records’ will be an immersive experience that celebrates the time and place, and above all, the amazing artists and music that Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss cared for and developed at A&M Records.”

Ryan Suffern is directing. Previous directorial credits include “Finding Oscar” in 2016, and he was a producer or executive producer on “Laurel Canyon,” the recent “McCartney 3,2,1” and “The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart,” among other docs.

Interscope Films and Universal Music Publishing Group are also producing partners on the project.

A&M ceased to be a separate label in 1999, when it was folded, along with another legacy brand, Geffen, into the Interscope Geffen A&M imprint, which keeps the branding, if nothing else, alive to this day. During its three-plus decades as a truly or at least functionally independent label, though, A&M was arguably the music industry’s most storied boutique label, and the A&M lot on LaBrea Avenue — formerly Charlie Chaplin’s studio, and now the Jim Henson Productions lot — was virtually a home base for the business, between its label operations and its recording studios.

A&M was founded by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss in 1962, originally running it out of Alpert’s garage as they were able to build a business upon his success as a trumpet-playing pop superstar at the time. The duo left the label in 1994, five years after it was purchased by PolyGram and five years before it was effectively shut down, and went on to found a new imprint, Almo Sounds, in 1996. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as non-performers in 2006.

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