© 2026 Connecticut Public

FCC Public Inspection Files:
WEDH · WEDN · WEDW · WEDY
WEDW-FM · WNPR · WPKT · WRLI-FM
Public Files Contact · ATSC 3.0 FAQ
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Electronic Exotica: Alpert and Mendes, Remixed

Sergio Mendes on the cover of <em>The Swinger from Rio</em>, left, and his new <em>Timeless</em>.
Sergio Mendes on the cover of The Swinger from Rio, left, and his new Timeless.
Will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas, left, and Sergio Mendes at the NPR West studios in Culver City, Calif.
David Banks, NPR /
Will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas, left, and Sergio Mendes at the NPR West studios in Culver City, Calif.

Herb Alpert and Sergio Mendes, long associated with the carefree pop music of the 1960s, are back in the public eye.

Alpert broke into pop consciousness with his band the Tijuana Brass, with hits such as "Spanish Flea" and "A Taste of Honey." Among others, his 1965 album Whipped Cream and Other Delights, found its way into millions of American homes.

Forty years after helping add exotica to the American music scene, Alpert has collaborated with heavyweights of electronic music for a disc of remixed versions of his songs. The new album is called Rewhipped.

Sergio Mendes, Alpert's Brazilian colleague, is following a similar path with will.i.am, of the pop-rap group the Black Eyed Peas. The pair have updated hits by Mendes' group Brazil 66 for the CD Timeless.

Do the remixes work? Let's just say there are mixed results.

In addition to will.i.am, Mendes worked with Stevie Wonder, India.Arie and Jill Scott, among others. The songs range from old classics like "Mas Que Nada" to the new "Please Baby Don't," written and sung by John Legend.

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Tom Moon has been writing about pop, rock, jazz, blues, hip-hop and the music of the world since 1983.

Federal funding is gone.

Congress has eliminated all funding for public media.

That means $2.1 million per year that Connecticut Public relied on to deliver you news, information, and entertainment programs you enjoyed is gone.

The future of public media is in your hands.

All donations are appreciated, but we ask in this moment you consider starting a monthly gift as a Sustainer to help replace what’s been lost.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

Federal funding is gone.

Congress has eliminated all funding for public media.

That means $2.1 million per year that Connecticut Public relied on to deliver you news, information, and entertainment programs you enjoyed is gone.

The future of public media is in your hands.

All donations are appreciated, but we ask in this moment you consider starting a monthly gift as a Sustainer to help replace what’s been lost.