Albert Hammond

Albert Hammond first caught the attention of casual fans through his 1972 single “It Never Rains in Southern California,” which climbed to number five on the American charts and reached the Top Ten in Canada, Germany, Spain, Norway, and New Zealand. Listeners who examine songwriting credits, however, recognize him as one of the era’s most prolific craftsmen, supplying material across the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s to the Hollies, Tina Turner, Leo Sayer, Chicago, Celine Dion, Whitney Houston, Diana Ross, Julio Iglesias & Willie Nelson, and numerous others. His command of soft rock rests on memorable melodies paired with lyrics that explore everyday experiences of affection and loss; the title song from his debut album remains a vivid demonstration of that approach. Because he speaks Spanish fluently, he also cut several albums in that language and thereby built a substantial audience in Spain. Returning to the studio in the 2000s, he issued Revolution of the Heart in 2005 and In Symphony in 2016; at eighty he offered one of his most candid and reflective collections yet, Body of Work, in 2024.

Born in London on 18 May 1944, Hammond belonged to a Gibraltar family that had been moved to England for safety during World War II. Once hostilities ceased, his parents brought him back to the Rock, where he spent his childhood and became bilingual in English and Spanish. The household lived on a fireman’s wages, yet music provided an early outlet; he sang in church and eventually served as head choir boy. He also developed an interest in popular music, teaching himself guitar for personal enjoyment.

By the time Hammond reached adolescence, rock & roll had captured British youth, and he began performing publicly for American servicemen on Gibraltar, covering Dion numbers with his guitar. In 1958 he and schoolmate Richard Cartwright started singing as a duo on the island and in Spain. Their performances led them into the Diamond Boys, prompting Hammond to leave school. The group drew vocal inspiration from the Everly Brothers, the Kalin Twins, and the Brook Brothers while mixing English and Spanish rock & roll hits with Hammond’s own compositions. Steady club work in Casablanca and growing popularity in Spain and Gibraltar earned them an RCA contract; the resulting 1963 EP featured a cover of Ray Charles’ “What’d I Say” alongside Hammond’s “New Orleans” and “Fools in Love.” After the Diamond Boys dissolved, Hammond and Cartwright moved to England and briefly joined Los Cincos Ricardos, who recorded the Kinks’ “Most Exclusive Residence for Sale” backed with Hammond’s “It’s All Over Now.”

Mike Hazelwood, a fellow member of that short-lived ensemble, encouraged Hammond to concentrate on songwriting rather than performing. Working with Hazelwood, Scott English (“Frisco Annie”), and Tony Macaulay, Hammond specialized in American-flavored material. One such piece, “Oklahoma Sunday Morning,” was later cut by Glen Campbell before his breakthrough. Their first notable success came with the British television series Oliver in the Overworld, for which they supplied every song, including the novelty hit “Gimme Dat Ding.” Hammond also sang on sessions for Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich. In 1967 he, Hazelwood, and Steve Rowland formed Family Dogg, whose single “A Way of Life” reached the charts in 1969. Despite considerable publicity, the group’s debut album of the same name underperformed, and the lineup disbanded; its studio musicians included Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, and John Bonham. Hammond and Rowland continued to release singles under various pseudonyms without further chart impact.

Although performing success remained elusive, Hammond accumulated songwriting credits as the decade closed: Leapy Lee’s “Little Arrows” (1968), Joe Dolan’s “Make Me an Island” and “You’re Such a Good Looking Woman” (1969–70), Blue Mink’s “Good Morning Freedom” (1970), the Pipkins’ “Gimme Dat Ding” (1970), and the Fortunes’ “Freedom Come, Freedom Go” (1971). He also contributed vocals to Michael Chapman’s 1971 album Wrecked Again and briefly collaborated with the Magic Lanterns. After traveling to the United States for an unproduced stage project, Hammond auditioned for the fledgling Mums label, distributed by Columbia. Demos he played secured a contract, yet it was “It Never Rains in Southern California,” recorded in Los Angeles with top session players, that finally established him; the track reached number five in America and sold a million copies worldwide.

The parent album, It Never Rains in Southern California (1972), also contained “Down by the River,” which entered the Australian Top 20 and the American Easy Listening chart, “If You Gotta Break Another Heart” (later recorded by Cass Elliot), and “The Air That I Breathe,” later a major international hit for the Hollies. The follow-up, The Free Electric Band (1973), yielded another international success with its title song, though it missed the U.S. Top 40. Produced by Roy Halee, the 1974 self-titled album included “I’m a Train,” Hammond’s final American Top 40 entry. Collaboration with Halee led to further work with Art Garfunkel, a Johnny Cash single (“Praise the Lord and Pass the Soup”), and songs written with Richard Carpenter and John Bettis, among them “I Need to Be in Love.”

For 1975’s 99 Miles from L.A., Hammond teamed with Hal David on several tracks, including the title song that topped the Easy Listening chart while reaching number 91 on the Hot 100. Phil Ramone produced the album, which featured Hammond’s original version of “To All the Girls I’ve Loved Before.” Already popular in Spain, he released My Spanish Album in 1976, the first of five Spanish-language LPs issued through 1981. Additional projects included the 1986 Dutch hit album Hammond & West with Albert West and the 1989 English collection Best of Me, containing updated renditions of earlier material.

Songwriting dominated the mid-1980s; Starship (“Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now”), Chicago (“I Don’t Wanna Live Without Your Love”), Whitney Houston (“One Moment in Time”), and Bonnie Tyler (“Where Were You”) all scored hits with his compositions. A lone 1990s album, Coplas and Songs (1996), preceded a return in 2005 with Revolution of the Heart on the German SPV label. The ambitious two-disc Legend (2010) paired re-recordings of signature songs with guests Cliff Richard, Al Stewart, Bonnie Tyler, Julio Iglesias, and Dani Martin, plus the new track “Changing Me,” co-written and performed with his son Albert Hammond Jr. of the Strokes. Legend, Vol. 2 (2013) again revisited his catalog, this time with Hammond handling all vocals. In Symphony (2016) presented orchestral reinterpretations, after which he assembled a fresh set of personal and socially observant songs that became Body of Work in 2024.