Albert Hammond
Albert Hammond (born on
18 May,
1942) is a
singer-songwriter, whose family came originally from
Gibraltar.
Hammond was born in
London, due to a war-time shift in family circumstances, and later moved to the
United States, where he began his professional career as a musician. He is best known for his hits of the
1970s such as "It Never Rains in Southern California", "The Free Electric Band", and "Down by the River".
Hammond has released albums in both
English and
Spanish, and recorded many of his songs in both languages.
His son,
Albert Hammond Jr, is a member of the band
The Strokes.
Albert Hammond was born on May 18, as the second of his parents' three children (his sister Violet Hammond was born in 1941, his younger brother Leslie Hammond in 1947). His father was a fireman.
As a boy, Hammond was head choir boy in church. Albert Hammond's uncle recorded four tunes sung by Albert on a demo machine. One of those songs (Estrellita) was officially released years later. Some time later, Albert and a friend of his, Richard Cartwright, start performing as Albert & Richard in Gibraltar and Spain.In 1960, Albert left school, and, together with Richard, formed The Diamond Boys. The members are themselves (vocals, guitars), Albert's brother Leslie (saxophone), Luis Balloquà (bass) and Luis Vinet (drums). Their repertoire consisted mainly of English and Spanish rock'n'roll songs.
One of Albert's first songs, (New Orleans/Fool In Love) was recorded and sent to England, where it is put out by Parlaphone. Albert is ecstatic about hearing these recordings on an English radio station in Gibraltar.
Some months later, The Diamond Boys head for Morocco, where they perform in several clubs in Casablanca. Although Albert is only seventeen years old at that time (and Leslie three years younger!), his parents can't fight his passion for music and his longing for adventure.
Back from their tour, they win first prize at the well-known Circo Price music festival in Madrid, which gets them a contract with the RCA label. Without hesitating, they make their second record: Popotitos/Hey, Little Girl/What'd I Say/O'Canganceiro.
Despite this success, in 1963, the Diamond Boys disband, and Albert & Richard start performing as a duo again. This duo records some songs and even brings it unto a television appearance in England.
In 1965, the duo Albert & Richard shortly splits up, Richard staying in England with his girlfriend, Albert going back to Gibraltar, where he meets his wife to-be, Pamela. After Albert returns to England, he joins, together with Richard, a band named Los Cincos Ricardos. They make only one record together, Most Exclusive Residence For Sale/It's All Over Now, the b-side being a song written by Albert.
Through this membership, Albert makes the acquaintance of lyricist Mike Hazlewood, who is a writer for the band. Almost immediately, they team up as songwriters and cut two records under the name of Hammond & Hazlewood: I Can Make The Rain Fall Up/The Hawkmoth And The Flame, Hey Love Let Me In/Let The Sunshine In and Broken Hearts Brigade/Wendy, Wendy, which consist of self-written material.
Because of money matters, the two of them are fired by the other band members after about nine months. But they don't run out of work easily.
Albert, since 1965 married to Pamela, works as a sessions singer for, among others, Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich (1966/67) and, with Mike and Steve Rowland, forms Family Dogg, whose members include themselves (Albert and Mike: vocals and guitars, Steve: lead vocals) as well as two female voices which will be frequently replaced (Zooey, Dina Knight, Jane Harries, Christine Holmes, Doreen DeVeuve and Ireen Sheer).
Although they put out several singles over the next few years, only A Way Of Life enters the British charts (in 1969). The album named after it, released in the same year, is not quite as successful.
In 1969 and 1970, Steve puts out two singles whose a-sides are duets by Albert and himself: Follow The Leader/Time Of Your Life (under the name of Pancho & Cisco) and Follow The Bouncing Ball/Time Of Your Life (Steve & Albert), the b-side being a Family Dogg song written by Albert and Mike. But at that point, Albert and Mike are not with Family Dogg anymore. (As following releases contain recordings made before 1969, they still are credited as band members. This is also the case with the 1972 album The View From Rowland's Head.)
The two of them are finally gaining recognition as a songwriting team: Little Arrows (Leapy Lee in 1968), Make Me An Island - a number one hit in 14 countries! - and You're Such A Good Looking Woman (Joe Dolan in 1969/70) enter the British Top Ten as well as Gimme Dat Ding (The Pipkins in 1970), Good Morning Freedom (Blue mink in 1970) and Freedom Come, Freedom Go (The Fortunes in 1971). Gimme Dat Ding actually was written for a children's television program, Oliver in the overworld, whose soundtrack was entirely composed and penned by Albert and Mike.
In 1971, Albert provides background vocals for a The Magic Lanterns album titled after a Hammond/Hazlewood song, One Night Stand, which also includes Let The Sunshine In, written by the same team (their I Don't Wanna Go To Sleep Again is released on single only). The Lanterns also record compositions that were composed by Albert and penned by Scott English (Frisco Annie), Mike D'Abo (You ring a bell) and Ken Howard and Alan Blaikley (Tell Me Who I Am).
Having become one of Britain's most successful songwriting team, Albert and Mike feel the need to look for a new challenge - and decide to head for The States, whereas Pamela and the couple's two little daughters (Debbie *1967, Paula *1970) stay in England.1971-72
Two days after arriving in Miami on a westbound 747, Albert and Mike take a plane to Los Angeles, where they live at the Knickerbocker Hotel first, then rent an apartment. As people were allowed to take only fifty pounds a year out of Britain (due to government's restrictions), they have to start all over again.
They immediately start looking for people willing to financially support a broadway show the songs for which they wrote before leaving England ("Welcome home", script by Michael Weller). Albert often hangs around with actor
Anthony Quinn, who is supposed to play the leading role. But as the producer of the show runs off with the money around the middle of the year, the whole thing falls through. (Some of the songs written for this show, The Free Electric Band being the most famous one, were used for Albert's solo career.)
In need of money, Albert Hammond decides to play his songs to every record company possible, until Hal Landers and Bobby Roberts give him the first artist's contract ever for their newly built Mums label, including a publishing agreement for Landers-Roberts Music (also for Mike).
After auditioning for CBS president Clive Davis, Landers and Roberts and some thirty more people, Albert is asked to do some demos as soon as possible.
Down By The River, The Last One To Know, "
The Air That I Breathe" and If You Gotta Break Another Heart are the four songs tried first. Albert is accompanied by a rhythm section consisting of guitarist friend Jay Lewis and some of L.A.'s most established musicians: Larry Carlton (guitar), Joe Osborn (bass), Hal Blaine and Jimmy Gordon (drums) and arranger Michael Omartian (keyboards). Clive Davis is excited about the result and sends Albert back into the studio to finish what would become the It Never Rains In Southern California album. (The four songs demoed were already that good that they didn't have to be recorded again. Sweetend with some overdubs, they were used as masters.)
The album,
It Never Rains in Southern California, recorded over the course of just about two weeks, is released at the end of 1972. While the first single, Down By The River, receives modest feedback, the second one goes to number five in the US charts: It Never Rains In Southern California.
This success offers Albert the opportunity to tour for, all in all, several months as opening act with
The Moody Blues, The Association, Olivia Newton-John,
T. Rex,
Yes, Poco and other performers and groups and then to do a tour on his own which leads him to almost all continents.
And Albert not only gets the public's, but also the artists' attention: by cutting her own version of If You Gotta Break Another Heart (under the title "(If You're Gonna) Break Another Heart"), Cass Elliot is among the first ones to record a solo song of his.1973-75
Back in The States from touring, Albert enters the recording studio to do another album. This time, Albert (vocals, rhythm guitar) and Jay Lewis (acoustic guitar) record the guide tracks without the rhythm section, and arranger and keyboard player Michael Omartian later adds the rest of the band (almost the same people as on It Never Rains In Southern California), the background vocals (again Kim Carnes and Carol Carmichael & Friends) and the orchestra. The reason for this way of recording is that Albert wants to create an intimate feeling on the new songs, which he knows is not possible if he had to follow a band. For once, the band should follow him!
As was the case with the first album, multi-talented Albert is writer, singer, musician (rhythm guitar) and producer at the same time.
The album is released under the title The Free Electric Band and contains another ten songs written by Albert and Mike.Having huge hits with
The Free Electric Band,
The Peacemaker and Everything I Want To Do, Albert gets the attention of country legend
Johnny Cash, who asks Albert to produce his Praise The Lord And Pass The Soup single (the title track being a song written by Albert and Mike). In 1973 as well, Albert produces
The Association's version of Names, Tags, Numbers & Labels, and Cass Elliot (Listen To The World) and Phil Everly (The Air That I Breathe) cut some more songs of his.
When Albert and Mike are asked by
Art Garfunkel to write a song for his first solo album, they fly to San Francisco to play Mary Was An Only Child for him and also meet with Roy Halee, who produced most of the Simon & Garfunkel hits and would be the producer of Garfunkel's first solo effort as well. (Garfunkel recorded the song after the writers changed some lines on the spot.)
Albert also plays some other new songs of his for Roy Halee. Having got to like him, Albert goes into the recording studio in San Francisco to start work on his third album, simply titled Albert Hammond, with Halee as his co-producer.
This time, Albert, the musicians and the background vocalists record their parts together again, apart from
I'm a Train, which is cut by Albert (vocals, guitar) and
Santana percussionist
Armando Peraza first and then overdubbed with the band's accompaniments.
For the last time, all of the songs were written by Albert and Mike.As usual, Albert gets credits as a writer, singer, musician (rhythm guitar) and producer.
I'm A Train is very successful, and "
I Don't Wanna Die In An Air Disaster" seems to become a hit as well first, but is taken off the air after singer/songwriter
Jim Croce's plane accident.
Among the Hammond/Hazlewood songs put out by others in 1974 are "The Air That I Breathe" by
The Hollies, For The Peace Of All Mankind by
Terry Sylvester, It Never Rains In Southern California by
Sonny & Cher, "Smokey Factory Blues" by Johnny Cash and also by
Steppenwolf and That Old American Dream by
Helen Reddy (all of which are already released by Albert himself on album or on single).
Mike decides to end the musical relationship with Albert and to start some writing work on his own.
Having got to look for a new lyricist, Albert gets the offer to work with Hal David (famous for his work with
Burt Bucharach). Together, they write a bunch of songs that are to appear on another album.
The album, titled "99 Miles From L.A." and produced by Albert and Hal David and engineered by
Phil Ramone (who also produced sessions for
Billy Joel,
Paul Simon,
Frank Sinatra and others), also contains a re-recording of a song co-written with Mike (Down By The River (1975 version)) and a song co-written with Roger Cook (These Are The Good Old Days), both of which are cut in Berlin, Germany, and produced by Albert solely.
The company's heads don't see a hit album in it. Because of this, only the song 99 Miles From L.A. is released in The States (and goes to number one in the adult contemporary charts), the album in its entirety is put out just in Europe in 1975.
The title track is a hit not only for Albert, but also for Art Garfunkel and Johnny Mathis the same year. Other covers of the year include "The Air That I Breathe" by
Olivia Newton-John and two recordings by
Petula Clark, Brand New Day and Every Step Of The Way, both of which are produced by Albert.1976
Being unhappy with the company's decision to not release the 99 Miles From L.A. album in The States, Albert sits together with lyricist Carole Bayer-Sager, and together they write You And I, "
When I Need You", Cry Baby and Moonlight Lady. He records them, along with some more new songs and some songs already put out by himself, and famous producer Charlie Calello adds strings and some more overdubs to these recordings.
Again, the result doesn't satisfy the company's heads.
Only because
Leo Sayer has a number one hit with his version of the title track, CBS released Albert's album titled When I Need You, in 1977.
When Albert records a bunch of songs written with Molly-Ann Leikin (co-writer of Tangled Up In Tears) and the album is not released at all, he feels his career being destroyed. (The album has remained unreleased until these days!)
Just a short time after, he is asked by Epic Spain to make a recording for the Latin market. Being bilingual and thus speaking Spanish fluently, Albert decides to give it a try by using an old song he regularly sang in his childhood in Gibraltar: Echame A Mi La Culpa (he had to call his mother to get the lyrics together again). Because he doesn't cut another Spanish track, Epic uses When The Starfields Fill Your Eyes, one of the Hammond/Leikin songs recorded for the "lost album", for the single b-side.
When "Echame A Mi La Culpa" becomes a hit, Albert is asked to quickly make Spanish versions of some of his first solo recordings. Along with some original songs of his (to get an entire album together), they are rush-released on
Albert Hammond Canta Sus Grandes Exitos En Español E Ingles. Having successfully launched his "second" career, Albert returns to London to record what would be simply titled
My Spanish Album (because everyone who asked him what he was doing at the time had Albert answering "Doing my Spanish album", and this phrase stuck). It contains not a single Hammond composition, but only standards. Albert has finally got some hit recordings again: "Echame A Mi La Culpa" goes to number one on several Latin charts.
Besides his singing career, Albert is responsible for
The Carpenters' "I Need To Be In Love" (written with John Bettis and
Richard Carpenter in 1974) and, of course, Leo Sayer's super hit "When I Need You" (with Carole Bayer-Sager).1977
His success in Spain makes Albert record another album for that market. For the first time, he not only cuts Spanish standards or has some of his English hits translated, but writes some brand new material.
The album is titled
Mi Album De Recuerdos. With the song "Eres Toda Una Mujer", Albert has another number one recording, and "Si Me Amaras" and "Ella" are hits as well.
In January, Albert meets Claudia, his new fiancee, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Albert goes on writing songs and goes to London with Claudia to record another Spanish album. It is simply titled
Albert Louis Hammond and contains four songs written by Albert.The song "Espinita" is another huge hit for Albert.
Albert Hammond gets the job of writing an entire album with
Frannie Golde. Shortly after that, some of the songs from that album are adapted for the Latin market and recorded for a new album of Albert under the title
Al Otro Lado Del Sol.Claudia, Albert's new girlfriend, gives birth to Albert jr. (who took after his father and is now a member of the band
The Strokes).
Having become so successful in the Latin market, Albert is asked to record another English album. The album, titled
Your World And My World, is produced by Jim Ed Norman and contains several songs that Albert wrote for his ex-wife. Never before did Albert, who came up with all the melodies, use so many different co-writers for one single album (which happens because the songs were written in several sessions over a period of a couple of years).The musicians accompanying Albert on this record include long-time
Toto drummer
Jeff Porcaro and other famous sessions players such as Matt Andes (guitars) and Lee Sklair and Neil Stubenhaus (bass). Background vocals are provided, among others, by Jennifer Warnes, Nicolette Larson and, on Experience,
Flo & Eddie (Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman, also known as The Turtles in the Sixties).
He goes on writing Spanish songs, mainly solely and without any help from lyricists. Seven of those songs appear on another album in 1981, under the title of
Comprenderte. This turns out to be Albert's last Spanish album for a long time.
Albert gets the offer to record another English album and starts writing some more English songs. The album is titled
Somewhere In America and is produced by
Brooks Arthur.
In 1983, Albert hammond, who wants to see his son grow up (which wasn't the case with his two daughters), decided not to record and tour anymore and to confine himself to writing and producing for others. This includes
* Latin superstar
Julio Iglesias's first English album
1100 Bel Air Place, including songs written by Albert Hammond and performed by
the Beach Boys and
Willie Nelson.
* Producing
Lani Hall's Spanish album
Es facil amar, released in 1985, winning a Grammy for best Latin album.
* Producing
Cantaré, Cantarás, which is the equivalent to "USA for Africa/Band Aid". The single tops the charts in several Latin countries.
* Writing and producing "Don't You Love Me Anymore" for
Joe Cocker* Writing "
Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" (for
Jefferson Starship in 1987)
* Writing "Don't Turn Around" (for Aswad in 1988)
* Writing "I Don't Wanna Live Without Your Love" (for
Chicago in 1988)
* Writing "Give A Little Love" (for
Ziggy Marley & The Melodymakers in 1986).
* Writing all the songs for the José Luis Rodriguez album "Señor corazón" and also producing the recording.
* Writing "One Moment In Time" (for
Whitney Houston in 1988 as theme song for the Olympic games in Korea 1988).
* Writing songs for
Tina Turner's album
Foreign affair.
* Producing
Neil Diamond's recording of
Don't Turn Around (1991)
* Producing Julio Iglesias'
Starry night in 1990
* Producing Julio Iglesias'
Crazy in 1994
* Producing Julio Iglesias and
Frank Sinatra's "Summer Wind" (together with Phil Ramone in 1993).
In 1986, Albert records a duets CD for the Dutch market of which "Give A Little Love" goes to number one in Holland and climbs the German charts as well.Albert puts out another Spanish album in 1996:
Coplas & songs mainly consists of old Latin standards â€" as did his first Spanish solo album in 1976 already â€" and contains only one Hammond composition (Mi AndalucÃa).Albert Hammond just released a new album,
Revolution Of The Heart.
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Official website
