# Albert Hammond

Albert Louis Hammond OBE (born 18 May 1944) is a British-Gibraltarian singer, songwriter and record producer. A prolific songwriter, he also collaborated with other songwriters such as Mike Hazlewood, John Bettis, Hal David, Diane Warren, Holly Knight, Carole Bayer Sager and Roy Orbison.
Hammond wrote commercially successful singles for artists including Celine Dion, Joe Dolan, Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, Diana Ross, Leo Sayer, Tina Turner, Glen Campbell, Julio Iglesias, Willie Nelson, Lynn Anderson and Bonnie Tyler, and bands Ace of Base, Air Supply, Blue Mink, Chicago, Heart, Living in a Box, the Carpenters, the Hollies, the Pipkins, Starship, and Westlife. Notable songs co-written by Hammond include "Make Me an Island" and "You're Such a Good Looking Woman" by Joe Dolan, "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" by Starship, "One Moment in Time" sung by Whitney Houston, "The Air That I Breathe", a hit for the Hollies, "To All the Girls I've Loved Before", a Julio Iglesias/Willie Nelson duet, and "When I Need You" by Leo Sayer. In 2015, he received the British Academy's Ivor Novello Award for Outstanding Song Collection.
He is also a solo singer in his own right. His biggest (and only top 20) U.S. Billboard hit was "It Never Rains in Southern California", No. 5 in 1972. Other songs of his include "Down by the River", "The Free Electric Band", "I'm a Train", and "When I'm Gone". For a time, he was part of the Family Dogg, a vocal band with whom he had the hit "A Way of Life". He has also produced for a number of other artists.

## Early life and success

Hammond was born in London, after his family had been evacuated from Gibraltar during World War II. Shortly after the war they returned to Gibraltar where he grew up. In 1960, he started in music with Gibraltarian band The Diamond Boys, which had no real commercial success, but played a part in Spain's introduction to pop and rock music. The Diamond Boys performed at the first nightclubs in Madrid to stage modern bands, alongside Spanish rock and roll pioneers such as Miguel Ríos. In 1966, Hammond co-founded the British vocal band the Family Dogg, reaching number 6 on the UK Singles Chart with "A Way of Life" in 1969, taken from the album of the same name.

## Career

In 1970, at age 26, Hammond moved to the United States, continuing his professional career as a musician. However, he had his greatest commercial success in mainland Europe. He is known for his successful singles of the 1970s, released on Columbia subsidiary Mums Records: "Down by the River", "It Never Rains in Southern California", "The Free Electric Band" (his only single to chart in the UK), "Half a Million Miles from Home", "If You Gotta Break Another Heart", "The Peacemaker", "I Don't Wanna Die in an Air Disaster", "I'm a Train" and "99 Miles from L.A." In 1970, under the name 'Steve & Albert', Hammond joined forces with Steve Rowland for the single "Follow the Bouncing Ball", which they heavily promoted, particularly in the UK, where they appeared on Top Of The Pops and The Basil Brush Show, but the single failed to chart.
Hammond also wrote songs for others with frequent collaborator Mike Hazlewood. These include "Little Arrows" for Leapy Lee, "Make Me an Island" (1969) (which Hammond himself recorded in a Spanish disco-style in 1979), and "You're Such a Good Looking Woman" (1970) for Joe Dolan, "Gimme Dat Ding" for the Pipkins in 1970 (itself a cover from the Freddie and the Dreamers album Oliver in the Overworld), "Good Morning Freedom" for Blue Mink, "Freedom Come, Freedom Go" for the Fortunes in 1971 and "The Air That I Breathe" which was a hit for the Hollies in 1974. In 1971, Hammond also sang on Michael Chapman's fourth album Wrecked Again, and worked briefly with the Magic Lanterns on recordings of his and Hazlewood's songs, and other material.
Written with Carole Bayer Sager, "When I Need You" was first recorded by Hammond on his 1976 album When I Need You. Produced by Richard Perry, Leo Sayer's version made No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart for two weeks in February 1977. Commercially successful worldwide, it reached No. 1 in Canada (RPM Top Singles, also for two weeks), and on the Billboard Hot 100 for a week in May 1977. Leapy Lee released a version of "When I Need You" on his first recording since 1970.
In 1991, Hammond co-wrote "When You Tell Me That You Love Me" recorded by Diana Ross, which reached No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart. In 2005, Ross recorded the song again, this time as a duet with Westlife. Again the song reached No. 2 in the UK.
In 2005, he released Revolution of the Heart (where Todd Sharpville was his music director), and the single "This Side of Midnight".
In 2008, Hammond met Kasaan Steigen of the Los Angeles-based Trigger Management who became his personal manager, during which time Hammond collaborated with British singer Duffy and others. Duffy's resulting album, Endlessly, co-written and co-produced by Hammond, was released in November 2010.
In 2010, Hammond also worked on Legend, a new recording of duets of his most successful singles, featuring artists including Elena Paparizou and Bonnie Tyler. It was released on Sony Spain on 23 November that year.

## Personal life

From his first marriage, Hammond has two children. In 1979, he married Argentinian Claudia Fernández, a former model.
His son, Albert Hammond, Jr. is a member of the rock band The Strokes.

## Awards and recognition

In 1987, Hammond's composition with Diane Warren "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" (recorded by Starship) was nominated for an Oscar, Golden Globe and Grammy Award. In 1988, Hammond won an Emmy Award for the song "One Moment in Time", a song he wrote along with John Bettis for NBC Sports' coverage of the 1988 Summer Olympics.
In 2000, he received the Order of the British Empire (OBE).
On 19 June 2008, Hammond was inducted in the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Half Man Half Biscuit paid tribute to Hammond in their 1986 track "Albert Hammond Bootleg" originally on The Trumpton Riots EP and later added to the 2003 re-release of Back in the DHSS.
In May 2015, Hammond collected the Ivor Novello award for outstanding song collection.
In 2023 he received the Ministry of Culture Lifetime Achievement Award.

## Songwriting credits

(in alphabetical order of song title)
| Title | Writing collaboration with | Artist / band | Year released |
| "99 Miles from L.A." | Hal David | Albert Hammond Art Garfunkel Johnny Mathis Julio Iglesias Nancy Sinatra Dionne Warwick Stevie Holland | 1975 1975 1975 1990 2002 2012 2015 |
| "Be Tender with Me Baby" | Holly Knight | Tina Turner | 1990 |
| "Blow the House Down" | Marcus Vere | Living in a Box | 1989 |
| "Don't Turn Around" | Diane Warren | Tina Turner Bonnie Tyler Aswad Ace of Base | 1986 1988 1988 1993 |
| "Easy to Love" | Leo Sayer | Leo Sayer | 1977 |
| "Gimme Dat Ding" | Mike Hazlewood | The Pipkins | 1970 |
| "Give a Little Love" | Diane Warren | Hammond and West Aswad | 1986 1988 |
| "Good Morning Freedom" | Roger Cook, Roger Greenaway and Mike Hazlewood | Blue Mink | 1970 |
| "I Don't Wanna Live Without Your Love" | Diane Warren | Chicago | 1988 |
| "I Don't Wanna Lose You" | Graham Lyle | Tina Turner | 1989 |
| "I'm Not Crying over You" | Chris De Burgh | Chris De Burgh | 1995 |
| "I Need to Be in Love" | Richard Carpenter and John Bettis | The Carpenters | 1976 |
| "It Isn't, It Wasn't, It Ain't Never Gonna Be" | Diane Warren | Aretha Franklin and Whitney Houston | 1989 |
| "Just Walk Away" | Marti Sharron | Celine Dion | 1995 |
| "Little Arrows" | Mike Hazlewood | Leapy Lee | 1968 |
| "Lonely Is the Night" | Diane Warren | Air Supply | 1986 |
| "Love Thing" | Holly Knight | Tina Turner | 1991 |
| "Love's Got a Hold on Me" | Chris De Burgh | Chris De Burgh | 1994 |
| "Make Me an Island" | Mike Hazlewood | Joe Dolan Tom Northcott | 1969 |
| "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" | Diane Warren | Starship | 1986 |
| "Once in a Lifetime" | Antonina Armato, Dennis Morgan | Kansas | 1988 |
| "One Moment in Time" | John Bettis | Whitney Houston | 1988 |
| "Rebecca" | Mike Hazlewood | Flo & Eddie | 1975 |
| "Room in Your Heart" | Marcus Vere and Richard Darbyshire | Living in a Box | 1989 |
| "Tall, Dark Handsome Stranger" | Holly Knight | Heart | 1990 |
| "The Air That I Breathe" | Mike Hazlewood | Albert Hammond Phil Everly The Hollies Simply Red | 1972 1973 1974 1998 |
| The Snows of New York | Chris De Burgh | Chris De Burgh | 1994 |
| "To All the Girls I've Loved Before" | Hal David | Julio Iglesias and Willie Nelson | 1984 |
| "Way of the World" | Graham Lyle | Tina Turner | 1991 |
| "When I Need You" | Carole Bayer Sager | Albert Hammond Leo Sayer Rod Stewart Celine Dion Will Mellor Austin Peters | 1976 1976 1996 1997 1998 2019 |
| "When You Tell Me That You Love Me" | John Bettis | Diana Ross / Diana Ross and Westlife | 1991 2005 |
| "Where Were You" | Holly Knight | Bonnie Tyler | 1992 |
| "You're Such a Good Looking Woman" | Mike Hazlewood | Joe Dolan | 1970 |

### Other languages

(in alphabetical order of song title)
| Title | Language | Writing collaboration with | Artist / band | Year released |
| "Cantaré, cantarás" | Spanish | Juan Carlos Calderón and Anahí van Zandweghe | Hermanos (Various Latin artists) | 1985 |
| "Entre mis recuerdos" | Spanish | Holly Knight and Luz Casal | Luz Casal | 1995 |
| "Sensualité" | French | Shelly Peiken and Axelle Red | Axelle Red | 1993 |
| "Y Tú También Llorarás" | Spanish | Anahi van Zandweghe | José Luis Rodríguez | 1987 |

### Other songwriting credits

(in alphabetical order of song title)
* "Careless Heart" – written with Roy Orbison and Diane Warren
* "Creep" (by Radiohead) – subsequently given co-writing credits (with Mike Hazlewood), due to the song's musical similarity to "The Air That I Breathe"
* He co-wrote almost all songs on Welsh singer Duffy's album Endlessly, including Duffy songs "My Boy", "Lovestruck" and "Well, Well, Well"
* "Have Mercy" – written with Shelly Peiken for Yazz; was also recorded by Viktor Lazlo on her album Back To Front
* "I Give It All To You" / "I Imagine" – written with Steve Duberry and Lord 'n Elliot and sung by Mary Kiani in 1995
* "Loving You (Is a Way of Life)" – co-written with Tom Snow and Franne Golde and recorded by Australian singer Jon Stevens
* "Moonlight Lady" – written by Hammond and Carole Bayer Sager and originally sung by Hammond with a large adaptation from "It Never Rains in Southern California". It was later recorded by Julio Iglesias in his 1984 album 1100 Bel Air Place
* "Oklahoma Sunday Morning" – co-written with Tony Macaulay and Mike Hazlewood, a hit for Glen Campbell
* "Once in a Lifetime" – written with Antonina Armato and Dennis Morgan
* "Smokey Factory Blues" – written by Hammond and Hazlewood, and recorded by Johnny Cash on his John R. Cash album; was also recorded by Steppenwolf on the Slow Flux album
* "Through the Storm" – a duet with Aretha Franklin and Elton John
* "Mary was an Only Child" - co-written with Mike Hazlewood sung by Art Garfunkel on his 1973 debut album Angel Clare