Albert Hammond
Albert Hammond (born on 18 May, 1944) is a singer-songwriter, whose family came originally from Gibraltar.
Hammond was born in London, England, due to a war-time shift in family circumstances.
He started in music with Gibraltarian band 'The Diamond Boys', of no huge commercial success, but which played a part in Spain's introduction to popular music, which at the time was under a very conservative dictatorship. The Diamond Boys performed at the first clubs in Madrid to stage modern bands alongside Spanish rock & roll pioneers, such as Miguel Rios (aka Mike Rios).
He 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" (the only single of his to chart in the UK), "I Don't Wanna Die in an Air Disaster", "I'm a Train", and "Down by the River".
He has also written songs for others, including "Gimme Dat Ding" for The Pipkins in 1970 (itself a cover from the Freddie and The Dreamers album "Oliver in the Overworld", which Hammond wrote) and "The Air That I Breathe" which was a hit for The Hollies in 1974, and co-wrote "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" by Starship, with Diane Warren, a transatlantic No. 1 in 1987. He wrote "One Moment in Time," the theme song to the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, performed by Whitney Houston.
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.
The Eighties' rock band Half Man Half Biscuit once recorded a song entitled "Albert Hammond Bootleg".
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