Albert Hammond

Pop/rock singer, songwriter and guitarist Albert Louis Hammond was born on May 18, 1944 in London, England. He was the second of three children. His father was a firefighter. Hammond grew up in Gibraltar and learned how to fluently speak both English and Spanish. Albert sang in the church as a kid and was a choir boy. In 1958 Hammond and his friend Richard Cartwright began performing as a duo in both Spain and Gibraltar. In 1960 Albert joined the band The Diamond Boys, who performed at nightclubs in Madrid. Hammond subsequently dropped out of school to pursue a career in music. In 1966 Albert co-founded the British vocal group Family Dogg, who had a Top 10 UK radio hit with "A Way of Life" in 1966. It was during this time that Hammond met fellow musician and future songwriting collaborator Mike Hazelwood. In 1972 Albert scored a massive international smash with the fine and touching song "It Never Rains in Southern California;" the song peaked at #5 on the US pop charts and sold a mill