Thursday April 7, 2022 “It Never Rains in Southern California” Albert Hammond
Today’s rain song was written by British born Albert Hammond so maybe we need to ask ourselves, how did he actually know it never rained in Southern California. Hammond has suggested that lyrically the song referenced a period in his life when he was struggling to get enough money just to eat.
According to Hammond, he was living in Spain and spent his days at the train station asking people for money because he had none. One day he asked a cousin who was traveling in Spain, who he didn’t recognize, for money but the cousin recognized him and took him back to his hotel and fed him and gave him money. Hammond, embarrassed by his situation, asked that his cousin not tell his family ‘how he found him” which inspired the lyric in today’s song.
The happy ending to the story is that Hammond went on to have an international top ten hit with this single “It Never Rains in Southern California” and would write several additional hits including the Hollies number one song “The Air That I Breathe, the Starship’s “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us” and the Willie Nelson duet with Julio Iglesias “To All the Girls I’ve Loved Before”.
Stay safe and well…and Albert Hammond’s son, Albert Hammond Jr.is the lead guitarist for the very successful band The Strokes.