Artists who covered…

…Albert’s tunes during the 1970s included Johnny Cash, Elton John, Mama Cass, The Association, Steppenwolf, Sonny & Cher, Johnny Mathis, Olivia Newton-John, Petula Clark, José Feliciano, Perry Como, Tom Jones, Engelbert Humperdinck, Helen Reddy, Glen Campbell, Oak Ridge Boys and many others. The Carpenters had a hit with “I Need To Be in Love”, which Albert wrote with John Bettis and Richard Carpenter. Later Albert began collaborating with new co-writing partners such as Hal David, Carole Bayer Sager, Will Jennings (among others), and more albums for CBS followed.

Next, he was asked by Epic Spain to make a recording for the Latin market. Being bilingual, Albert began another important aspect of his career, recording and writing several Spanish-language albums which were very successful in South America, Spain and many other places.

Afterwards, since he wanted to spend more time with his wife Claudia, his newly-born son, Albert Jr., and his two daughters Debbie and Paula (which he couldn’t do previously due to extensive touring), Albert decided he would not record or tour anymore and instead he would shift his focus to writing and producing for other acts.

Latin superstar Julio Iglesias, an old friend of Albert’s, asked him to produce his first English-language album. Julio recorded several Hammond compositions including “Moonlight Lady,” “The Air That I Breathe” (a duet with American icons The Beach Boys), and what would become Iglesias’ signature tune, “To All the Girls I’ve Loved Before,” a duet with country legend Willie Nelson. The song was also nominated for a CMA Award and a Grammy Award.

Recent decades…

…have brought another round of great artists to record Hammond compositions: Josh Groban, Westlife, Michael Ball, Spanish singer José Carreras, Cliff Richard, Nancy Sinatra, Tina Turner, and many others. In 2005, Hammond recorded his latest solo album, Revolution of the Heart, an acoustic recording which earned great critical reviews.

As is obvious from the list above, Albert’s songs are timeless classics and several have been hits more than once: “The Air That I Breathe” (The Hollies, Simply Red), “Don’t Turn Around” (ASWAD, Ace of Base), and “When You Tell Me That You Love Me” (Diana Ross, and then ten years later as a duet by Westlife and Diana Ross.)

Albert’s achievements were officially rewarded in 2000, when he received the OBE (Order of the British Empire) from Queen Elizabeth II in London. In 2008, Albert was inducted into the Songwriters’ Hall of Fame.

In 2010, Albert Hammond came back to the top charts with his album “Legend”, where he recorded some of his greatest compositions along with different artists such as Cliff Richard, Julio Iglesias, Al Stewart and Bonnie Tyler, including an original song which was recorded in a duet with his son Albert Hammond Jr. The success of this album brought the “Legend Tour”, which took him back to the international stages in countries such as United Kingdom, Spain, Argentina, Germany and Chile. In 2012, Albert Hammond released his latest album “Legend II” in which he also recorded some of his most recognized songs, and with which he is still touring.

One need only listen to his work from the past fifty years to see the mark he has left on popular music – a vast array of modern-day standards that are known the world over and have so deeply touched the lives of us all.