1971-72
Two days after arriving in Miami on a westbound 747, Albert and Mike take a plane to Los Angeles, where they live at the Knickerbocker Hotel first, then rent an appartment. As people were allowed to take only fifty pounds a year out of Britain (due to government’s restrictions), they have to start all over again.

They immediately start looking for people willing to financially support a broadway show the songs for which they wrote before leaving England (“Welcome home”, script by Michael Weller). Albert often hangs around with actor Anthony Quinn, who is supposed to play the leading role. But as the producer of the show runs off with the money around the middle of the year, the whole thing falls through. (Some of the songs written for this show, The free electric band being the most famous one, were used for Albert’s solo career.)

In need of money, Albert decides to play his songs to every record company possible, until Hal Landers and Bobby Roberts give him the first artist’s contract ever for their newly built Mums label, including a publishing agreement for Landers-Roberts Music (also for Mike).

(Mums was a little division of CBS’s Epic label. Around 1974, Landers and Roberts sold the entire Mums catalogue to Epic, and records that were made by artists formerly with Mums came out on Epic instead. In Europe, where there was no Mums, the records were released on Epic even from the first moment on. Albert has stayed true to CBS until today.)

After auditioning for CBS president Clive Davis, Landers and Roberts and some thirty more people, Albert is asked to do some demos as soon as possible.

With a contract worth 25’000 dollars as a security, Albert puts down on a house and sends for Pam and the children.

Down by river, The last one to know , The air that I breathe and If you gotta break another heart are the four songs tried first. Albert is accompanied by a rhythm section consisting of guitarist friend Jay Lewis and some of L.A.’s most established musicians: Larry Carlton (guitar), Joe Osborn (bass), Hal Blaine and Jimmy Gordon (drums) and arranger Michael Omartian (keyboards). Clive Davis is excited about the result and sends Albert back into the studio to finish what would become the It never rains in Southern California album. (The four songs demoed were already that good that they didn’t have to be recorded again. Sweetend with some overdubs, they were used as masters.)

Albert takes care of several aspects in the process of making this album and gets credits not only as a singer and writer, but also as a musician (rhythm guitar) and producer. This will be the case with most of his albums, be it in English or in Spanish.

The “live atmosphere” throughout the album is evoked by the fact that not a single song was cut more than twice and that Albert, the band and even the background vocalists (Kim Carnes and Carol Carmichael & Friends) recorded their parts at the very same time. The only instruments that arranger and keyboard player Michael Omartian added to the mastertakes were horns and strings.

The album, It never rains in Southern California, recorded over the course of just about two weeks, is released at the end of 1972 and contains ten songs, all of which were written by the Hammond/Hazlewood team: Listen to the world , If you gotta break another heart, From Great Britain to L.A., Brand new day, Anyone here in the audience, It never rains in Southern California (written before Albert and Mike got on the 747), Names, tags, numbers & labels, Down by the river, The road to understanding and The air that I breathe (which would have been Albert’s choice for the title track). Two more cuts, The last one to know and That old American dream, appear on single b-sides only.

While the first single, Down by the river, receives modest feedback, the second one goes to number five in the US charts: It never rains in Southern California.

This success offers Albert the opportunity to tour for, all in all, several months as opening act with the Moody Blues, The Association, Olivia Newton-John, T-Rex, Yes, Poco and other performers and groups and then to do a tour on his own which leads him to almost all continents.

And Albert not only gets the public’s, but also the artists’ attention: by cutting her own version of If you gotta break another heart (under the title "(If you’re gonna) Break another heart"), Cass Elliot is among the first ones to record a solo song of his.

1973-75
Back in The States from touring, Albert enters the recording studio to do another album. This time, Albert (vocals, rhythm guitar) and Jay Lewis (acoustic guitar) record the guide tracks without the rhythm section, and arranger and keyboard player Michael Omartian later adds the rest of the band (almost the same people as on It never rains in Southern California), the background vocals (again Kim Carnes and Carol Carmichael & Friends) and the orchestra. The reason for this way of recording is that Albert wants to create an intimate feeling on the new songs, which he knows is not possible if he had to follow a band. For once, the band should follow him!

As was the case with the first album, multi-talented Albert is writer, singer, musician (rhythm guitar) and producer at the same time.

The album is released under the title The free electric band and contains another ten songs written by Albert and Mike: Smokey factory blues, The peacemaker , Woman of the world, Everything I want to do, Who’s for lunch today? , The free electric band, Rebecca , The day the British army lost the war, For the peace of all mankind and I think I’ll go that way. Another cut, You taught me to sing the blues, is used as a single b-side only.

Having huge hits with The free electric band, The peacemaker and Everything I want to do, Albert gets the attention of country legend Johnny Cash, who asks Albert to produce his Praise the Lord and pass the soup single (the title track being a song written by Albert and Mike). In 1973 as well, Albert produces The Association’s version of Names, tags, numbers & labels, and Cass Elliot (Listen to the world) and Phil Everly (The air that I breathe) cut some more songs of his.

When Albert and Mike are asked by Art Garfunkel to write a song for his first solo album, they fly to San Francisco to play Mary was an only child for him and also meet with Roy Halee, who produced most of the Simon & Garfunkel hits and would be the producer of Garfunkel’s first solo effort as well. (Garfunkel recorded the song after the writers changed some lines on the spot.)

Albert also plays some other new songs of his for Roy Halee. Having got to like him, Albert goes into the recording studio in San Francisco to start work on his third album, simply titled Albert Hammond, with Halee as his co-producer.

This time, Albert, the musicians and the background vocalists record their parts together again, apart from I’m a train, which is cut by Albert (vocals, guitar) and Santana percussionist Armando Peraza first and then overdubbed with the band’s accompaniments.

For the last time, all of the songs were written by Albert and Mike: I’m a train (which was one of their first songs, finished around 1965 and recorded by The Colours of Love before Albert made his own version), New York City here I come, The girl they call the cool breeze (written around 1967), I don’t wanna die in an air disaster, Half a million miles from home, Candle light, sweet candle light and Mary hot lips Arizona. For the same release, he makes two re-recordings because he is told by Halee that he can do better: Everything I want to do (1974 version) and Names, tags, numbers & labels (1974 version), which is shortened by two verses. Two more songs, Dime Queen of Nevada and We’re running out, are cut in Kingston, Jamaica, where Albert is accompanied by an original reggae band.

As usual, Albert gets credits as a writer, singer, musician (rhythm guitar) and producer.

I’m a train is very successful, and I don’t wanna die in an air disaster seems to become a hit as well first, but is taken off the air after singer/songwriter Jim Croce’s plane accident.

Among the Hammond/Hazlewood songs put out by others in 1974 are The air that I breathe by The Hollies, For the peace of all mankind by Terry Sylvester, It never rains in Southern California by Sonny & Cher, Smokey factory blues by Johnny Cash and also by Steppenwolf and That old American dream by Helen Reddy (all of which are already released by Albert himself on album or on single).

Mike decides to end the musical relationship with Albert and to start some writing work on his own.

Having got to look for a new lyricist, Albert gets the offer to work with Hal David (famous for his work with Burt Bucharach). Together, they write a bunch of songs that are to appear on another album of his: 99 miles from L.A., One life, Love isn’t love till you give it away, The face not the image, Lay the music down, Rivers are for boats, Somebody’s happiness, A job is a home to a homeless man and To all the girls I’ve loved before (and Life is for the living, which is to be released on single only).

The album, titled 99 miles from L.A. and produced by Albert and Hal David and engineered by Phil Ramone (who also produced sessions for Billy Joel, Paul Simon, Frank Sinatra and others), also contains a re-recording of a song co-written with Mike (Down by the river (1975 version)) and a song co-written with Roger Cook (These are the good old days), both of which are cut in Berlin, Germany, and produced by Albert solely.

The company’s heads don’t see a hit album in it. Because of this, only the song 99 miles from L.A. is released in The States (and goes to number one in the adult contemporary charts), the album in its entirety is put out just in Europe in 1975.

The title track is a hit not only for Albert, but also for Art Garfunkel and Johnny Mathis the same year. Other covers of the year include The air that I breathe by Olivia Newton-John and two recordings by Petula Clark, Brand new day and Every step of the way, both of which are produced by Albert.

1976
Being unhappy with the company’s decision to not release the 99 miles from L.A. album in The States, Albert sits together with lyricist Carole Bayer-Sager, and together they write You and I, When I need you, Cry baby and Moonlight lady. He records them, along with some more new songs and some songs already put out by himself, and famous producer Charlie Calello adds strings and some more overdubs to these recordings.

Again, the result doesn’t satisfy the company’s heads.

(Only because Leo Sayer has a number one hit with his version of the title track, CBS released Albert’s album titled When I need you, in 1977. It contains the following songs: Tangled up in tears, To all the girls I’ve loved before (1977 version), Kaleidoscope [another song co-written by Hal David], Rivers are for boats (1977 version), You and I, 99 miles from L.A. (1977 version), When I need you, Cry baby, Moonlight lady and All alone am I [the only song not written by Albert].)

When Albert records a bunch of songs written with Molly-Ann Leikin (co-writer of Tangled up in tears) and the album is not released at all, he feels his career being destroyed. (The album has remained unreleased until these days!)

Just a short time after, he is asked by Epic Spain to make a recording for the Latin market. Being bilingual and thus speaking Spanish fluently, Albert decides to give it a try by using an old song he regularly sang in his childhood in Gibraltar: Echame a mi la culpa (he had to call his mother to get the lyrics together again). Because he doesn’t cut another Spanish track, Epic uses When the starfields fill your eyes, one of the Hammond/Leikin songs recorded for the “lost album”, for the single b-side.

When Echame a mi la culpa becomes a hit, Albert is asked to quickly make Spanish versions of some of his first solo recordings. Along with some original songs of his (to get an entire album together), they are rush-released on Albert Hammond canta sus grandes exitos en español e ingles, which can be considered an introduction of Albert’s to the Spanish people and contains a total of twelve tracks: Echame a mi la culpa, The free electric band, I don’t wanna die in an air disaster, Si vas a romper mi corazón (adaptation of If you gotta break another heart), Cerca del río (Down by the river), Eres todo para mí; (Everything I want to do), It never rains in Southern California, I’m a train, Necesito poder respirar (The air that I breathe), 99 miles from L.A., Rebeca (Rebecca) and These are the good old days.

Having successfully launched his “second” career, Albert returns to London to record what would be simply titled My Spanish album (because everyone who asked him what he was doing at the time had Albert answering “Doing my Spanish album”, and this phrase stuck). It contains not a single Hammond composition, but only standards: Ansiedad, Ruega por nosotros, Quiéreme mucho, Yo creo en el amor, Que seas feliz, Esperame en el cielo, Fallaste corazón, Nosotros, Echame a mi la culpa and Dame un beso (Si llego a besarte).

Albert has finally got some hit recordings again: Echame a mi la culpa goes to number one on several Latin charts, and Ansiedad and Quiéreme mucho are successful as well.

Besides his singing career, Albert is responsible for The Carpenters’ I need to be in love (written with John Bettis and Richard Carpenter in 1974) and, of course, Leo Sayer’s super hit When I need you (with Carole Bayer-Sager).

1977
His success in Spain makes Albert record another album for that market. For the first time, he not only cuts Spanish standards or has some of his English hits translated, but writes some brand new material.

The album is titled Mi album de recuerdos and contains a total of eleven songs, among which nine were written by Albert: Mi album de recuerdos, Eres toda una mujer (adaptation of Woman of the world), Enredao (Tangled up in tears), Daniela, Si me amaras (When I need you), Río de amor, Me hace falta que me quieras, Un día mejor and Terminado. The two additional songs are Ella and a little sensation: Estrellita, which is Albert’s first recording ever, made by his uncle in Gibraltar.

With Eres toda una mujer, Albert has another number one recording, and Si me amaras and Ella are hits as well.

On the English market, Albert still has success as a songwriter: Leo Sayer releases Easy to love and I want you back (both of which were written by Albert and Sayer), José Feliciano puts out The air that I breathe, and Perry Como makes his own cut of When I need you.

1978
In January, Albert meets Claudia, his new fiancee, in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Albert goes on writing songs and goes to London with Claudia to record another Spanish album.

It is simply titled Albert Louis Hammond and contains four songs written by Albert (Fantasma, Me voy pa’Chile, Caray que pena and Calabasas, California, 91302) and, again, some old standards: Espinita, Amor no me quieras tanto, Solamente una vez, La paloma, Luna de miel, Volver and Aunque me cuesta la vida. As is almost always the case with Albert’s Spanish albums, it is recorded in London and produced by himself.

Espinita is another huge hit for Albert, and there are three more successful singles: Amor no me quieras tanto, Luna de miel and Volver.

1979
Albert gets the job of writing an entire album with Frannie Golde and others and sits together with the artist herself to work on songs for that project: Rock me up a mountain and Here I go (fallin’ in love again). With lyricist Tom Snow, he writes Everybody’s heart gets broken, and the three of them finish another three songs: Lovin’ you (is a way of life), Tell me what’s going on and What am I gonna do. Albert’s work on that album also includes his guitar playing and background vocals. (Albhy Galuten and Carl Richardson of BeeGees fame are the producers.)

Shortly after, some of these songs are adapted for the Latin market and recorded for a new album of Albert’s under the title Al otro lado del sol, which consists of a total of eleven songs: Una vez más (an instrumental featuring Albert on the electric guitar), Sol, sólo tú (adaptation of Lovin’ you (is a way of life)), Mujer de promesas (Make me an island, which was a hit for Joe Dolan in 1969), Cada corazón (Everybody’s heart gets broken), Píntame con besos (Rock me up a mountain), Detrás del sueño (Beyond the edge of broken dreams, written with Joe Henry), Es fácil amar (Easy to love, written with Leo Sayer), Ceniza en el mar (Life on the line, written with Tom Snow, but never released in its English original version), Al otro lado del sol (The other side of the sun, written with Janis Ian and a big hit for her the same year), Niño de palo (an original by Albert) and Por un poco de tu amor (another original).

1980-1981
Claudia, Albert’s new girlfriend, gives birth to Albert jr. (who took after his father and is now a member of the band The Strokes).

Having become so successful in the Latin market, Albert is asked to record another English album.

The album, titled Your world and my world, is produced by Jim Ed Norman and contains several songs that Albert wrote for his ex-wife. Never before did Albert, who came up with all the melodies, use so many different co-writers for one single album (which happens because the songs were written in several sessions over a period of a couple of years). Your world and my world is one of the few songs Albert wrote solely, the other ones were either written with Tom Snow (Memories, Anyone with eyes, World of love and By the night), Harold Payne (When I’m gone), Eric Kaz (I want you back here with me), Steve Kipner (Experience and I’m a camera) or Wendy Waldman (Take me sailing).

The musicians accompanying Albert on this record include long-time Toto drummer Jeff Porcaro and other famous sessions players such as Matt Andes (guitars) and Lee Sklair and Neil Stubenhaus (bass). Background vocals are provided, among others, by Jennifer Warnes, Nicolette Larson and, on Experience, Flo & Eddie (Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman, also known as The Turtles in the Sixties).

He goes on writing Spanish songs, mainly solely and without any help from lyricists.

Seven of those songs appear on another album in 1981, under the title of Comprenderte: Tengo que olvidar, Comprenderte, Ámame, No te vayas, Mi corazón se moja, Soñar and Quiéreme. The three additional songs were written by Albert and Pedro José Herrero (Nada le importa nada), co-producer Manuel de la Calva (Muchacha solitaria) or Sergio Facheli (En un bolsillo de mi corazón).

This turns out to be Albert’s last Spanish album for a long time.

1982
Albert gets the offer to record another English album and starts writing some more English songs.

The album is titled Somewhere in America and is produced by Arthur Brooks. The track list consists mainly of songs written by Albert and Will Jennings (The light at the end of the line, Oh, what a time, Doe was the loving kind and Somewhere in America), Gary Osborne (Shoot ‘em up, shoot ‘em down, Before you change the world and The right time) or Lauren Wood (Sweet defector), but also includes two songs Albert didn’t write anything on: Rendezvous (written by Bruce Springsteen) and Hero on parade (Elton John and Gary Osborne). Among the band members are much sougt-after session musicians, such as Richie Zito (guitars), Scott Chambers (bass), Bill Meeker (drums), Paulinho da Costa (percussion) and arranger James Newton-Howard (keyboards).

Albert, who wants to see his son grow up (which wasn’t the case with his two daughters), decides not to record and tour anymore and to confine himself to writing and producing for others.

1983-85
Latin superstar Julio Iglesias, who has known Albert since the late Sixties, asks Albert for help on his first album in the English language. Because of his involvement, Albert manages to have Julio do, among others, some songs of his: The air that I breathe (with the Beach Boys) and Moonlight lady, and he even arranges for Julio to get together with Willie Nelson to record a duet version of To all the girls I’ve loved before. He also comes up with the Jamaica part for the Bambou medley (to which he also adds an English part), writes additional English lyrics for Me va, me va and teaches Julio how to correctly pronounce all the lyrics.

The album, produced by Richard Perry and co-produced by Albert and titled 1100 Bel Air Place (named after the L.A. address where Julio and Albert stayed during production), is a big success and thus a perfect introduction for Iglesias in the English market. The duet with Willie Nelson, To all the girls I’ve loved before, which was partly recorded at Nelson’s private studio in Austin/Texas, even goes to number one.

In 1984, Albert gets the producing job for a Spanish album of Lani Hall’s. It contains, among others, seven of Albert’s own compositions: Es fácil amar (originally written with Leo Sayer as Easy to love), Si me amaras (with Carole Bayer Sager as When I need you) and Fantasma are songs he recorded himself years earlier, but four more songs were newly written: the Lani Hall/Roberto Carlos duet De repente el amor (written with Anahi Van Zandwedhe), Amor sin mañana, Paginas prohibidas (both with Anahi Van Zandwedhe and KC Porter) and the Lani Hall/José Feliciano duet Un amor así (with Sergio Facheli).

The album, titled Es facil amar, is released in 1985 and wins a Grammy for best Latin album.

The same year, Albert produces another hugely successful project with the recording of Cantaré, cantarás, which is the equivalent to "USA for Africa/Band Aid". He is not only the writer of the song (with Juan Carlos Calderón and Anahi Van Zandweghe), but also engages several dozens major Latin artists to share vocals on this cut: Fernando Allende, Maria Conchita Alonso, Apollonia, Ramon Arcusa, Basilio, Braulio, Cantinflas, Irene Cara, Roberto Carlos, Nydia Caro, Vikki Carr, Veronica Castro, Charytin, Chiquetete, Claudia De Colombia, Gal Costa, Celia Cruz, Lupita D'Alessio, Guillermo Davila, Placido Domingo, Emmanuel, Sergio Facheli, Jose Feliciano, Vicente Fernandez, Miguel Gallardo, Lucho Gatica, Julio Iglesias, Antonio de Jesus, Jose Jose, Rocio Jurado, Lissette, Valeria Lynch, Cheech Marin, Sergio Mendes, Lucia Mendez, Menudo, Miami Sound Machine, Amanda Miguel, Ricardo Montalban, Palito Ortega, Pimpinela, Tony Renis, Danny Rivera, Jose Luis Rodriguez, Lalo Schifrin, Simone, Manoella Torres, Pedro Vargas, Diego Verdaguer and Yuri.

The single tops the charts in several Latin countries.