It_Never_Rains_in_Southern_California

It Never Rains in Southern California

It Never Rains in Southern California

1972 single by Albert Hammond


"It Never Rains in Southern California" is a 1972 song jointly written and composed by Albert Hammond and Mike Hazlewood and sung by Hammond, a British-born singer-songwriter.

Quick Facts Single by Albert Hammond, from the album ...

Lyrics content

The lyrics of "It Never Rains In Southern California" tell a first-person story of a showbiz aspirant whose attempts to break into entertainment were failures, but who wants to hide that fact from those he had left behind to pursue his dreams.

Though Hammond's and Hazlewood's lyrics do not actually specify the narrator's living conditions, it can be inferred that he was found homeless and penniless, a humiliation he would naturally be unwilling to reveal to those he had left behind.

Recording

Hammond collaborated with Don Altfeld to produce the selection when he recorded it.

Instrumental backing was provided by L.A. session musicians from the Wrecking Crew, but with Michael Omartian on piano.[2] The song appears on Hammond's debut album of the same name and peaked at number five on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. It is Hammond's only top 10 hit to date (although he would have one other top 40 hit in 1974 with "I'm a Train").

In 1984, Julio Iglesias re-worked the song as "Moonlight Lady" for his concept album 1100 Bel Air Place, with the original song on which it is based used as an uncredited reprise at the end of the track.

In 1989, Hammond re-recorded the song for his Best of Me greatest hits compilation.[3]

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Albert Hammond version

More information Chart (1972–1973), Peak position ...

Saori Minami version

More information Chart (1973), Peak position ...

Trent Summar and the New Row Mob version

More information Chart (2000), Peak position ...

References

  1. Stephen Thomas Erlewine. "Hard to Find 45s on CD, Vol. 14 – Various Artists | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved January 30, 2014.
  2. Albert Hammond - Best Of Me, 1989, retrieved February 13, 2022
  3. "Forum – 1970 (ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts)". Australian-charts.com. Archived from the original on June 2, 2016. Retrieved May 7, 2017.
  4. Günter Ehnert (ed.): Hit Bilanz. Deutsche Chart Singles 1956 – 1980. Hamburg: Taurus Press 1990, p. 91
  5. "Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, December 29, 1973". Archived from the original on July 15, 2014. Retrieved January 21, 2018.
  6. "S-南沙織". Archived from the original on October 16, 2007. Retrieved January 12, 2009.

Share this article:

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article It_Never_Rains_in_Southern_California, and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.