"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.
Lyrical 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. 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 was 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.
Chart performance Weekly charts Albert Hammond version
Chart (1972–1973)PeakpositionAustralia (Kent Music Report)12Canada RPM Top SinglesRPM 100 Singles, January 13, 19732Canada RPM Adult ContemporaryRPM Adult Contemporary, January 13, 197338Dutch Singles Chart21Japanese Oricon Singles Chart11Japanese Oricon International Chart1Norwegian VG-lista Singles Chart3New Zealand (Listener)Flavour of New Zealand, 29 January 19732Spanish Singles Chart1Swiss Singles Chart5US Billboard Easy Listening2US Cash Box Top 100Cash Box Top 100 Singles, December 30, 1972 2West German Singles ChartGünter Ehnert (ed.): Hit Bilanz. Deutsche Chart Singles 1956 – 1980. Hamburg: Taurus Press 1990, p. 919
Year-end charts Chart (1973)RankAustralia77US Billboard Hot 100Musicoutfitters.com98US Cash Box36
Saori Minami version Chart (1973)PeakpositionJapanese Oricon Singles Chart77
Trent Summar and the New Row Mob version Chart (2000)PeakpositionU.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs74
References
External links Lyrics of this song at LetsSingIt