The Air That I Breathe - The Hollies (1974) 8/25/21

Albert Hammond is a prolific British songwriter who is best known in the US for his Great Song of 1972, "It Never Rains in Southern California," which we highlighted back on 5/4/20. You can read about it here:

https://www.facebook.com/MichaelCuuuk/posts/174536270686495 Albert has written and/or co-written DOZENS of "Great Songs" for a LONG list of artists, including Celine Dion, Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, Diana Ross, Leo Sayer, Tina Turner, Glen Campbell, Willie Nelson, Bonnie Tyler, Air Supply, Chicago, Heart, the Carpenters, and Starship...just to name 14. :-) With frequent collaborator Mike Hazelwood, he wrote another "Great Song" for his "Never Rains" album, but it wasn't released as a single. Still, Albert scored a hit with "The Air That I Breathe," thanks to an excellent cover version by The Hollies. When recording engineer Alan Parsons played the finished track for Eric Clapton, Eric reportedly said, "That first note has more soul than anything I've ever heard!" Hyperbole? Maybe. But when the song was released as a single, it quickly became a Top 10 record in 9 countries--reaching #1 in The Netherlands, New Zealand and South Africa, #2 in Australia and the UK, #5 in Canada and #6 in the US!

Maybe it was Albert's songwriting, maybe it was Alan's mixing, maybe it was The Hollies' tight harmonies...or maybe it was a combination of all three, but there's no doubt "The Air That I Breathe" was a "Great Song of 1974!"

Note: in 1997, Simply Red released a cover version that went to #6 in the UK: