Al’s Music of the Day, 7 June 2025
I’d started to write this MOTD quite a while back, after Jackie posted this, in January.
Her post earlier today, featuring one of Simon and Garfunkel’s less known works, kicked me in my memory.
This song was written by Albert Hammond and Hal David. Hammond is best known in the US mostly for his tune “It Never Rains in Southern California,” though he had a fair amount of success in his native Europe.
“99 Miles From LA” is a song that I think I remember from my college days, but can’t fix specifically to a time or place. Perhaps that’s fitting, as it is a lovely, lilting, ethereal piece, with Art Garfunkel’s singing setting a mood and tone that is a perfect match to the longing it expresses. There are a number of covers to this song, and Garfunkel’s is the one that works best for me.
Being yet another rainy weekend here in east central NY, pining for a never-rainy Southern California seems apropos.
☔️☔️☔️
A luscious song in every way. I don't remember whose version I'm most familiar with, but this take has supplanted it.
Hammond is a very underrated songwriter. "Names, Tags, Numbers and Labels", a song he wrote that was recorded by the Association, lives rent-free in my mind.