Song:The Air That I Breathe
Album:Epic Anthology
By the time The Air That I Breathe became the final top ten hit for The Hollies in 1974, they were a much different group from when they had their first big hit Bus Stop in 1966. Music had changed anyway but the big change was when Graham Nash left for a solo career in 1968. Of course we all know that he had a lot of success with Crosby, Stills & Nash. He was replaced by Terry Sylvester of The Swinging Blue Jeans. Of course Nash wrote a lot of the songs with lead singer Alan Clarke and bassist Tony Hicks. This was a problem because Sylvester was not really a songwriter. So producer Ron Richards started looking for songs by outside songwriters. In 1969, The Hollies had their biggest post-Nash hit with He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother. But Clarke was getting restless and wasn't getting along with Richards. So he left in 1971 to start a solo career and was replaced by Swedish singer Mikael Rickfors. That was a disaster. The Hollies only hit at that time, Long Cool Woman In A Red Dress, was written and sung by Clarke just before he left. Clarke's solo career was mostly unsuccessful. So he returned to The Hollies in 1973 and The Air That I Breathe reached #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1974. It was their final top ten hit. The Air That I Breathe was written by the veteran songwriting team of Albert Hammond and Mike Hazlewood. Hammond is best known for his hit It Never Rains In Southern California. The Air That I Breathe was first recorded by Phil Everly in 1973. This comp of their 70s songs was rereleased as a budget CD by Sony in 2008. By the 80s, The Hollies were done. Sylvester left and Clarke went back to his solo career. Tony Hicks still leads a version of The Hollies on the oldies circuit and the original members reunited when they were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame in 2010. Here are The Hollies performing The Air That I Breathe 1974.
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