External video; Oral History, Lamont Dozier talks about how being on Nixon's enemy list sent his dying song soaring in the charts.” Interview date June 20, 2012. Legendary songwriter Lamont Dozier tells the stories behind some of his greatest hits including 'Jimmy Mack,' 'Where Did Our Love Go' and 'Stop in the Name of. Holland-Dozier-Holland. Holland-Dozier-Holland was Motown Record's premier songwriting production team responsible for the 'Motown Sound.'Utilizing an excellent team. (Pictured l-r): Eddie Holland, Lamont Dozier, Brian Holland. The legendary Motown team of Holland-Dozier-Holland is known for writing and producing many of the.
Holland- Dozier- Holland Interview - Writing The Motown Hits(Pictured l- r): Eddie Holland, Lamont Dozier, Brian Holland. The legendary Motown team of Holland- Dozier- Holland is known for writing and producing many of the greatest pop and R& B songs of the modern era. The songs they wrote for Diana Ross & The Supremes, the Four Tops, Martha & The Vandellas, Marvin Gaye and other artists, were not only hits back in the day, but they have become pop standards for the new millennium. Collectively, Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier and Eddie Holland have written over 5. Top 1. 0 pop or R& B hits, many which have reached #1 on the charts. It was an honor to do this interview with all three members of Holland- Dozier- Holland (aka “H- D- H”). They talked about the recent release of their 6.
Lamont Dozier Out Here On My Own Zip
CD compilation set, Heaven Must Have Sent You: The Holland- Dozier- Holland Story, on Hip- O/Universal Records. They also discussed how they wrote and produced many of their classic hits. In addition, H- D- H talked about their new projects, which includes the trio reuniting to write the music for the Broadway version of the hit movie, The First Wives’ Club.
Before starting the interview, here’s a brief rundown of the H- D- H hit discography. For the Supremes (later known as Diana Ross & the Supremes) they wrote: “Where Did Our Love Go,” “Baby Love,” “Come See About Me,” “Stop!
Lamont Dozier Film Roles. Simply Red: Stars; Lamont Dozier TV Guest Roles. The Moody Blues; Billy J. Kramer; Soul Sisters; The Clean Dozen; Maureen McGovern / Lamont. On a 2009 episode of the TV show The Big Bang Theory, the character Howard performs an altered version of this song for his girlfriend Bernadette to apologize for. Year Song title Original artists Covering artists; 1962 'Dearest One' Lamont Dozier 'Old Love (Let's Try It Again)' Mary Wells: Martha and the Vandellas, Four Tops. The Funk Brothers. While Pop Gordy's original echo chamber in the main Hitsville building played an intrinsic part in what came to be known as the 'Motown Sound', so.
In The Name Of Love,” “Back In My Arms Again,” “I Hear A Symphony,” “My World Is Empty Without You,” “You Can’t Hurry Love,” “You Keep Me Hangin’ On,” “Love Is Like An Itching In My Heart,” “Reflections” and “Love Is Here And Now You’re Gone.” For the Four Tops they wrote: “Baby I Need Your Loving,” “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch),” “It’s The Same Old Song,” “Reach Out I’ll Be There,” “Standing In The Shadows Of Love,” “Ask The Lonely” and “Bernadette.”Other hits written & produced by H- D- H include: “(Love Is Like A) Heat Wave,” ”Quicksand,” “Nowhere To Run,” “I’m Ready For Love” and “Jimmy Mack” for Martha & The Vandellas; “Can I Get A Witness,” “Baby Don’t You Do It” and “How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)” for Marvin Gaye; “Mickey’s Monkey” for the Miracles; “This Old Heart Of Mine (Is Weak For You)” for the Isley Brothers; “(I’m A) Road Runner” for Jr. Walker & The All Stars; “Give Me Just A Little More Time” for The Chairmen Of The Board; and “Band Of Gold” for Freda Payne. In addition, there have been numerous cover hits of H- D- H songs over the years. Here are a few highlights: “(Love Is Like A) Heat Wave” by Linda Ronstadt; “You Can’t Hurry Love” by Phil Collins; “How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)” by James Taylor; “You Keep Me Hangin’ On” by Vanilla Fudge and by Kim Wilde; “Baby I Need Your Loving” by Johnny Rivers; “(I’m A) Road Runner” by Peter Frampton; “This Old Heart Of Mine” by Rod Stewart & Ronnie Isley; “Heaven Must Have Sent You” by Bonnie Pointer; “Little Darling (I Need You)” and “Take Me In Your Arms (Rock Me A Little While)” by the Doobie Brothers; and “Don’t Do It” by the Band. Here is the Q& A interview with the great Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier and Eddie Holland. All three writers were very friendly and personable, and were a pleasure to speak with.
DK: Tell us about your new CD compilation, Heaven Must Have Sent You. Lamont Dozier: We’re very happy with the way it came out. It’s the first, comprehensive CD package of our songs that has been released.
We couldn’t put all our songs on it, but it’s a good facsimile of what H- D- H is about. Holland/Dozier/Holland in the ’6. Motown era. DK: Who compiled and produced this package? Brian Holland: It was really Universal and Richard Davis (Vice President of the Hollands’ Gold Forever Music) who came up with the idea for this compilation. We had meetings about this. We did come together on some song selections, especially in picking songs from the Invictus (H- D- H’s label after Motown) and ABC Records catalogs. Also, Barbara Dozier (Lamont’s wife) did a great job along with Richard Davis, to help put this set together.
DK: So many of your songs have had such a lasting impact. When you were creating these hits back at Motown, did you think your songs would remain popular 4. Brian Holland: I would be a fool if I told you I knew these songs would be so big. I felt we could be successful, but I had no idea that these songs would live as long as they have. It’s just been phenomenal.
I remember saying back at Motown, “Man, I would love to write classic songs, like a ‘White Christmas’.” As it turns out, many of our songs have become classic, too. But back during that time, we were just focused on writing songs for the current project we were doing. Lamont Dozier: It was just an awesome time (back at Motown).
We had a huge amount of success. During this period, whatever we touched seemed to go straight into the Top 1. It was as if we stumbled onto the best door on The Price Is Right, where the prizes just keep on coming and coming! The hits went on and on. Many of our songs have turned into beloved songs of the American Songbook. Just last night I was watching TV, and there was a movie on which had three or four H- D- H songs in it. DK: When you were at Motown, did you have a specific approach to writing songs?
Who wrote the music and who wrote the lyrics? Brian Holland: I mainly wrote the melodies and tracks with Lamont, and Eddie wrote the majority of the lyrics. Occasionally, Lamont and I would also come up with lyric ideas. Eddie Holland: Early on (at Motown), Brian and Lamont were already writing together, and they were very prolific at writing melodies and producing tracks. It was the lyric writing which slowed them down. So I suggested that I join the team as a lyricist, so that their production output would be much higher. With the three of us, we were able to finish many songs and produce more projects.
DK: How did you create and produce the tracks? Brian Holland: Lamont and I would start writing the songs on piano. Eddie would also be there early on, and we would discuss what the melody and structure should be. Lamont and I would then start recording the tracks, which would be the actual tracks for the master (not just demo tracks). Lamont Dozier: In the recording studio, Brian and I would split the room. Brian would work with the drummer (usually Benny Benjamin). I would get with the keyboard players (usually Earl Van Dyke or Joe Hunter) and show them how to play the track and chords.
I would also give the bass lines to James Jamerson, then he would inject his own bass ideas to make it stronger. We wanted to guide the musicians, so we could create our own sound. We would never let the band just go in and play the chord sheets. We were very focused on what we had in mind for these productions. Holland/Dozier/Holland with Motown founder Berry Gordy. Brian Holland: We would record the full track, which would include the melody with a scratch vocal, without lyrics yet.
Although sometimes, we would have the title, and some of the chorus lyrics. Then we would give the track to Eddie, who would go off and write the lyrics. Eddie Holland: When I got the track, I would spend many days writing. I would lock myself away. I had a townhouse in Detroit; I would close all the curtains and shades, and there was no telephone. I didn’t go out much; most of my life was devoted to writing lyrics.
DK: Eddie, what was your inspiration for writing many of the lyrics? Eddie Holland: I would write these songs from my own experiences. I would write about something personal that was going on in my life at the time. I always thought that females were the most interesting subjects. I would become friends with women – I’d ask them a lot of questions. They would tell me their little secrets that they usually wouldn’t tell other men. I got a lot of ideas from what I learned talking to women.
I also had a principle and approach to writing. The most important thing was the feeling; does the lyric feel right? Is it interesting, and does it draw an emotional reaction? When Brian and Lamont first gave me the track to “Baby Love,” they already had this title. At first, I thought “Baby Love” was such a trite, simple title. But I eventually realized that the title “Baby Love” worked very well with the music.
The title was simple, but it felt right. DK: Was it a huge challenge, to write the lyrics to so many tracks given to you by Brian and Lamont? Eddie Holland: They were so prolific (with the tracks), that I did feel under the gun, having to come up with so many lyrics. I’ve never considered myself to be a quick writer, where the inspiration just flowed. It often took me a long time to write the lyrics.
В – two to three weeks. Sometimes I might have 5- 1. I would have many verses to choose from. I would use the most essential lines, to express what I was feeling, to express where the song was taking me. The lines that I didn’t use, I would save the lines and possibly use them in other songs. I knew that I was good at analyzing a song – how to make a song idea or lyric stronger.
But with my method of piecing things together, I never felt as creative or inspired as other writers. DK: Eddie, were there any instances where you had to write a lyric on a quick deadline? Eddie Holland: Yes, writing the lyric to “I Hear A Symphony.” It was a nightmare! Brian Holland: Berry Gordy (Motown President) had given us a quick deadline to write and finish this song for the Supremes. Lamont and I did the track, and we told Eddie that the lyric had to be written in less than a day! Eddie Holland: Brian calls me a little after midnight, and he wakes me up.
I was sound asleep; I was never a night person. He said he needed immediately a full lyric to be written to a track with the title “I Hear A Symphony,” and it had to be done by 1.
В am for a vocal session with Diana. Diana was on tour, and she could only be in town for one day to record her vocal. This meant that I had to stay up all night to write this lyric, and I’m not a night person!