Lamont Dozier - Career

Career

Dozier is best known as a member of Holland–Dozier–Holland, the songwriting and production team that was responsible for much of the Motown sound and numerous hit records by artists such as Martha & the Vandellas, The Supremes, The Four Tops, and The Isley Brothers. Along with Brian Holland, Dozier served as the team's musical arranger and producer, whilst Eddie Holland concentrated mainly on lyrics and vocal production.

Dozier recorded a few unsuccessful records for various Detroit labels before the trio started working together as a writing and production team for Motown in 1962. They first made their mark the following year with Martha and The Vandellas' early hits, including "Come And Get These Memories" (#6 R&B), "Heatwave" (#1 R&B, #4 pop), and "Quicksand" (#8 pop). In 1964, "Where Did Our Love Go" became the first of ten #1 pop hits which H-D-H would write and produce for the Supremes over the next three years or so.

After H-D-H left Motown in 1968 to form the Invictus/Hot Wax labels, Dozier began recording as an artist on their labels. The most successful song was "Why Can't We Be Lovers" (#9 Billboard R&B). Dozier departed from H-D-H in the mid-1970s and was replaced by new arranger/producer Harold Beatty.

Dozier went on to record a number of albums as a performer in his own right, also writing much of the material. The 1977 album, Peddlin' Music On The Side (Warner Records) contained the epic "Going Back to My Roots," which was later recorded by Odyssey. The earlier "Black Bach" (ABC Records) featured the country-flavored "All Cried Out" (#4 R&B, #26 pop). He had his biggest hit with 1974's "Trying to Hold On to My Woman (ABC), which reached #15 pop, #4 R&B. In 1981, he scored a beach music hit with "Cool Me Out."

Dozier had another #1 hit as a songwriter in the 1980s, combining with Phil Collins to write the song "Two Hearts" from the movie soundtrack for Buster. "Two Hearts" was nominated for an Oscar for Best Song. Collins and Dozier also co-wrote "Loco in Acapulco" for The Four Tops, which is also featured on the Buster soundtrack.

In 1984, Essex-born singer Alison Moyet scored a U.S.Top 40 hit with the Dozier-penned "Invisible." Three years later, Dozier cowrote "Infidelity" and "Suffer" with Simply Red frontman Mick Hucknall for the British pop-soul band's second album, Men and Women. In 1989, they teamed up again to write "You've Got It" and "Turn It Up" for Simply Red's follow-up LP, A New Flame.

Throughout his recording career, Dozier has largely avoided the temptation to revisit his catalog of Motown hits, preferring instead to record new material. In 2004, however, Dozier recorded several of his hits as part of the album Reflections Of..., Dozier's new arrangements frequently providing an interesting counterpoint to the upbeat pop sound of the 1960s originals.

He and the Holland brothers were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990.

In 2009, he worked on the music for the musical stage version of the movie "First Wives Club." He is also teaching a course of popular music at the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music.