Lamont Dozier, an icon of Motown, passed away at age 81.
The brilliant songwriter behind timeless songs like “Baby Love” and “Two Hearts” has died, according to his son Lamont Dozier Jr.
Along with a photo of the two, he wrote: “Rest in Heavenly Peace, Dad!!!”
At this moment, a cause of death is unknown.
In his eulogy for Lamont, producer Brandon Williams wrote: “Another guy who sat down and taught me a lot about music is gone.”
The legendary Lamont Dozier I’ll never forget our 2006 encounter and collaboration with the Holland Brothers and him.
I appreciate what you accomplished for me and the rest of the world. You definitely improved this site.
Lamont was a member of the renowned songwriting team Holland-Dozier-Holland and contributed to some of the biggest successes ever written for Motown artists including The Four Tops, The Supremes, and The Isley Brothers.
The songs “Reach Out I’ll Be There,” “Where Did Our Love Go,” and “Baby I Need Your Love” were also written by them.
More than 200 songs were written and produced by Holland-Dozier-Holland, whose time at Motown from 1962 to 1967 helped shape the sound.
Lamont’s introduction to music was singing in the gospel choir at this neighbourhood Baptist church. Lamont was born in Detroit, Michigan, well known as “Music City.”
When Berry Gordy, the head of Motown, initially contacted him when he was performing with the Romeos, he was just 16 and didn’t leap at the opportunity.
He began working for a sibling firm named Anna Records before leaving to join Motown when that business failed.
The Matadors, a group signed to the Motown record label, later changed their name to the Miracles, and their successes “Shop Around” and “Please Mr. Postman” helped the company become very well known.
Lamont met the first members of the now-famous writing-producing duo, Brian and Eddie Holland, there.
In a 2015 interview with The Guardian, he said, “We were as startled as everybody else when we came up with so many tunes.”
The group would begin work in the studio at 9 am and would continue working until 3 am, cranking out song after song.
Some took just 15 minutes, while others required 15 days of labour.
Despite the state of the globe at the time, he said that their goal was to make music that was upbeat and uplifting.
The strategy produced the band’s distinctive sound, which is known to many of their fans and consists of sombre lyrics set to an energetic pace.
Making lemonade out of lemons became our trademark,’ he remarked. “I believe that is the reason the songs have endured, all throughout the globe.”
The Vandellas’ 1963 singles “Come and Get These Memories” and “Heatwave” would be the first of many successes for Lamont and his brothers Eddie and Brian Holland.
The Supremes’ mega-hit “Where Did Our Love Go” gave them their first and definitely not their last No. 1 a year later.
They went on to achieve nine more chart-topping singles.
Lamont split from his songwriting collaborators in 1973 and started releasing his solo songs.
In the decade that followed, he and Phil Collins collaborated on a brand-new version of “Two Hearts” for the soundtrack of the 1988 movie “Buster.”
In 1989, it topped the charts and took home both the Grammy Award for Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or Television and the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song.
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inducted Holland-Dozier-Holland in 1990.
Lamont entered the world of musical theatre at the conclusion of his life.
Among the artists for whom Lamont has composed music are Kanye West, Sir Rod Stewart, Lil Wayne, and Solange, to mention a few.
A commenter on Lamont Dozier Jr.’s Instagram post said, “Your dad lives on forever through the magnificent music he shared with the world.”
Others paid their respects to Dozier on social media.
He co-wrote four songs with the band Simply Red, who referred to him as “one of the finest composers of all time.”
Another supporter said, “Rest easy, Lamont Dozier, natural born hitmaker.”