Holland-Dozier-Holland |
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Tue. February 15.2000 3:03 AM EST |
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Holland-Dozier-Holland's Brian Hollandby Frank Tortorici |
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Brian Holland and brother Eddie are two-thirds of the highly successful songwriting team that includes Lamont Dozier. (Courtesy of Holland Group Productions, Inc.) |
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Brian Holland's name is not famous in and of itself. But add the name Dozier and another Holland, and it becomes part of one of the most successful and influential songwriting teams in music history — a creative alliance that defined the Motown
Born Feb. 15, 1941, in Detroit, Brian Holland had an older brother who also was musically inclined. Eddie, two years Brian's senior, met then-fledgling record executive Berry Gordy Jr. in 1958 and quickly dropped out of college to sing on Gordy's Tamla Records. Later, when Gordy started Motown, Eddie had one of its first hits, "Jamie" (1962). Brian sang with the Satintones and then the Rayber Voices, background singers assembled by Gordy. He also played piano with Barrett Strong. Brian was the first of the Holland-Dozier-Holland trio to go behind the scenes at Motown. He co-wrote "Please Mr. Postman" and co-produced it with Robert Bateman for the Marvelettes. The 1961 song became the label's second million-selling single and the first to top the Billboard Hot 100. Brian also co-wrote the Marvelettes' "Playboy." Meanwhile, Lamont Dozier was signed to Anna Records (Gordy's sister label) but only had a regional hit with "Popeye the Sailor Man." In 1963 the Holland brothers and Dozier teamed as composers. Between then and 1967, the trio penned most of Motown's hits. Brian usually composed the music, with Eddie writing words and Dozier chipping in both. Their hits included "Heat Wave," "Jimmy Mack," "Quicksand" and "Nowhere to Run" for Martha and the Vandellas; "Mickey's Monkey" for the Miracles; and "Can I Get a Witness" and "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)" for Marvin Gaye. The trio created the Motown sound by using a top-notch team of musicians (known as the Funk Brothers) and state-of-the-art studio equipment. Their catchy, vibrant songs about relationships attracted both black and white fans, pushing Motown to the highest echelons of '60s pop. Holland-Dozier-Holland were best known for the hits they created for the Four Tops and, especially, the Supremes. For the former, the trio wrote classics such as "Baby I Need Your Loving," "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)" (RealAudio excerpt), "It's the Same Old Song," "Reach Out, I'll Be There" and "Standing in the Shadows of Love." For the Diana Ross–led trio of songbirds, Holland-Dozier-Holland wrote almost their entire oeuvre (including 10 top 10s, five of which went to #1): "Baby Love," "Where Did Our Love Go," "Stop! In the Name of Love," "I Hear a Symphony," "Come See About Me," "My World Is Empty Without You," "Love Is Like an Itching in My Heart," "You Can't Hurry Love," "You Keep Me Hangin' On" and "Love Is Here and Now You Are Gone." In 1967 the songwriting team left Motown, to form their labels, Invictus and Hot Wax. Lawsuits between the trio and Motown prevented them from writing for a while. But in the '70s, they produced hits for the Chairmen of the Board ("Give Me Just a Little More Time") and Freda Payne ("Band of Gold"). Their Hot Wax label released the 1971 #1 hit by the Honey Cone, "Want Ads." After their lawsuits were settled out of court in 1972, Brian Holland and Dozier began writing and recording their own hits, including "Don't Leave Me Starvin' for Your Love" (sung by Brian) and "Why Can't We Be Lovers" on Invictus. In 1973 they recorded as a duo, but Dozier soon split to go solo. In 1987 the trio received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Academy of Songwriters. The following year, they were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 1990, Holland-Dozier-Holland were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In the rock era, only such pairings as Lennon and McCartney or Gerry Goffin and Carole King have had as great a songwriting impact as Holland-Dozier-Holland have had. The Picture Never Changes, a 1992 CD credited to Holland-Dozier-Holland, collected tracks the three had sung on their own and in various combinations. Other birthdays on Tuesday: Mick Avory (Kinks), 56; Denny Zager (Zager and Evans), 56; John Helliwell (Supertramp), 55; David Brown (Santana), 53; Melissa Manchester, 49; Ali Campbell (UB40), 41; and Mikey Craig (Culture Club), 40. |
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