lamont dozier
29th may 2004
b. Lamont Herbert Dozier, 16th June 1941, Detroit, Michigan, U.S.A.
Lamont Dozier was part of the vocal group scene of the late 50's.
He sang alongside several Motown stablemates in the Romeos and the Voice Masters during 1957-58.
The Voice Masters recorded the songs 'Hope and Pray' and 'Needed' for the Anna Imprint.
Lamont became friends with local songwriter and producer Berry Gordy around this time, and was one of Gordy's first signings when he launched the Motown label at the end of the decade.
He issued his debut single, 'Let's Talk It Over', under the pseudonym Lamont Anthony in 1960, and issued two further singles in the early 60's.
In 1963, he recorded a one-off release with Motown songwriter Eddie Holland and was soon persuaded to partake in a writing and production team with Eddie and his brother Brian Holland.
The Holland / Dozier / Holland credit graced the majority of Motown's hit records for the next five years, as the trio struck up particularly successful working relationships with the Supremes and the Four Tops.
Lamont contributed both lyrics and music to the partnership's creations, proving the initial impetus for hits such as 'Stop! In The Name Of Love' by the Supremes, 'Bernadette' by the Four Tops and 'Jimmy Mack' by Martha And The Vandellas.
During the Civil Rights disturbances in the Sixties, Lamont witnessed tanks passing the Hitsville Studio's, an event that inspired him to write the song 'Nowhere To Run'.
As a pianist, arranger and producer, Lamont was also prominent in the studio, supporting the central role of Brian Holland in the recording process.
Lamont and the Hollands left Motown in 1967, unhappy at the financial and artistic restrictions imposed by Gordy.
The following year, they set up their own rival companies, Invictus and Hot Wax Records, who produced hits for artists such as Freda Payne and the Chairmen Of The Board.
Lamont resumed his own recording career in 1972, registering a US hit with 'Why Can't We Be Lovers', and receiving critical acclaim for a series of duets with Brian Holland.
The Holland / Dozier / Holland partnership was fragmenting, however, and in 1973 he severed his ties with Invictus and signed to ABC.
Love and Beauty / Out Here On My Own / Black Bach
'Out Here On My Own' and 'Black Bach' demonstrated the creative liberation Lamont felt outside the constraints of the Holland / Dozier / Holland team.
He enjoyed major U.S. hits in 1974 with 'Trying To Hold On To My Woman', the anti-Nixon critique 'Fish Ain't Bitin', along with 'Let Me Start Tonite'.
The release of the 'Love & Beauty' album also in 1974 was not an intended issue as Lamont felt they were incomplete recordings all bar 'The Picture Will Never Change' and 'Why Can't We Be Lovers'.
One final album was recorded for ABC in 1975, entitled 'Prophecy', which had only one album pressing before the project was shelved.
The owner of the one pressing is Richard Searling, a deejay in Manchester, United Kingdom, and a very knowledgeable man.
Searling bought the album around 1990 and cost him a princely £3000!
Prophecy / Right There / Peddlin' Music On The Side
It later came to light that all of the original masters, of the ABC albums, were destroyed in an intentional company incineration in bins outside the Studio's.
Many albums were lost at the time, including 'Prophecy' along with various Rock artists projects including the band Three Dog Night.
'Prophecy's' track line-up was to have been:
Side A - 1. Prophecy 3:43 / 2. I'll Keep A Light In The Window 3:11 / 3. She Walks All Over Me 3:47 / 4. Catch Me, I'm Falling 3:53 / 5. Time Has Come (For Us To Love) 5:33
Side B - 1. Out Here On My Own 5:27 / 2. Something Special 4:52 / 3. Somebody's Knocking 3:27 / 4. Love Always Gets The Blame 3:55 / 5. Something To Fall Back On 3:55
ABCD 908 ABC Records 1975 - Recorded at 8256 Beverly Boulevard, Los Angeles, California 90048
Lamont switched labels to Warner Brothers in 1976, issuing the highly regarded 'Right There' and 'Peddlin Music On The Side' the following year.
That album included the classic 'Goin' Back To My Roots', a retrospective of black pride that became a big hit in the hands of Odyssey in the early 80's.
Another release by Richie Havens of the song is highly regarded by Lamont.
Bittersweet / Working On You / Lamont
Lamont also continued his production work, overseeing Aretha Franklin's 'Sweet Passion' in 1977, plus recordings by Zingara, The Originals, Future Flight, Margie Joseph, Z.Z. Hill, and Al Wilson (four unreleased sides to this date).
In the late 70's and early 80's, Lamont's brand of soul music lost ground to the increasingly popular disco scene.
Bernadette and Sugar Ray Leonard
One point of interest is that the woman on the cover of his 'Working On You' album sleeve (above) is called Bernadette and she is married to the boxer Sugar Ray Leonard.
After several overlooked albums on Warners and A & M, he re-emerged in 1983 on his own Megaphone label, recording the album 'Bigger Than Life', and paying tribute to his own heritage with an 18-minute hits medley, entitled, 'The Motor City Scene'.
Since then, he has remained out of the public eye, working sporadically on production projects with the Holland brothers.
Bigger Than Life / Inside Seduction
ABC - The Lost Sessions / Going Back To My Roots
In 2000, there came the release of two compilations, 'The ABC Years And Lost Sessions' along with 'Going Back To My Roots' both containing unreleased material.
The release of these recordings became a contentious issue with heated discussions between the Dozier camp and the record labels concerned with the U.K. releases.
Lamont Dozier was due to play at the Jazz Café in Camden in London on October 4th 2000.
The show was cancelled due to 'differences between the record companies involved' two days before he was due to perform, with Lamont wishing to ustilise one of his own musicians and the current company refusing.
In 2001, Lamont began work on a project entitled 'Reflections' for his own new 'D-Flawless' record label.
Later that year, Lamont appearred in a Motown Revue at the Royal Festival Hall in London, delighting the audience with solo performances of songs taken from his own repertoire, including 'All Cried Out', 'Trying To Hold On To My Woman', 'Fish Ain't Bitin' and 'Why Can't We Be Lovers?'
Lamont is married to Barbara Ullman Dozier and has 3 children (two sons and one daughter with Barbara).
His sons are named Beau Alexandre and Paris Ray and his daughter is named Desiree Starr.
Lamont and his family reside in Beverly Hills today.
In 2004 he received the Ivor Novello Award for a lifetimes songwriting
achievement within the industry.
He is currently writing for the U.K. Soul singer Joss Stone on a song entitled 'Spoiled'.
Why not check his website at
Singles: as Lamont Anthony
Let's Talk It Over / Benny & The Skinny Man (Anna 1125) - Worth £40.00*
The Voicemasters - Popeye / Let's Talk It Over (Anna 1125P) - Worth £75.00*
Just To Be Loved / I Didn't Know (Checkmate 10001 DJ) - Worth £100.00*
*As Of January 2001
Singles: as Lamont Dozier
Dearest One / Fortune Teller Tell Me (Melody ?)
Albums:
Out Here On My Own (ABC 1973)
Love And Beauty (Invictus 1974)
Black Bach (ABC 1974)
Prophecy (ABC 1975) Unreleased
Right There (Warners 1976)
Peddlin' Music On The Side (Warners 1977)
Bittersweet (Warners 1979)
Working On You (Columbia 1981)
Lamont (M & M 1982)
Bigger Than Life (Megaphone 1983)
Inside Seduction (Atlantic 1991)
The ABC Years and Lost Sessions (Expansion 2000)
Going Back To My Roots (Sanctuary Records2000)
The Invictus Sessions (2000)
Lamont Dozier - An American Original (D-Flawless 2001)
Reflections of (Jam Right 2004)
