Friday 12 August 2022

Celebrity Jukebox #21: Lamont Dozier


The Celebrity Jukebox was never intended to solely focus on actors. The dictionary says of celebrities, "a famous person, especially in entertainment or sport", and while we're unlikely to focus on many sports stars, "entertainment" covers a pretty wide spectrum.

The day after we lost Olivia, we lost Lamont Dozier. It's been one of those weeks.

This blog has been known to dip its toes in the deep pool of hyperbole from time to time, but it's no exaggeration to say that Lamont Dozier (along with brothers Brian and Eddie Holland Jr.) was responsible for some of the greatest pop songs ever recorded. Evidence?




I mean, we could stop right there and I'd have already proved my point. But then there's...



And my personal favourite...


And it goes much further than that, with Dozier contributing to some huge hits from the 70s and 80s too. I'm sure you've read about them over the last day or so. He also had a moderately successful recording career of his own on the side. 

But let's be honest... how many classic songs are written about songwriters? Does Lamont Dozier really deserve a place on the Celebrity Jukebox unless his name has popped up in someone else's tune?

I'm sure you can see where I'm heading with this...

Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong
Are here to make everything right that's wrong
Holland and Holland and Lamont Dozier too
Are here to make it all okay with you

Not only did Lamont Dozier write some of the greatest pop songs ever recorded... he also inspired one of them.



6 comments:

  1. Great Billy Bragg song. I was lucky enough to see the Four Tops live in Edinburgh many years ago. One of my favourite Lamont Dozier songs is
    " Going Back to My Roots" which was a big hit for Odyssey but there's Lamont Dozier's own version on Youtube which is worth a listen.

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    Replies
    1. Superb tribute, Rol, and thankfully all roads lead to Billy. What a song amongst such HDH gems.

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  2. Just occurred to me I had never seen a picture of Lamont before he died. He was a third of a really famous songwriting team but largely invisible.

    I'm with you on This Old Heart Of Mine. First discovered it on Rod Stewart's Atlantic Crossing and not the Isley Brothers version, but what a song.

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  3. "Not only did Lamont Dozier write some of the greatest pop songs ever recorded... he also inspired one of them."

    Wish I'd come up with that line.

    ReplyDelete

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