Holland-Dozier-Holland

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Holland-Dozier-Holland is a songwriting and production team made up of Lamont Dozier and brothers Brian Holland and Edward Holland, Jr.. The trio wrote and arranged many of the songs making up the Motown sound that dominated American popular music in the 1960s. Dozier and Brian Holland were the composers/producers for each song, and Edward Holland wrote the lyrics and arranged the vocals

The trio wrote many songs recorded by artists on contract to Motown Records, including 25 Top 10 hit singles such as "(Love is Like a) Heat Wave" for Martha & the Vandellas, "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)" for Marvin Gaye, and many hits for The Four Tops and The Supremes.

The trio left Motown in 1967 because of a dispute with the founder and head of Motown Records, Berry Gordy, over profit sharing and royalties. They started their own labels, Invictus Records and Hot Wax Records, which were only mildly successful. Motown sued for breach of contract, and H-D-H countersued. The subsequent litigation was one of the longest legal battles in music industry history. Because of the lawsuit, H-D-H were forced to release their earliest Invictus/Hot Wax recordings under the names "Wayne/Dunbar". The lawsuit was settled in 1977 with H-D-H paying Motown a mere several thousand dollars in damages.

Dozier left Holland-Dozier-Holland Productions, Inc. (HDHP) during the early 1970s to start a career as a solo performing artist. From the mid-1970s onwards, HDHP, with Harold Beatty replacing Dozier, wrote and produced songs for a number of artists. Curiously, HDHP worked on material for Motown artists, such as the Supremes and Michael Jackson, even while its litigation against Motown Records was still pending.

The trio are back together and own HDH Records, which issues recordings from the Invictus and Hot Wax catalogs as well as new material.

[edit] Production and songwriting highlights

1963: "Leaving Here" - Eddie Holland later covered by Motörhead, Lars Frederiksen and the Bastards, Pearl Jam, The Birds and The Who.
1963: "Come And Get These Memories" - Martha & the Vandellas
1963: "(Love is Like a) Heat Wave" - Martha & the Vandellas, later covered by Linda Ronstadt and The Jam.
1963: "Mickey's Monkey" - The Miracles
1963: "When the Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes" - The Supremes later covered by Dusty Springfield
1964: "Where Did Our Love Go" - The Supremes, later covered by Soft Cell
1964: "Baby Love" - The Supremes
1964: "Come See About Me" - The Supremes, later covered by The Afghan Whigs
1964: "Baby I Need Your Loving" - Four Tops, later covered by Johnny Rivers
1964: "Can I Get a Witness" - Marvin Gaye later covered by Dusty Springfield
1964: "You're a Wonderful One" - Marvin Gaye
1964: "Dancing in the Street" - Martha & the Vandellas, later covered by The Mamas and The Papas and Mick Jagger & David Bowie
1964: "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)" - Marvin Gaye, later covered by Jr. Walker & the All-Stars and James Taylor
1965: "Stop! In the Name of Love" - The Supremes
1965: "Nowhere to Run" - Martha & the Vandellas
1965: "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)" - Four Tops, later covered by Bonnie Pointer
1965: "Back in My Arms Again" - The Supremes
1965: "It's the Same Old Song" - Four Tops
1965: "I Hear a Symphony" - The Supremes
1965: "Take Me In Your Arms (Rock Me a Little While)" - Kim Weston, later covered by Jermaine Jackson (1972) and The Doobie Brothers (1975)
1965: "There's a Ghost In My House" - R. Dean Taylor
1966: "(I'm a) Roadrunner" - Jr. Walker & the All-Stars, later covered by The Who
1966: "Reach Out I'll Be There" - Four Tops, later covered by Diana Ross
1966: "Standing in the Shadows of Love" - Four Tops
1966: "This Old Heart of Mine (Is Weak For You)" - The Isley Brothers, later covered by Ronald Isley & Rod Stewart
1966: "You Can't Hurry Love" - The Supremes, later covered by Phil Collins
1966: "You Keep Me Hangin' On" - The Supremes, later covered by Vanilla Fudge and Kim Wilde
1966: "Heaven Must Have Sent You" - The Elgins, later covered by Bonnie Pointer
1967: "Bernadette" - Four Tops
1967: "Jimmy Mack" - Martha & the Vandellas
1967: "Reflections" - Diana Ross & the Supremes
1970: "Give Me Just a Little More Time" - Chairmen of the Board
1970: "Band of Gold" - Freda Payne
1970: "Want Ads" - Honey Cone
1971: "Bring the Boys Home" - Freda Payne
1975: "Just a Little Bit of You" - Michael Jackson

[edit] Trivia

Holland-Dozier-Holland are mentioned in the lyrics of The Magnetic Fields' song "The Death of Ferdinand de Saussure."
Holland-Dozier-Holland threatened to sue the band Aerosmith in 1989 due to the resemblance of parts of the song "The Other Side" (from the album Pump) to the Holland-Dozier-Holland song "Standing In The Shadows Of Love." To forestall litigation, agreed to add Holland-Dozier-Holland to the songwriting credits in the album's liner notes.
Holland-Dozier-Holland are mentioned in the lyrics of the song "Levi Stubbs' Tears" from the 1986 Billy Bragg album "Talking with the Taxman About Poetry".