When great songwriters are mentioned, Americans often name Rodgers and Hammerstein, George and Ira Gershwin, Irving Berlin, Bob Dylan, Burt Bacharach and Hal David, plus Lennon and McCartney. All of them are great songwriters, no doubt about that.
But what about great African American songwriters? You don’t hear much about them. Curtis Mayfield, Smokey Robinson, Ashford and Simpson, Lionel Richie, Stevie Wonder, Luther Vandross, Sylvia Moy, Whitfield and Strong, and, of course, Holland-Dozier-Holland.
If others don’t acknowledge or respect our great songwriters—no problem. We enthusiastically take on the job and pay tribute to our own.
Let’s start with Holland-Dozier-Holland, a.k.a., HDH. That’s Eddie Holland, Lamont Dozier and Brian Holland, Eddie’s brother. All of them were born in Detroit. Eddie often wrote the lyrics and worked with the lead singer. When he wrote, “I Can’t Help Myself” for the Four Tops, he said Levi Stubbs, amazenly, didn’t feel he could handle the song.
Levi thought Lawrence, could better handle the song lead. But Eddie insisted, and he told Levi to “take the song home and learn it.” The rest is history as they say.
Lamont often composed the music and melodies, or Brian might do that. Most of the time, Brian would work with the musicians to get the right sound he was looking for.
For 10 years while at Motown and after they left, this songwriting trio produced hit recordings that sound just as fresh today as when they were initially written and produced.
It has been written that HDH wrote and produced more than 50 of the most recognized songs to come out of Motown. That is quite a legacy. Pick a song by the Supremes, the Four Tops, The Elgins, or Martha and the Vandellas, and chances are, HDH wrote it.
For his part, Eddie Holland also teamed with Norman Whitfield to write, “Girl, (why you wanna make me blue),” “The Girl’s Alright With Me,” “Ain’t Too Proud To Beg,” and “I’m Losing You,” for the Temptations. Eddie also teamed with Frank Wilson to write, “All I Need,” by the Temptations.
Back in the day when the Isley Brothers were looking to revive their career after a long dry spell, they came to Motown. HDH wrote and produced a monster hit for them, “This Old Heart of Mine.” They wrote Marvin Gaye’s, “How Sweet It Is, (to be loved by you),” “Can I Get A Witness,” “You’re a Wonderful One,” and “Baby Don’t You Do It.” They also wrote “Mickey’s Monkey” for Smokey and the Miracles. We could go on and on naming great songs by this great songwriting team.
People may not know it, but HDH’s “Heat Wave,” by Martha and the Vandellas, was an inspiration for the catchy guitar riff in the Rolling Stones’ classic, “I Can’t Get No Satisfaction.” That’s according to Keith Richards, who composed the song with Mick Jagger.
You see, HDH often featured a baritone sax in their recordings. The baritone sax on “Heat Wave” as well as on “This Old Heart of Mine,” and “My World is Empty Without You,” was a sound Richards wanted to emulate on guitar when he composed “Satisfaction.” It is that riff that made “Satisfaction” so appealing.
Without question, HDH was part of the greatest hit factory in American history, maybe world history—Motown. You had great songwriters, great musicians in the Funk Brothers, and great arrangers like Paul Riser, David Van De Pitte, Jerry Long, Gene Page, and so many more.You certainly can’t overlook the contributions of Motown’s great bass player, James Jamerson.
After Motown, HDH wrote songs for plays, and they wrote for Lamont Dozier’s solo career. Who could forget Dozier’s earlier hit, “Why Can’t We Be Lovers” on the group’s own label at the time, “Invictus?” And who could forget the great “Going Back To My Roots” written by Lamont Dozier? What a great song lyrically and musically.
Yeah. HDH. Songwriting royalty. They sure made us proud.