Where are they now?: Lamont Dozier

Lamont Herbert Dozier was born on June 16, 1941 in Detroit, Michigan. A prolific figure in the music industry he is known as a triple threat; a singer, songwriter and record producer. Dossier signed to Motown in 1962 and while working at Motown he met with brothers Brian and Eddie Holland and created Holland-Dozier-Holland, a songwriting and production team. They made 60’s R&B and soul music that crossed over to pop radio and it took over that period. They were responsible for hit songs like “You can’t Hurry Love”, “Baby Love”, and “How Sweet It Is (to Be Loved You)”. In 1968 the group broke apart and went to work on their solo careers. From 1972 and on, Lamont started his singing career with songs like “why can’t We Be Lovers” that led to two solo albums Out Here on My Own and Black Bach. From these albums he gained success with singles “Trying to Hold on to My Woman” and “Fish Ain’t Bitin”, which earned him a nomination for Best New Artist from Billboard. These albums have also been sampled by artist like Tupac, Lil Wayne, Common, and Nas. Dozier also lived in Europe for a while and collaborated with Phil Collins and wrote and produced the single “Two Hearts” off the soundtrack of the movie Buster in 1988 for him. They won a Grammy, Brit Award, A gold Globe, Ivor Novello honor and an Oscar nomination. In Addition Dozier’s album in 2002 Lamont Dozier… An American Original, earned him a Grammy Nomination for Best Traditional R&B Vocal Album. In 2003 he won BMI Icon Award and in 2004 he was awarded the International Ivor Novella award. Dozier has worked with artist like Kanye West, Joss Stone, and George Benson on their projects. He is also presently working as an artist in residence professor at University Of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music, in which the school also created a Lamont Dozier scholarship for their students.

By Katleen St Fleur