He was one of the architects of a genre.
Motown legend Lamont Dozier – the singer-songwriter-producer brain behind iconic hits like “Baby Love” and “Two Hearts” – has passed away at the age of 81. The music icon’s death was confirmed on Tuesday in an Instagram post from his son Lamont Dozier Jr. .
“Rest in heavenly peace, Daddy!” Dozier’s progeny wrote in the post along with a photo of himself and his late father, whose cause of death is unknown at this time.
Born in 1941 in Detroit Michigan, the trailblazing songwriter first rose to prominence after joining the legendary Motown Records in 1962 along with songwriting brothers Brian and Eddie Holland. Together they helped create Detroit’s signature “Motown sound.”
The “Motown Musketeers” collaborated on more than 200 songs during their illustrious career, writing career-making singles for iconic bands such as The Four Tops, The Supremes, and The Isley Brothers.
Holland-Dozier-Holland’s biggest hits were ‘Where Did Our Love Go’, ‘Baby Love’, ‘You Can’t Hurry Love’, ‘Reach Out I’ll Be There’ and other genre-defining songs.
“We were as surprised as anyone when we came up with so many songs,” Dozier told The Guardian in a 2015 interview.
He said the trio often arrived at the studio at 9 a.m. and worked until 3 a.m., releasing song after song ranging from 15 minutes to 15 days.
Hoping to create positive tunes to contrast the dark times, Motown’s masterminds are known for blending dark lyrics with a paradoxically upbeat tempo.
They also created songs that were surprisingly empathetic to women during a decidedly sexist era. “Women bought the records, to put it bluntly,” Dozier said, explaining their feminist tinge to The Guardian. “They wanted music that spoke about their feelings, but also … women raised me.”
He added: ‘My father was not there and I was raised by my grandmother. I trusted women, and I still do. I have women who run my business.”
Holland-Dozier-Holland garnered many accolades during their storied career, most notably by being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990.
In 1973, Dozier broke away from the Holland brothers to embark on a successful solo career. Notably, he collaborated with Phil Collins on the song “Two Hearts” for the soundtrack of the 1988 film “Buster,” which topped the charts and earned them a Grammy Award in 1989 for Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or Television.
The music world was devastated by the loss of the icon.
“God bless Lamont,” tweeted Ronnie Wood of the Rolling Stones, who covered HDH’s 2001 single “Leaving Home” from 1963. “His music will live on.”
Grammy-winning recording artist Brandon Williams also paid tribute to the deceased musician, writing: “Another man who sat down and taught me a lot about music has disappeared. The great Lamont Dozier.”
“I will never forget meeting him and working with him with the Holland Brothers in 2006,” he added. “Thank you for everything you’ve done for me and for the world at large. You definitely made this place better.”
Dozier leaves behind his wife, Barbara Ullman Dozier, and his six children.