Motown music icon Lamont Dozier, left, jokes about his early career while his former label manager, MTSU Recording Industry adjunct professor Fred Cannon, and the audience laugh. (MTSU photo by J. Intintoli)
Legendary songwriter Lamont Dozier took an audience of all ages on a trip down Motown memory lane on Oct. 21 on a small stage in the James Union Building.
As part of the iconic trio Holland-Dozier-Holland, Dozier co-wrote dozens of No. 1 hits that defined an era, including “Nowhere to Run” by Martha Reeves and The Vandellas, “Stop in the Name of Love” by The Supremes, and “How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)” by Marvin Gaye.
Dozier was brought to campus by his former label manager Fred Cannon, an adjunct professor in the Department of Recording Industry, and the Center for Popular Music’s Dr. Greg Reish, who awarded the iconic artist with the Fellow of the Center for Popular Music award. Dozier is now the second Fellow of the Center for Popular Music, a rare honor reserved for extraordinary accomplishments in music. Barry Gibb was the inaugural Fellow of the Center for Popular Music in 2013.
Dozier responded in expressing his gratitude for the fellowship. “If a poor guy from Detroit, Michigan, can do it, anybody can do it. Thank you for this. This is wonderful and so much appreciated,” he said.
The hit maker then sat down with Cannon to share tales from his long musical career that kept the audience in stitches. Dozier recalled his early years when he made $25 a week working 18 hours a day, producing songs for Berry Gordy’s artists.
“You have to have a great work ethic, seven days a week. You got to apply yourself. You have to believe that you can make it,” Dozier said.
He also recalled how he helped the “No Hit” Supremes become one of the biggest groups of the era by convincing Diana Ross to record “Where Did Our Love Go?”, a song that Martha and The Vandellas originally passed on. The song hit No. 1 in 1964.
By the end of the evening, the audience was on its feet, singing along with the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Famer in a live rendition of “How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)”.
Dozier and his partners left Motown and continued working together until the mid-’70s, when Dozier resumed his solo recording career. He’s now a songwriting instructor at the University of Southern California as well as a leading advocate for copyright protections.
“Ideas are everywhere,” Dozier said. “You just have to know where to look, and listen.”
To see part of Lamont Dozier’s interview, please click here.
You can listen to excerpts of some of the Holland-Dozier-Holland hits here at Dozier’s website.
The Center for Popular Music at MTSU is a research center devoted to the study and scholarship of popular music in America. This event was co-sponsored by the MTSU College of Media and Entertainment’s Tom. T. Hall Creative Writers Series.
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