Motown Songwriter Legend Lamont Dozier Died At 81

The genius behind many of the most incredible soulful Motown hits, Lamont Dozier, has died. He was 81 years old and died Monday.

According to NPR, his family released a statement announcing that the “devoted father and legendary songwriter, producer and recording artist, died peacefully in his home…We love him dearly and will miss him always.”

The Motown songwriter wrote dozens of hits for well-known musicians alongside Brian and Eddie Holland for The Supremes, The Four Tops, Diana Ross, Marvin Gaye, and more. Some of the hits were “Stop In The Name of Love,” “You Keep Me Hangin’ On,” “Heat Wave,” “You Can’t Hurry Love,” and “How Sweet It Is.”

Holland-Dozier-Holland was the group of prolific songwriters who made Motown “the home of Hitsville, U.S.A.” in Detroit, where Dozier grew up in. And their music is still popular today.

April of this year, the Liberty of Congress inducted Holland-Dozier-Holland’s “Reach Out I’ll Be There” by The Four Tops into the 2022 National Recording Registry.

In the 1970s, Dozier broke from the Holland brothers to embark on a solo journey and released an album. He also wrote for Phil Collins, Simply Red, and Alison Moyet.

Many artists who were close to Dozier, like Diana Ross and Carole King, along with fans of his, took to Twitter to express their sadness for his passing.

“My condolences to Lamont Dozier’s family,” Ross wrote. “He will always be remembered through all the beautiful songs that he wrote for me and the Supremes, and so many other beautiful songs.”

Dozier may be gone but never forgotten.