Motown Songwriter Lamont Dozier AKA “The Black Bach” Dies at 81

America is mourning another cultural icon with the recent death of legendary Motown songwriter Lamont Dozier of the writing and producing team, Holland, Dozier, Holland.

The news was shared on Tuesday by his son, Lamont Dozier Jr, who posted a photograph of him and his father, saying, “Rest in Heavenly Peace, Dad!”

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A post shared by Lamont Dozier Jr (@lamontdozierjr_fa_real)

According to the Songwriters Hall of Fame, where he was inducted in 1988, the Detroit native was the epitome of the Motown sound, collaboratively penning with Brian and Edward Holland over 400 songs.

They wrote classic top ten hits like “Stop In The Name Of Love,” “Baby Love,” “Where Did Our Love Go,” “You Can’t Hurry Love,” “You Just Keep Me Hanging On,” “Nowhere To Run,” “Love Is Like A Heat Wave,” “Baby I Need Your Loving,” “I Can’t Help Myself,” “Sugar Pie,” “Reach Out I’ll Be There,” “How Sweet It Is To Be Loved By You,” and “Can I Get A Witness.” 

Reports say, with over 70 Billboard Top Ten Hits and 40+ number one jams, he and his team created songs that have collectively amassed multiple hundreds of millions of spins on radio.

Lamont Dozier and his partners, who were often called the Motown Musketeers, received The National Academy of Songwriters’ Lifetime Achievement Award and were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1990.

When reflecting on his career, Dozier told the Guardian in 2015, “We were as surprised as anybody else when we came up with so many songs.” 

He recalled he and his partners would get to the studio at 9 a.m. and work until 3 a.m., saying to make a song, they could take anywhere from 15 minutes to 15 days to create the unique formula for a group.

His writing style intentionally targeted women, their wants, their dreams, and how they saw themselves.

“Women bought the records, to put it bluntly,” said Dozier. “They wanted music that talked about their feelings, but also … women raised me. My father wasn’t around, and I was brought up by my grandmother. I trusted women, and I still do.”

Details surrounding Dozier’s death have not been publicly released. Dozier, born in 1941, was 81 at the time of his death.