I can’t think of a trio of songwriters who turned out more hit songs than Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, and Edward Holland, Jr. Most of their work was done at Motown Records but they branched out later in their careers. Holland/Dozier/Holland wrote great songs for Martha and the Vandellas, Mary Wells, Marvin Gaye, The Supremes, The Four Tops, Michael Jackson, and the Jackson 5. This fabulous 3-CD set collects many of the tunes everyone was listening to back in the 1960s and 1970s. How many of these classics do you remember? Do you have a favorite song among all these hits? GRADE: A
TRACKLIST:
| 1-1 | –Eddie Holland* | Jamie | 2:25 |
| 1-2 | –The Marvelettes | Locking Up My Heart | 2:26 |
| 1-3 | –Martha & The Vandellas* | (Love Is Like A) Heat Wave | 2:46 |
| 1-4 | –The Miracles | Mickey’s Monkey | 2:46 |
| 1-5 | –Mary Wells | You Lost The Sweetest Boy | 2:33 |
| 1-6 | –Marvin Gaye | Can I Get A Witness | 2:47 |
| 1-7 | –The Miracles | I Gotta Dance To Keep From Crying | 2:39 |
| 1-8 | –Martha & The Vandellas* | Quicksand | 2:36 |
| 1-9 | –Eddie Holland* | Leaving Here | 2:30 |
| 1-10 | –Martha & The Vandellas* | In My Lonely Room | 2:30 |
| 1-11 | –Dusty Springfield | When The Love Light Starts Shining Thru His Eyes | 2:56 |
| 1-12 | –Eddie Holland* | Just Ain’t Enough Love | 2:28 |
| 1-13 | –The Supremes | Where Did Our Love Go | 2:34 |
| 1-14 | –Four Tops | Baby I Need Your Loving | 2:44 |
| 1-15 | –Eddie Holland* | Candy To Me | 2:26 |
| 1-16 | –Marvin Gaye | Baby Don’t You Do It | 2:33 |
| 1-17 | –The Supremes | Baby Love | 2:35 |
| 1-18 | –The Supremes | Come See About Me | 2:41 |
| 1-19 | –Marvin Gaye | How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) | 3:00 |
| 1-20 | –Martha & The Vandellas* | Nowhere To Run | 2:52 |
| 1-21 | –The Supremes | Stop! In The Name Of Love | 2:52 |
| 1-22 | –The Supremes | Back In My Arms Again | 2:58 |
| 1-23 | –Four Tops | I Can’t Help Myself | 2:44 |
| 1-24 | –Four Tops | It’s The Same Old Song | 2:44 |
| 1-25 | –Kim Weston | Take Me In Your Arms (Rock Me A Little While) | 2:56 |
| 1-26 | –The Supremes | I Hear A Symphony | 2:41 |
| 2-1 | –The Supremes | My World Is Empty Without You | 2:34 |
| 2-2 | –The Elgins | Darling Baby | 2:36 |
| 2-3 | –The Isley Brothers | This Old Heart Of Mine (Is Weak For You) | 2:44 |
| 2-4 | –Kim Weston | Helpless | 2:36 |
| 2-5 | –Jr. Walker & The All Stars* | (I’m A) Road Runner | 2:48 |
| 2-6 | –The Supremes | Love Is Like An Itching In My Heart | 2:54 |
| 2-7 | –Chris Clark (2) | Love’s Gone Bad | 2:23 |
| 2-8 | –The Supremes | You Can’t Hurry Love | 2:53 |
| 2-9 | –Four Tops | Reach Out I’ll Be There | 3:00 |
| 2-10 | –The Elgins | Heaven Must Have Sent You | 2:32 |
| 2-11 | –Martha & The Vandellas* | I’m Ready For Love | 2:55 |
| 2-12 | –The Supremes | You Keep Me Hangin’ On | 2:47 |
| 2-13 | –Smokey Robinson & The Miracles* | (Come ‘Round Here) I’m The One You Need | 2:33 |
| 2-14 | –Four Tops | Standing In The Shadows Of Love | 2:37 |
| 2-15 | –The Supremes | Love Is Here And Now You’re Gone | 2:48 |
| 2-16 | –Martha & The Vandellas* | Jimmy Mack | 2:49 |
| 2-17 | –Four Tops | Bernadette | 3:03 |
| 2-18 | –The Supremes | Reflections | 2:51 |
| 2-19 | –The Chairmen Of The Board* | Give Me Just A Little More Time | 2:41 |
| 2-20 | –Freda Payne | Band Of Gold | 2:54 |
| 2-21 | –Flaming Ember | Westbound #9 | 3:32 |
| 2-22 | –The Politicians Featuring McKinley Jackson | Free Your Mind | 2:50 |
| 2-23 | –The Band | Don’t Do It | 4:46 |
| 3-1 | –Holland-Dozier Featuring Brian Holland* | Don’t Leave Me Starvin’ For Your Love | 3:23 |
| 3-2 | –Holland-Dozier Featuring Lamont Dozier* | Why Can’t We Be Lovers | 4:04 |
| 3-3 | –Holland-Dozier Featuring Eddie & Brian Holland* | Where Did We Go Wrong | 4:12 |
| 3-4 | –Lamont Dozier | Out Here On My Own | 4:53 |
| 3-5 | –Lamont Dozier | Trying To Hold On To My Woman | 7:27 |
| 3-6 | –Lamont Dozier | Fish Ain’t Bitin’ | 4:21 |
| 3-7 | –Michael Jackson | Just A Little Bit Of You | 3:11 |
| 3-8 | –The Originals | Good Lovin’ Is Just A Dime Away | 4:14 |
| 3-9 | –Jackson 5* | Forever Came Today | 6:23 |
| 3-10 | –Eddie Kendricks | Get The Cream Off The Top | 3:09 |
| 3-11 | –The Supremes | I’m Gonna Let My Heart Do The Walking | 4:10 |
| 3-12 | –Lamont Dozier | Going Back To My Roots | 9:46 |
| 3-13 | –Shalamar | Uptown Festival – Part.1 (Going To A Go-Go – I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch) – Uptight (Everyhing’s Allright) – Stop! In The Name Of Love) | 3:59 |
| 3-14 | –The Doobie Brothers | Little Darling (I Need You) | 3:26 |
| 3-15 | –Lamont Dozier | My World Is Empty Without You | 4:50 |
| 3-16 | –Simply Red | You’ve Got It | 3:56 |
Now this is a collection! Such great songs and memories. It’s almost impossible to pick a favorite, but “Standing in the Shadows of Love” is always on heavy rotation in the jukebox of my brain.
Deb, I stumbled over this 3-CD set and immediately played all the discs! Like you, I associate a lot of great memories with these songs. Love “Standing in the Shadows of Love” and “Baby I Need Your Loving.”
It’s funny. We used to have a next door neighbor named Jamie, but I never heard the song until I got the Motown boxed set HITSVILLE USA: The Motown Singles Collection 1959-1971. So many great ones, but I’d go with “Heat Wave” and the Four Tops songs – “I Can’t Help Myself” and “Reach Out I’ll Be There” (did you ever notice how “I’ll Be There” by the Jackson Five borrows the “Just look over your shoulder” line from this?) and “Standing in the Shadows of Love” among others.
Great choice, George. And they wrote “Band of Gold,” which Deb and I had been discussing recently.
Jeff, Holland/Dozier/Holland penned so many classic songs! “Band of Gold” is another great hit!
One more: “This Old Heart of Mine,” the Isley Brothers only hit during their sojourn at Motown.
Jeff, I remember “This Old Heart of Mine” being on heavy rotation at our local radio station back in the day.
Now you are talking!
Patti, HEAVEN MUST HAVE SENT YOU is a goldmine of great hits from our youth!
Wonderful songs, George! Like Deb, it’s hard for me to pick a favorite although you can’t go wrong with Martha and the Vandellas or with Marvin Gaye.
Jerry, I knew you would enjoy this collection of great songs. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve played this set and just floated away into the Past!
I guess it is out of print (so to speak) as Amazon has it for $80! I’ll wait for a cheaper copy, but I have most of the songs on other collections.
That reminds me, I bought an album (yes, vinyl) years ago called THE SUPREMES SING HOLLAND-DOZIER-HOLLAND. I think it came out after “You Keep Me Hangin’ On” was a hit (so late 1966, early 1967). I was sure one of the songs, “Going Down for the Third Time,” was going to be their next big hit, but they never did release it (for whatever reason). It had the classic Holland-Dozier-Holland sound of most of the Supremes hits.
/end aside
Jeff, I owned THE SUPREMES SING HOLLAND-DOZIER-HOLLAND album, too. After I sold all my vinyl and switched to CDs, I don’t think I’ve seen THE SUPREMES SING HOLLAND-DOZIER-HOLLAND on CD. I’ll have to search for it online.
So many great groups and fantastic songs – my favourite is heat wave, the first motown song I remember.
I’ve written about this before – German radio stations played just the old cr*p but slowly the radio managers realised that young people wanted to hear different songs.
So from 1962 I listened to Motown on AFN and Beatles, Stones etc on Radio Luxemburg (English evening program).
Wolf, “Heat Wave” and many of these Motown hits still make great listening today!
great collection. Can’t really pick a favorite, though. There are many on here I don’t recognize by name, though. especially down near the end of the list.
Maggie, the third CD has some obscure and rare recordings, but they’re well worth listening to!
Many, many great songs here, and some I’d recognize on hearing thought the title isn’t reminding me.
Rick, HEAVEN MUST HAVE SENT YOU brings together some of the greatest hits of that wonderful era. They just don’t write–or sing–songs like this anymore.
After reading up the wiki on Marvin Gaye I just realised who’s missing here:
Tammy Terrell – who hd a sad and short life …
Wolf, I have a Tammy Terrell CD around here somewhere. I’ll try to find it and review it. Tammy Terrell, loaded with talent, died too young.