Archives » Holland-Dozier-Holland

Reelin’ in the Years 207: Band of Gold

This classic song is yet another Lamont Dozier composition with the Holland brothers this time with Ron Dunbar. However, the credit on the label is to Edythe Wayne and Ron Dunbar. At the time the trio were in dispute with Motown (and had just set up their own record label Invictus) so required a pseudonym.

Hearing this always takes me back to the League Cup semi-final of 1970 when Dumbarton played Celtic at Hampden (twice.) At the first game – or the replay, I forget which – this came over the tannoy.

Freda Payne: Band of Gold

(There’s a clip of Payne singing this on a US TV show here but it’s followed by an extensive advert.)

Friday on my Mind 221: Nowhere to Run. RIP Lamont Dozier

Another to add to this week’s list. Lamont Dozier, one third of that superb Motown hit writing trio Holland-Dozier-Holland has also died. It is fair to say that it was their song-writing abilities along with the prowess of the Funk Brothers that made Motown.

The Holland-Dozier-Holland Wikipedia page has a list of their songs. These are only the US hits that made the top ten there.

Many at the time considered the following to be a love song. It is in fact codedly political.

Martha Reeves and the Vandellas: Nowhere to Run

I’ll be posting more Lamont Dozier songs in the future.

Lamont Herbert Dozier: June 16/61941 – August 8/8/2022. So it goes.

Reelin’ In the Years 145: Hold Your Head Up. RIP Jim Rodford, Hugh Masekela and Mark E Smith

What a week this has been. It’s like 2016 came back again.

First Jim Rodford of Argent (and later The Kinks and the re-formed Zombies) then Jimmy Armfield, Hugh Masekela, Ursula Le Guin and Mark E Smith of The Fall.

Jimmy Armfield was an almost forgotten member of a certain England football World Cup squad but had a follow-up career as a manager in which he took Leeds United to the European Cup final where they were diddled out of a win by some dodgy refereeing but crowd trouble took some shine off the team’s efforts and later as a commenter on BBC radio’s football coverage.

I’m not much into jazz but was aware Hugh Masekela was an impressive musician, and equally important for his standing in the anti-apartheid movement.

I posted about Ursula Le Guin on Wednesday 24/1/2018. There were two articles about her in yesterday’s Guardian. This one by Alison Flood and Benjamin Lee plus David Mitchell’s appreciation.

The Fall is a band I didn’t follow (they were a bit after my time) but some folks swear by them. By all accounts Mark E Smith was a particularly exacting taskmaster.

Argent’s biggest hit was Hold Your Head Up from 1972. This is a TV performance from 1973.

Argent: Hold Your Head Up

Below are two samples of Masekela in performance.

Miriam Makeba and Hugh Masekela: Soweto Blues

Hugh Masekela: Bring Him Back Home (Nelson Mandela.)

And here’s The Fall’s cover of the Holland-Dozier-Holland song There’s a Ghost in My House, which gave them their highest UK chart placing.

The Fall: There’s a Ghost in My House

James Walter Rodford: 7/7/1941 – 20/1/2018. So it goes.
James Christopher Armfield: 21/9/1935 – 22/1/2018. So it goes.
Hugh Ramapolo Masekela: 4/4/1939 – 23/1/2018. So it goes.
Mark Edward Smith: 5/3/1957 – 24/1/2018. So it goes.

free hit counter script