Lamont and Spencer are lifelong friends and have written songs together. Their favorite is the end title song to the highly acclaimed CBS mini -series, Shake Rattle and Roll. The song, Side By Side, was used in the body of the 4 hour mini series and closed the show as the main song that embodied the spirit of the relationship between the protagonists and the icon artists that they ran into and bonded with (Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Fats Domino). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziCstB1j8Ak
Spencer will form an alliance with an inspired director who subscribes to the zeitgeist that Lamont and Spencer are about. They will dive into Dozier’s autobiography, How Sweet It Is (a #1 song he produced and co-wrote for Marvin Gaye) and an even deeper dive into delving how classic Motown music, via the timeless hits co-written by Lamont and their lyric sensibilities and themes, set against the turbulent background of the 60s, truly mirrors where we are today. Lamont’s music and his artistry, even post Motown when he toured many countries in Africa and had hits as a solo artist there, were very inspirational and important as young African Motown fans as they grew up. Proffer plans to produce a poignant look into Dozier’s life, challenges and journey, anchoring on Lamont’s music and heart. The M17 approach making a cinematic film in the format of a documentary, will chronicle and illustrate this dreamer’s massive success (51 # 1 songs), inspirations, failures, in both life and career.
A key anchor of our film will be Lamont’s deep socio-cultural view of the world as a young man growing up in Detroit during the turbulent Civil Rights movement in the ‘60s, in America. Many of Dozier’s songs came forward as pop songs but underneath, all had deep social commentaries on the state of America at the time. We will show the lyrical relevance of select titles for today. We plan to have current hit artists perform re-imaginations of classic Dozier songs while journalists, music scholars and fans from all over the world, in particular from many countries in Africa; as well as contemporary musicians, speak about the deeper meaning and relevance of many of Lamont’s important titles for these times.
STANDING IN THE SHADOWS; REFLECTIONS; HEAT WAVE; QUICKSAND; NOWHERE TO RUN; SHAKE ME, WAKE ME (WHEN IT’S OVER); CAN I GET A WITNESS; STOP IN THE NAME OF; NOTHING BUT HEARTACHES; REACH OUT I’LL BE THERE.
Dozier was one of the pillars of the building of Motown, having co-written and produced all of the #1 Supremes, 4 Tops hits along with evergreen hits for Marvin Gaye, Martha & The Vandellas, Smokey & The Miracles, etc. (Lamont Dozier Reflections Album on Amazon). If you only know the legendary Lamont Dozier as one third of the songwriting team Holland-Dozier-Holland, you only know a portion of his incredible story. The internationally acclaimed, Grammy-award winning music master has spent more time before and after those heady years as a recording artist in his own right, as well as a solo and collaborative songwriter and top producer. He has indelibly impacted pop music for five decades. His co-write with Phil Collins in 1989, Two Hearts, won the Golden Globe for Best Original Song for a Motion Picture as well as garnered an Academy Award nomination for Best Song.
Lamont is one of BMI’s most honored songwriters with over fifty-four #1 hits around the world. As part of the legendary songwriting team Holland-Dozier-Holland, Lamont penned such legendary songs as “Baby I Need Your Loving” (9 million performances), “Baby Love” 4 million performances), “How Sweet It Is (to Be Loved by You)” (7 million), “I Hear a Symphony” (4 million), “It’s the Same Old Song” (4 million), “Reach Out I’ll Be There” (5 million), “This Old Heart of Mine (Is Weak for You)” (5 million), “Where Did Our Love Go” (5 million), “You Can’t Hurry Love” (8 million) and “You Keep Me Hangin’ On” (5 million).
Our 100 minutes will chronicle our hero’s journey, his ups and downs as well as ire-imaginations of some of Lamont’s biggest hits by known, contemporary artists of today. Additionally, the film will highlight a segment with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, performing classical versions of the Dozier songbook . The evening will also feature current hit artists singing Dozier standards with the orchestra. Each planned vocal guest shares a deep career inspiration and love for Lamont and his music.
