Brian and Edward Holland

Brothers in Song 1988

(L-R) Brian and Edward Holland, LA 1988

How did the team of Holland-Dozier-Holland form?

BRIAN: Well, I was at Motown as an engineer, and as a songwriter/producer. My brother was a recording artist at the time. Lamont then came to Motown and was signed as a songwriter/producer. Lamont and I first worked together on a song called “Forever,” which we later recorded with Marvin Gaye and the Marvelettes. Anyway, I walked into the room where he was working and I said, “Hey, that sounds pretty good.” We started working out some chords together and that was the beginning. The first Holland-Dozier-Holland song was “Come and Get These Memories,” which was recorded by Martha & the Vandellas. Before that I had worked with other people, like Freddy Goreman, Georgia Dobbins and Robert Bateman—we wrote “Please Mr. Postman” together.