Eddie Holland

Eddie Holland

Before Motown, as a singer Holland would work with Berry Gordy in 1958 at Mercury Records for the track “You (You You You You)” which was cowritten and produced by Gordy. Gordy went on to start Motown in 1959 and Eddie Holland and his brother, Brian, would go on and write music for Motown. Although Holland was an early Motown artist who recorded minor hits such as "Jamie", released in 1961, he grew tired of performing and joined his brother Brian and Lamont Dozier to form the songwriting team Holland–Dozier–Holland, serving as the trio's lyricist. H-D-H was responsible for writing and producing much of the material that became known as the Motown sound, including hit records by Martha and the Vandellas, The Supremes, the Four Tops, and The Isley Brothers, among others. Eddie Holland was not credited as a producer for any of their Motown hits; Brian Holland and Lamont Dozier were the credited producers, with only the songwriting was credited to Holland-Dozier-Holland. However, when the trio broke from Motown and founded their own labels in 1968 (Invictus Records and Hot Wax Records), the full H-D-H team including Eddie were credited as producers. Eddie Holland has written or co-written 143 hits in the US charts and 80 in the UK.