Biography
Born Edward Holland, Jr. on October 30, 1939, in Detroit, Michigan, Eddie Holland gained entry into the Songwriters Hall of Fame as well as the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. He issued roughly twenty solo singles and one album across the closing years of the 1950s and the opening years of the 1960s. Despite scoring a Top Ten R&B single titled “Jamie” in 1962, Holland stepped away from performing to focus on songwriting as the lyricist for the celebrated Holland-Dozier-Holland team. Working alongside his brother Brian Holland and Lamont Dozier, he supplied Berry Gordy’s Motown empire with a dozen number-one pop singles. Once the trio departed Motown, they founded the Hot Wax and Invictus imprints, which generated several comparatively raw hits from the late 1960s into the following decade.
Holland first crossed paths with Berry Gordy in 1958. Gordy authored and produced several of the singer’s initial sides, among them “You” on Mercury in 1958, and placed him among the earliest acts signed to Tamla/Motown. Written by Barrett Strong and William Stevenson, “Jamie” became Holland’s debut charting release and his biggest success; it entered Billboard’s R&B chart in January 1962 and climbed to number six. All three of his remaining charting singles appeared in 1964 and were credited to Holland-Dozier-Holland. “Leaving Here” reached number 27 and later received covers from the Birds, the Who, Motörhead, and Pearl Jam. By then Holland-Dozier-Holland had already established themselves with Top Ten pop hits for Martha & the Vandellas (“[Love Is Like A] Heat Wave” and “Quicksand”) and the Miracles (“Mickey’s Monkey”). In 1964 they delivered three number-one pop singles for the Supremes: “Where Did Our Love Go,” “Baby Love,” and “Come See About Me.” Holland’s solo performing days ended as he and his partners kept crafting songs that defined the late-1960s Motown sound, among them “Stop! In the Name of Love,” “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch),” “You Can’t Hurry Love,” “Reach Out I’ll Be There,” “You Keep Me Hangin’ On,” and “Reflections.” Holland also partnered with Norman Whitfield on several hits, including the Temptations’ “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg,” “Beauty Is Only Skin Deep,” and “(I Know) I’m Losing You,” which topped the R&B chart consecutively in 1966.
After a financial disagreement with Berry Gordy, Eddie Holland, Lamont Dozier, and Brian Holland exited Motown. In 1969 the three started Hot Wax and Invictus, continuing to write and produce material. The labels’ only Top Ten pop singles arrived in 1970 with Chairmen of the Board’s “Give Me Just a Little More Time” and Freda Payne’s “Band of Gold,” both issued under the H-D-H pseudonym Edythe Wayne alongside co-writer Ron Dunbar. Although the imprints never matched Motown’s crossover reach, their rosters included respected soul and rock acts such as Parliament, Ruth Copeland, the 8th Day, the Flaming Ember, and Honey Cone in addition to the Chairmen and Payne.
Seven years after Invictus shuttered in 1984, HDH Records was formed to manage Hot Wax and Invictus catalog reissues along with a few new-artist releases; the label continued issuing fresh material until 1999. A decade afterward, Holland-Dozier-Holland briefly reconvened to score a stage adaptation of The First Wives Club. In 2011 the U.K.’s Ace label assembled Eddie Holland’s complete solo output on the double-disc collection It Moves Me: The Complete Recordings 1958-1964.
Holland first crossed paths with Berry Gordy in 1958. Gordy authored and produced several of the singer’s initial sides, among them “You” on Mercury in 1958, and placed him among the earliest acts signed to Tamla/Motown. Written by Barrett Strong and William Stevenson, “Jamie” became Holland’s debut charting release and his biggest success; it entered Billboard’s R&B chart in January 1962 and climbed to number six. All three of his remaining charting singles appeared in 1964 and were credited to Holland-Dozier-Holland. “Leaving Here” reached number 27 and later received covers from the Birds, the Who, Motörhead, and Pearl Jam. By then Holland-Dozier-Holland had already established themselves with Top Ten pop hits for Martha & the Vandellas (“[Love Is Like A] Heat Wave” and “Quicksand”) and the Miracles (“Mickey’s Monkey”). In 1964 they delivered three number-one pop singles for the Supremes: “Where Did Our Love Go,” “Baby Love,” and “Come See About Me.” Holland’s solo performing days ended as he and his partners kept crafting songs that defined the late-1960s Motown sound, among them “Stop! In the Name of Love,” “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch),” “You Can’t Hurry Love,” “Reach Out I’ll Be There,” “You Keep Me Hangin’ On,” and “Reflections.” Holland also partnered with Norman Whitfield on several hits, including the Temptations’ “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg,” “Beauty Is Only Skin Deep,” and “(I Know) I’m Losing You,” which topped the R&B chart consecutively in 1966.
After a financial disagreement with Berry Gordy, Eddie Holland, Lamont Dozier, and Brian Holland exited Motown. In 1969 the three started Hot Wax and Invictus, continuing to write and produce material. The labels’ only Top Ten pop singles arrived in 1970 with Chairmen of the Board’s “Give Me Just a Little More Time” and Freda Payne’s “Band of Gold,” both issued under the H-D-H pseudonym Edythe Wayne alongside co-writer Ron Dunbar. Although the imprints never matched Motown’s crossover reach, their rosters included respected soul and rock acts such as Parliament, Ruth Copeland, the 8th Day, the Flaming Ember, and Honey Cone in addition to the Chairmen and Payne.
Seven years after Invictus shuttered in 1984, HDH Records was formed to manage Hot Wax and Invictus catalog reissues along with a few new-artist releases; the label continued issuing fresh material until 1999. A decade afterward, Holland-Dozier-Holland briefly reconvened to score a stage adaptation of The First Wives Club. In 2011 the U.K.’s Ace label assembled Eddie Holland’s complete solo output on the double-disc collection It Moves Me: The Complete Recordings 1958-1964.
Albums
