What Was Lamont Dozier's Net Worth?
Lamont Dozier was an American singer, songwriter, and record producer who had a net worth of $8 million at the time of his death in 2022. Lamont Dozier produced and co-wrote 14 #1 hits on the US "Billboard" chart and four #1 songs in the UK. As an artist, he released the albums "Out Here on My Own" (1973), "Black Bach" (1974), "Love & Beauty" (1974), " Right There" (1976), "Peddlin' Music on the Side" (1977), "Bittersweet" (1979), "Working on You" (1981), "Lamont" (1981), "Bigger Than Life" (1983), "Inside Seduction" (1991), "Reflections of Lamont Dozier" (2004), and "Reimagination" (2018). Dozier co-wrote hit songs such as "Two Hearts" by Phil Collins (which earned him a Grammy and a Golden Globe as well as an Academy Award nomination) and "Loco in Acapulco" by The Four Tops. Lamont was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990 alongside his songwriting and producing partners Brian and Eddie Holland; the trio was known as Holland–Dozier–Holland. Sadly, Lamont passed away on August 8, 2022, at the age of 81.
Early Life
Lamont Dozier was born Lamont Herbert Dozier on June 16, 1941, in Detroit, Michigan. He was the son of Jeanette and Willie Dozier. Lamont had several siblings, and his brother Reggie is a music producer and engineer who won a Grammy for Album of the Year for his work on Outkast's 2003 double album "Speakerboxxx/The Love Below."
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Career
Before he began working with Brian and Eddie Holland, Lamont released a few records that weren't successful for Detriot labels. He teamed up with the Holland brothers in 1962, and the following year, the trio had hits with the Martha and The Vandellas singles "Heatwave," "Come and Get These Memories," and "Quicksand." "Heatwave" reached #4 on the "Billboard" Hot 100 chart and #1 on the Hot R&B chart, "Come and Get These Memories" reached #6 on the Hot R&B chart, and "Quicksand" peaked at #6 on the Hot 100 chart. Holland–Dozier–Holland's first #1 hit on the Hot 100 chart was 1964's "Where Did Our Love Go" by The Supremes. They went on to have several more singles top the Hot 100 chart: The Supremes' "Baby Love," "Come See About Me," "Stop! In the Name of Love," "Back in My Arms Again," "I Hear a Symphony," "You Can't Hurry Love," "You Keep Me Hangin' On," "Love Is Here and Now You're Gone," and "The Happening" and the Four Tops' "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)" and "Reach Out I'll Be There."
In 1968, the trio left Motown Records to form the record labels Hot Wax and Invictus, and Dozier began releasing his own music on those labels. He released 12 albums during his career, and his biggest hits were "Why Can't We Be Lovers" (1972), which reached #9 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and "Trying to Hold on to My Woman" (1973), "Fish Ain't Bitin'" (1973), and "Let Me Start Tonite" (1974), which all peaked at #4 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. Lamont left Holland–Dozier–Holland in 1973. In the '80s, he collaborated with Phil Collins on the song "Two Hearts" for the soundtrack of the 1988 film "Buster." The song won a Grammy and a Golden Globe, and it topped the "Billboard" Hot 100 chart and Adult Contemporary chart as well as the charts in Canada, Denmark, and Japan. Dozier and Collins also co-wrote the song "Loco in Acapulco" for "Buster," and it was performed by the Four Tops. In 1984, singer Alison Moyet had a top-40 hit with the song "Invisible," which was written by Lamont, and he later co-wrote the songs "Suffer," "Infidelity," "Turn It Up," and "You've Got It" with Simply Red frontman Mick Hucknall. In 1987, Dozier composed the song "Without You" for the "Leonard Part 6" soundtrack. The song was performed by Regina Belle and Peabo Bryson, and it was a top 10 hit on the Adult Contemporary chart.
Phil Collins in studio with Lamont Dozier circa 1986. (Photo by Lester Cohen via Getty)
Personal Life
Lamont was married to Elizabeth Ann Brown from 1959 to 1968, then he wed Daphne Dumas in 1969. After he and Dumas divorced, Dozier wed Barbara Ellen Ullman on November 20, 1980. Lamont and Barbara remained together until her death in July 2021, and they welcomed three children together. Lamont had six children altogether: Beau, Paris Ray, Michelle, Lamont Jr., Andre, and Desirre Starr.
Death
On August 8, 2022, Dozier passed away at his Arizona home at the age of 81. His family announced the sad news in a statement that read, "Lamont Dozier, devoted father and legendary songwriter, producer and recording artist, died peacefully in his home on Monday, August 8. He was preceded in death by his wife of 40 years, Barbara Ullman Dozier and is survived by his children and two grandchildren. We love him dearly and will miss him always."
Awards and Nominations
For "Two Hearts" from "Buster," Dozier and Phil Collins won a Grammy for Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or Television, a Golden Globe for Best Original Song – Motion Picture, and a BMI Film & TV Award for Most Performed Song from a Film, and they earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Music, Original Song. Lamont was honored with the Trustees Award at the 1998 Grammy Awards, and in 2002, he received a Grammy nomination for Best Traditional R&B Vocal Album for "An American Original." He earned two Online Film & Television Association Award nominations for Best Adapted Song, for "This Old Heart of Mine (Is Weak for You)" from "Bad Times at the El Royale" in 2019 and "Nowhere to Run" from "John Wick: Chapter 4" in 2024. In 1990, the members of Holland–Dozier–Holland were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and in 2015, the trio received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the Recording category.
