Holland–Dozier–Holland

In 1967, H-D-H, as they were familiarly called, entered into a dispute with Berry Gordy Jr. over profit-sharing and royalties.[1] Eddie Holland had the others stage a work slowdown and, by early 1968, the trio had left the label.[1] They started their own labels, Invictus Records and Hot Wax Records, which were modestly successful.[1] When Motown sued for breach of contract, H-D-H countersued. The subsequent litigation was one of the longest legal battles in music industry history. Because they were legally contracted to Motown's publishing arm, Jobete, they could not use their own names on songs they wrote, and their material was credited to Wayne-Dunbar. Edith Wayne was a friend of the Holland family, and Ron Dunbar was an associate who was a songwriter and producer.[5] The lawsuit was settled in 1977.

Dozier left Holland–Dozier–Holland Productions, Inc. (HDHP) in 1973 and resumed his career as a solo performing artist.[1] In 1975, HDHP and Invictus Records sued Dozier and 31 others, claiming conspiracy to restrain trade and other charges. The suit was dismissed by a federal judge in 1982.[6] From the mid-1970s onwards, HDHP, with Harold Beatty replacing Dozier, wrote and produced songs for a number of artists. HDHP even worked on material for Motown artists in the 1970s, including The Supremes and Michael Jackson, while its litigation against the company was still pending. Dozier commented in 2008, "The lawsuit was just our way of taking care of business that needed to be taken care of—just like Berry Gordy had to take care of his business which resulted in the lawsuit. Business is business, love is love."[7]

Holland–Dozier–Holland threatened to sue the band Aerosmith in 1989 due to the resemblance of parts of the song "The Other Side" (from the album Pump) to the Holland–Dozier–Holland song "Standing in the Shadows of Love". To forestall litigation, Aerosmith agreed to add Holland–Dozier–Holland to the songwriting credits in the album's liner notes.

Dozier had his own production company and continued to work as a solo artist, producer and recording artist, while the Holland Brothers own HDH Records and Productions (without any participation from Lamont Dozier), which issues recordings from the Invictus and Hot Wax catalogs as well as new material.[1]

For a "one-time only reunion", the three composed the score for the musical production of The First Wives Club, based on the novel by Olivia Goldsmith and a later hit film. The musical included 22 new songs from the songwriting trio, with a book by Rupert Holmes. The musical was produced by Paul Lambert and Jonas Neilson and premiered in July 2009 at The Old Globe Theater in San Diego.[8] The San Diego production sold approximately 29,000 tickets in its five-week run. Ticket demand was so strong early on that The Old Globe extended its run (originally four weeks) prior to opening night. However, reviews were mixed to negative, and the producers opted to rework the book.

In June 2014, it was announced that The First Wives Club (with an entirely new book written by Linda Bloodworth-Thomason) would be heading to Chicago premiering on February 16, 2015. The play now included a sprinkling of classic H-D-H songs (including "Stop! In The Name Of Love" and "My World Is Empty Without You"), interspersed with the new material. Following the Chicago run, the production was to head to Broadway for a fall 2015 arrival,[9] but the critical reception to the play was lukewarm to negative, and the production quietly closed after its Chicago run.