tavis: good evening from los angeles. i'm tavis smiley. first up tonight, a conversation with one of motown's most prolific songwriters and producers, lamont dozier. he was responsible for some of motown's biggest hits, including classic songs for artists like the supremes, the four tops and marvin gavement recently holland-dozier-holland reunited. also tonight, raphael saadiq. tonight he'll perform his

grammy-nominated song glad you've joined us for a about the u.s. auto industry and edie falco, coming up right now. >> there are so many things wal-mart is looking forward to helping us doing, like helping you live better. with your help the best is yet to come. >> nationwide insurance proudly supports tavis smiley. tavis and nationwide insurance, working to improve financial lite literacy and the economic empowerment that comes with it. >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you.

[captioning made possible by kcet public television] tavis: pleased to welcome lamont dozier to this program, the legendary singer, songwriter and producer, teamed up with two brothers to form one of the most successful and prolific song writing trios in history. holland-dozier-holland is responsible for 30 hits and were reunited in 1990. they got together for the version of the movie "the first wives club." here now, a small sample of lamont dozier's iconic work. ♪ stop in the name of love before you break my heart stop in the name of love before you break my heart

think it over >> ♪ somebody somewhere tell her it's unfair somebody is it right to be treated so bad ? >> ♪ ask me to ask me to help myself i really love you sugar pie ♪ >> ♪ got nowhere to run to baby nowhere to hide ♪ tavis: still sound good to you?

>> oh, yeah. i don't listen to it all the time but when i hear it, i really wrote that, didn't i? it still gives me a boost. tavis: when you say you don't hear it anymore it's kind of hard to hear it on the radio. >> or not hear it. tavis: the minute you hear it you hear just a couple of notes you must recognize it immediately. >> oh, yeah. you know what i used to do -- i'm the cook if the feavement when i'm in the grocery store and i'm hearing something i used to have that feeling i want to tell somebody, i wrote that. but then i did that a couple of times and people -- yeah, ok. they think you're crazy. tavis: so you stopped doing that. >> yeah, i stopped a few years ago. tavis: have you written so many hits over the years that you have forgoten? are you at the point where you

hear stuff you know you wrote it but haveveou forgotten that you wrote certain stuff? >> yeah, you do. some of the things are not as popular as others. some of the stations will play some obscure song from anle bum that -- album that sounds familiar. it might be one they penned but it's hard to say sometimes. tavis: we've been having a good time around here because we've been having ks about the 50th anniversary of motown. berry gordy was here. ashford & simpson. lionel richie was here earlier in year. what do you make of the fact it's been 50 years of motown hits? >> it went sort of fast in one regard or i missed a couple of decades or something because it was going so fast. and here it is 50 years with this music and it's still going

strong throughout the world. everywhere i travel. in england and japan. the people love this stuff. tavis: the stuff that you and the brothers did. it's not just good music, it's not just you did a bunch of hits but in a real wray -- way what you did is the soundtrack to people's lives. you ever think about that? >> yeah, i've heard a lot too. the sound track of america. i've had people from all races walk up to me with tears in their eyes. i was hearing that stuff in college -- it's a great feeling it gives you and to have stuff that's been around for 50 years. i can remember in the 1960's talking to brian holland about, man, i think we stumbled into something that might be around for a while. we were getting like number one, number one, one after the other

with the supremes, the four tops, marvin. it was spooky to have that much success. tavis: do you have any idea of what you hit upon? what was happening in that periods when you were writing these hits? i'm frying to get a sense of whether you know why you all hit it in that moment and kept hitting it? >> timing is everything, as you've probably heard. in a lot of respect in this music -- in the 1960's things were not looking good for music. just before we started in 19 2, a.c.h. teaming up together. elvis has gone to the army. a lot of people or -- were saying that's the end of rock 'n' roll, i told you it wouldn't last, the naysayers and then here we come out of detroit, people would never think a black guy put all this together.

it was very interesting it would be so big and last so long. during the 1960's when the civil rights movements and the race riots and all types of -- not necessarily race riots, but the royalties of 1960's, i could see these tanks coming down the blfment it was like scary, weird. and then kennedy getting killed in 1963. it was very -- but we kept on pumping our love for stuff and feel-good music irregardless of what was happening. there was one in particular -- "nowhere to run," which you just played, that was one that stuck out in my mind. it stimulated me to the point that i was trying to say something in the music. we're in a situation where nobody has anywhere to run. if we don't stick together, nobody's going to be better.

tavis: even when your music had a message to it you said something and i swear every time i talk to a motown artist, somewhere in the conversation it comes out. i know it's as if you're programmed this way. you cannot talk to a motown artist about they area, about this last 50 years and not hear the word l-o-v-e. whether it's berry gordy or lionel richie or ashford & simpson. the word "love" always seems to come through. like it was part of y'all's writing formula. >> and we would not stray or be pushed into another direction. it may not have been that conscious but it was what was there, what we were facing every day. it was like a lovefest, as corny as it may sound, but the music

and what we wrote about, unrequited love -- love and about one-on-one situations with boy and girl and what we thought about each other as races coming together. i always thought that coming to motown was a fulfillment to me because i always wanted to make music that would bring people together. tavis: "nowhere to run, nowhere to hide," how that song came together. i am always fascinated about the back story to the music. we know the song and the words. it's always the back story that tickles me. you talked about "nowhere to run, nowhere to hide." how did "stop in the name of love --" >> somebody must have told you something. tavis: you know that's why i i k you on national television. >> well, there were some things that i was doing that were not -- i was not a very good guy.

i was fooling around with a couple of girls. one of the girls, the main squeeze, heard about it and came down to this place where i was hiding out with the other miss pretty. and when they got there -- when she got there, started knocking on the door and all hell broke loose. tavis: got ugly. >> yeah, it got ugly. the girl ran out the back door or the bathroom window or something like that. the girl came in -- i tried too act like i had just woken up or something. what's all the noise and everything. she started say rg, where is she, i know she's in here somewhere! i said what are you talking about. i said baby, please, stop in the name of love. tavis: yeah, clm >> and then i was like, stop in

the name of love? and i looked at her and i said did you hear that cash sflerge she said that ain't funny. i'm not laughing. tavis: wow. >> so i went back to the studio that afternoon and brian was sitting at the piano and he was playing this -- whatever that first melody was. i said man, i got the perfect title for this. "stop in the name of love." he said oh, man. and that's how that song became another number one. and the rest is history. tavis: i tell you man, those back stories -- i love the back stories. while you and the brothers wrote songs for a lot of people at motown. and a lot of number one hits, there was something about the stuff y'all wrote for the female artists. what was that about? >> a lot of it comes from being

raised by women. all three of us were raised by grand mothers primarily while -- while the mother was out doing day work, cleaning houses and stuff like that. and we had that same similarity growing up and the same type of circumstances. and my grandmother had a little shop, a little beauty shop, and so all of these stories -- as a kid i used to sweep up the hair and stuff in the place. some of the women would come in, yeah, he was out again, and crying. my grandmother would sort of like console them, and well, girls i told you have to do such and such. if you go that way he'll go with another. you have to put your foot down. you know what i mean? tavis: i got you.

>> i'm sweeping and listening. lamont, you go out of here now. we don't want you to hear this next part. but all those stories, man, i retained. different things about unrequited love and the hurt and the mental treatment that they were going through. they stayed with me. so a lot of those ideas -- the heroes were the women. we wanted to make the women feel good because we heard these stories. there was a similar situation going on with the hollands in their household. first we hit the piano and then the stories would come as we were working out the melody, so the melody would be infectious, come from the inside and all of a sudden we started remembering and going back listening to the stories we heard from our grandparents.

you kids get in the bed now. grown-ups talking here. with company the kids wanted to stay up. listening and retaining all that stuff and that's how it happened. we both, the hole lanl -- hollands and i and myself, we came together with the thought in mind to write for women. because women were left out. they didn't get the fair end of the situation. tavis: it sounds like grandma is due some royalties somewhere. >> oh, yeah. whether the grandmas were telling the stories or packing away the stories, grandad, as we called him, would whistle all around. blues whistling. they were from the south, alabama, my grandparents, but they could whistle up a storm and tell these stories. i just recontained all that stuff about human nature. there's where a lot of them came

from. tavis: i want to though -- throw some names about some of the groups and you tell me whatever you want to tell me. i want to start with the supremes. it's hard for us to imagine it now but at one point they were known inside the company at the no-hit supremes. they didn't have no hits and y'all went to work and something happened. >> yeah, we had to go to work. we wrote a little song first called "when the love light starts shining in his eyes ." that was a top 30 song and it did fairly well. so they dropped back down in that status, the no-hit supremes area again after that. suddenly i came up with this idea, and i was banging on the piano and -- ♪ baby baby where did our love go ♪ but at first

i was going to give it to the valveettes because they were hot and you want the best stuff to go with the best group. they refused it. they didn't like it at all. they said what is this? it sounds like cartoon music or whatever. they refused it. they didn't want it. we had cut did -- the track and i didn't want to be charged for the track assuming the girls didn't want to give us any lip. we'd never had that before. no, will not go -- do it. oh, man i'm going to get charged for this track. tavis: that's the berry gordy way. >> that's the berry gordy way. i said oh, my lord, who can i put this -- oh, looked a at the bottom of the roster. they need a hit and they aren't going to daresay no.

they said what is this? this is horrible. you're always giving us the throwaway songs that nobody else wants. i assumed that the mavel -- marvel dms ettes had talked to them. that's what we did. got to talking to diane and the girls. so we got in the studio and they recorded and they were so perturbed -- i'll put it a nice way -- and while she was singing the song ♪ baby baby ♪ and it was in the wrong key. it was in the key of gladdy -- gladys. but her voice took on a whole new thing. it became sull terrorist she was

so mad and so disgusted with having to be forced to sing this song. but it put out such a feeling, a sexy feeling, a style. and she became a starlet that night. and that sound, everybody started adapting it, the key, putting it down. but that attitude was the attitude that the song needed. and -- tavis: and now we all know the words of that song. >> yeah, and shot up through the charts. told two or three million copies. straight to number one. then we had consecutive number ones, 13 in a row with the supremes. tavis: how cool was marvin gay? >> he was great, man, and just don't get on his bad side. oh, he was so good, man. we were personal friends too because we were at ana records before we got to berry's place,

motown. we were with berry's sister, and when they folded i just went over to join berry and marvin was already there with stubborn kind of fella. when we got ahold of them with "how sweet it is," baby don't you do it. started thinking about "how sweet it is request. he -- we did it in one take. eddie was in there working with give me the thing. i got to go. he looked at it. hey, man, hey. just let him do it. he went in there -- turn the thing on, man! then he put on his headphones, he said uh-huh, uh-huh. ok, i'm ready. and that guy did that song in one take. the tape that you hear is it.

took the thing off and walked out. and we said -- if we had any complaints, forget it. he didn't care. he said that's it. and walked out. tavis: it turned out to be sweet, though. pardon the pun. >> sweet. it was in the wrong key. we always put marvin's keys a little bit higher because when he had to reach he got magical, started rolling up into the falsetto and doing things. whoa. the guy was an incredible singer. tavis: i could do this for hours. tell me about the broadway -- >> the "the first wives club" openled up in san diego at the old globe theater in july and then we'll iron it out before we take it into broadway. wonderful stuff. tavis: man. you are gites have done a bunch of wonderful stuff. >> thank you. tavis: they're legends in their

own time. so many hits, so little time. lamont, glad to have you here, man. >> thank you, my pleasure. tavis: up next, a performance from grammy-nominated artist, raphael saadiq. the performance is a throwback to the good o ol days. check this out. stay with us. from his grammy-nominated c.d., "the way i see it" here is raphael saadiq performing "love that girl." enjoy and good night from los angeles. and keep the faith. ♪ you can thank mi hyun she's such a love child

and every maid in this place would love to be in her place settle down and i'll do my best to be better than the rest because she can soul and i'm glad she can soul and i'm glad so glad to make love oh, why oh, why love that girl i'm thinking how could this be feels like a dream to me

then she kissed me a kiss that gave my whole body a twist so i said girl you give my heart indianapolis she's been so she is so >> so sweet and tender >> ♪ and i'm glad oh, i oh, i love that girl uh-huh darling i'm so glad we found each other holding hands making love and all that stuff she is so

>> ♪ so sweet and tender so glad we made it through so sweet and tender >> ♪ when we're making love, baby i'm in love with you baby i'm in love with you baby ♪ [applause] >> for more information on today's show, glad you've joined us for a about the u.s. auto industry and edie falco, coming up right now. >> there are so many things wal-mart is looking forward to

helping us doing, like helping you live better. with your help the best is yet to come. >> nationwide insurance proudly supports tavis smiley. tavis and nationwide insurance, working to improve financial lite literacy and the economic empowerment that comes with it. >> and by contributions to your you. [captioning made possible by kcet public tetetetetetetetetete