Hot Wax Records was a

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

-based record label, created by producers/songwriters

Holland–Dozier–Holland Holland–Dozier–Holland was a songwriting and production team consisting of Lamont Dozier and brothers Brian and Eddie Holland. The trio wrote, arranged and produced many songs that helped define the Motown sound in the 1960s. During ...

(

Eddie Holland Edward Holland Jr. (born October 30, 1939) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Holland was born in Detroit, Michigan, United States. Although he was an early Motown artist who recorded minor hit singles such as "Jamie", he ...

Lamont Dozier Lamont Herbert Dozier (; June 16, 1941 – August 8, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter, and record producer from Detroit, Michigan. He co-wrote and produced 14 US ''Billboard'' number-one hits and four number ones in the UK. Career Doz ...

and

Brian Holland Brian Holland (born February 15, 1941) is an American songwriter and record producer, best known as a member of Holland–Dozier–Holland, the songwriting and production team that was responsible for much of the Motown sound, and numerous h ...

) in 1968 when they left

Motown Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''moto ...

History

Until 1967, Holland, Dozier, and Holland were the top

composers A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Classical music, Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. E ...

and

producers Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

for Motown, establishing acts like

the Supremes The Supremes were an American girl group and a premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s. Founded as the Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successful ...

and

Four Tops The Four Tops are an American vocal quartet from Detroit who helped to define the city's Motown sound of the 1960s. The group's repertoire has included soul music, R&B, disco, adult contemporary, doo-wop, jazz, and show tunes. Founded as the ...

with many major hits in the mid-1960s. Looking for more control and greater rewards, they left Motown in 1968 to launch Hot Wax Records, along with

Invictus Records Invictus Records was an American record label based in Detroit, Michigan. It was created by former top Motown producers Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier and Edward Holland, Jr. (known collectively as Holland–Dozier–Holland). It was the sister l ...

. Hot Wax Records Inc was incorporated with Eddie Holland registered as both the company President and sole shareholder. The company's administrative offices were situated in Cadillac Tower, a 40-story office block at the corner of Cadillac Square and Bates, one block east of Woodward and two blocks north of the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center, (known then as the City-County Building). The original Detroit Historical Museum opened November 19, 1928 on the 23rd floor of the Cadillac Tower (then known as the Barlum Tower) and was referred to as the "highest Museum in the world". Holland Dozier Holland's own studio was a converted movie theatre, The Town Theater on Grand River Avenue. The Hot Wax label, distributed by

Buddah Records Buddah Records (later known as Buddha Records) was an American record label founded in 1967 in New York City. The label was born out of Kama Sutra Records, an MGM Records-distributed label, which remained a key imprint following Buddah's foundin ...

, was in full operation for about four years, racking up a series of successful records, such as million-sellers

Honey Cone Honey Cone was an American R&B and soul girl group formed by lead singer Edna Wright (sister of Darlene Love) with Carolyn Willis and Shelly Clark in 1968. They are best remembered for their number-one ''Billboard'' Hot 100 single, "Want Ads" ...

's "

Want Ads "Want Ads" is a song that was a million-selling #1 pop and R&B hit recorded by female group, Honey Cone for their second album '' Sweet Replies'' and also appears on their third album ''Soulful Tapestry''. The song on the Detroit-based Hot Wax ...

" and the follow-up, " Stick Up" (the former was a number 1 hit in 1971 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and both were number 1 hits on the Billboard R&B Singles charts) and "One Monkey Don't Stop No Show". Other hits included 100 Proof (Aged In Soul)'s " Somebody's Been Sleeping" (the label's third gold record in 1970); "Westbound Number 9" by Flaming Ember; and "Rip Off" by

Laura Lee Laura Lee can refer to: * Laura Lee (singer-songwriter) (born 1945), American soul and gospel singer-songwriter * Laura Lee (sex worker) (1973–2018), Irish-born sex worker and activist based in the UK * Laura Lee (bassist) (born 1986), Mexican-Ame ...

. Then towards the mid-1970s, like sister label Invictus, Hot Wax was distributed by

CBS Records CBS Records may refer to: * CBS Records or CBS/Sony, former name of Sony Music, a global record company * CBS Records International, label for Columbia Records recordings released outside North America from 1962 to 1990 * CBS Records (2006), founde ...

. For contractual reasons, the names ''Holland/Dozier/Holland'' were not used on releases until 1970 (songs were initially credited to " (Ronald) Dunbar and (Edythe) Wayne"). Other writers/producers for the label included Greg Perry, William Weatherspoon, Angelo Bond, and General Johnson, who was also lead singer with the Invictus group,

Chairmen of the Board Chairmen of the Board is an American-Canadian, Detroit, Michigan-based soul music group, who saw their greatest commercial success in the 1970s. Recording career General Johnson (1941–2010) had a hit as the lead singer of The Showmen in th ...

. The first Hot Wax label was black and white with flames coming out of the record at the top. The second Hot Wax label was white with orange swirling flames and black print. In 1973, when Hot Wax finally folded due to cash flow problems, Holland, Dozier and Holland moved their remaining artists to the

label. Hot Wax was briefly revived and distributed by CBS Records between 1976 and 1977 when it, along with Invictus, folded and reorganized as HDH Records. Dozier and the Holland brothers still own the catalogue, which is managed by HDH Records.

LP Discography

*HA-701 - ''

Take Me with You ''Take Me with You'' is the debut studio album by American R&B girl group the Honey Cone. It was released by Hot Wax/Invictus Records in 1970 (see 1970 in music). Album information Introducing the world to the unique soulful spunk that was Ho ...

'' -

970 Year 970 ( CMLXX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar, the 970th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' designations, the 970th year of the 1st millennium, the 70th yea ...

*HA-702 - Westbound Number 9 -

The Flaming Ember The Flaming Ember was an American soul band from Detroit, Michigan, United States, who found commercial success starting in the late 1960s. The group originally formed in Detroit in 1964. At that time they were known as The Flaming Embers, named f ...

*HA-703 - When Will It End - Honey Cone nissued *HA-704 - Someone's Been Sleeping In My Bed - 100 Proof (Aged in Soul)

*HA-705 - Sunshine - The Flaming Ember

971 Year 971 ( CMLXXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Battle of Dorostolon: A Byzantine expeditionary army (possibly 30–40,000 men) ...

*HA-706 - '' Sweet Replies'' - Honey Cone

*HA-707 - ''

Soulful Tapestry ''Soulful Tapestry'' is the third studio album by girl group Honey Cone. It was released by Hot Wax/Invictus Records in 1971 (see 1971 in music). Album information The name of the album was based on and inspired by Carole King's Pop/ Rock br ...

'' - Honey Cone

972 Year 972 ( CMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Spring – Emperor John I Tzimiskes divides the Bulgarian territories, recent ...

*HA-708 - Woman's Love Rights -

*HA-709 - Deliciously Yours - 100 Proof (Aged in Soul) nissued*HA-710 - Hot Wax Greatest Hits - Various Artists

*HA-711 - The Politicians featuring McKinley Jackson - The Politicians

*HA-712 - 100 Proof - 100 Proof (Aged in Soul)

*HA-713 - '' Love, Peace & Soul'' - Honey Cone

*HA-714 - Two Sides of Laura Lee - Laura Lee

*HA-715 - Best of Laura Lee - Laura Lee

*HA-716 - Think of the Children - Satisfaction Unlimited

973 Year 973 ( CMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Spring – The Byzantine army, led by General Melias (Domestic of the S ...

References

External links

Official HDH−Holland–Dozier–Holland Records website
{{Authority control American record labels Soul music record labels Pop record labels Rhythm and blues record labels Culture of Detroit Record labels based in Michigan Record labels established in 1968 Record labels disestablished in 1973 1968 establishments in Michigan