- Genres: Rhythm & Blues
Biography
Brianbert paved the way for other acronymic production and writing teams, i.e. the Clan, the Corporation, and Charlemagne but they weren't the first such conception at Motown, that honor goes to Dre-Mic (Andre Williams and William "Mickey" Stevenson) who produced the Temptations' first Motown recording (on the Miracle label) "Oh Mother of Mine" b/w "Romance Without Finance" (July 1961).Brian was Brian Holland, Bert, Robert Bateman; both joined the company at its birthing, Bateman left in 1962 while Holland stayed until the late '60s. Both were members of the Satintones, Bateman was an original member; Holland came in when the members were bouncing out at an alarming rate; he recorded with the Satintones but most of the sides he participated on are still unreleased. Combine the tracks Motown released on the Satintones with the unissued ones and you'll have an ample 25-plus-song CD.
Holland and Bateman were also early engineers at Motown, known for their hot wiring technique. They broke big the fall of 1961 with the Marvelettes via "Please Mr. Postman" written by William Garrett, Georgia Dobbins, Brian Holland, Robert Bateman, and Freddie Gorman (a real life postman in Detroit). The song origin was Garrett's original bluesy version, which Dobbins spruced up and Brianbert whipped into a number one pop and R&B smash.
Dobbins was an original member Casinyets (can't sing yet) and the Marvels but left before they became the Marvelettes and cut the blockbuster she help write. The team also produced the B-side "So Long Baby" featuring Wanda Young (Dobbins' replacement) singing falsetto (unusual for a female) on a hankie ballad written by Young's brother James, Holland and Bateman. Young later married the Miracles' Bobby Rogers.
The duo followed with "Twistin' Postman," a bongo driven shaker that Brianbert shared production credit with Mickey Stevenson who also help write the song that topped out at number 13 R&B and number 34 pop late in 1961. Young again sang lead on the flip "I Want a Guy" (composed by Berry Gordy, Brian Holland, and Freddie Gorman) and produced by Brianbert, this time in her natural register; the song updated the Supremes' early 1961 debut single (Tamla 54038) of the same song produced by Berry Gordy. Brianbert blew up again the spring of 1962 with "Playboy" written by Dobbins, Bateman, Stevenson, and Brian Holland. While it didn't ace both charts it put up some dazzling numbers for the Marvelettes: number four R&B and number seven pop. BB's also responsible for the Valadiers' "Greetings This Is Uncle Sam," released October 1961. The production team cut other Motown artists but many of those remain unreleased or weren't as successful as their work with the Marvelettes. A prime example is Mary Wells' Brianbert produced "The Day Will Come" written by Stanley Ossman, Janie Bradford, and Rebecca Nichols that languished on the Queen of Motown's The One Who Really Loves You LP.
The pair also participated in the less successful Sonbrianbert team, the Son being William "Sonny" Sanders an original member of the Satintones who left Motown around 1962 and relocated to Chicago where he became one of the city's most sought after arrangers. Buoyed by the Marvelette's success, Bateman left to pursue opportunities in New York, NY, around the end of 1962; collaborating with a bunch of writers including Lou Courtney and Ronald Moseley; but his biggest post Motown hit was "If You Need Me" recorded by Wilson Pickett, Solomon Burke, and the Rolling Stones. Never in a million lifetimes did he envision Motown blossoming into the chart dominatrix it became after his departure.
Bateman's departure ended Brianbert. He formed Brianbert publishing to capitalize on the name, the company published songs that Bateman co-wrote with others; it's unclear whether Brian Holland had any stake in this entity, probably not, he was frying bigger fish. Gorman joined Holland along with Lamont Dozier and the trio scored some hits before Gorman defected to Golden World Records leaving an opening for Eddie Holland to join his brother and Dozier to form the Hall-of-Fame writing and production team -- Holland, Dozier, Holland. ~ Andrew Hamilton, All Music Guide
