R. Dean Taylor was a White Canadian musician who came to Motown in 1964 as a singer, songwriter, and then producer. His first three singles were released in 1961 and 1962 on minor labels. VIP issued his first Motown single in 1965. “Let’s Go Somewhere” was written by Taylor with Brian Holland and produced by Holland and Lamont Dozier, and sold well in Toronto! His songwriting credits at Motown begin in 1966 and include some hits for the Four Tops and the Temptations.
“There’s A Ghost In My House” was his second VIP single, released in April 1967. It was again co-written by Taylor along with Holland, Dozier , Holland and produced by Holland and Dozier. It failed to sell, but was re-released in 1974 and reached number three on the UK Official Pop Singles chart.
When Berry Gordy realised in 1967 that the dispute between him and Holland, Dozier, Holland was not going to be resolved, he turned to four Motown songwriters who could form a team to replace the famous trio. R. Dean Taylor was one of the four, along with Frank Wilson, Pam Sawyer and Deke Richards. The team was named the Clan. The first of their songs to be recorded was “Love Child”, which became a number one single for Diana Ross and the Supremes in 1968.
Taylor also co-produced the single “I’m In A Different World” for the Four Tops in collaboration with Holland and Dozier, released in 1968, followed by “I Know Better”, co-written with Norman Whitfield for the Gladys Knight and the Pips’ album “Feelin’ Bluesy” (1968). With Pam Sawyer and the other members of the Clan, he co-wrote “I’m Livin’ In Shame” for Diana Ross & the Supremes on their studio album “Let The Sunshine In” (1969). He co-wrote the song “So Long” with Eddie Holland and Norman Whitfield for Marvin Gaye on his “That’s The Way Love Is” studio album (1969). Despite the success of “Love Child”, the Clan disbanded as a team in 1969.
Taylor was one of a small number of Motown artists who were permitted to produce their own recordings. In 1970, he co-wrote and produced an entire album based around many of his own compositions. The album “I Think, Therefore I Am”, released by Rare Earth Records, features the hit single “Indiana Wants Me”, which went to number one on the Cash Box Top 100 Singles Chart in late 1970. (He is the first and only White solo artist to have a number one record in the history of Motown Records). He later collaborated with many of the artists signed to Rare Earth Records after Motown’s relocation to the West Coast, before launching his own record label, Jane, in 1973.
