Hello, It's Lamont and Me: Listen to Todd Rundgren's new collaboration with legendary Motown songwriter

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Goldenlane RecordsTodd Rundgren is among the guest artists who lent their vocal talents to Reimagination, a new album by legendary Motown songwriter Lamont Dozier, released Friday. Rundgren contributes backing vocals to a stripped-down piano-driven rendition of the 1964 Martha and the Vandellas gem “In My Lonely Room.”  You can check out the new track now at Billboard.com.

Reimagination is a 12-track collection featuring new, sparsely arranged versions of classic songs that Dozier co-wrote with Brian and Eddie Holland for artists that also include The Supremes, The Four Tops and Marvin Gaye.

Regarding having Rundgren take part in the album, Dozier tells Billboard, “I’ve always loved Todd. We appreciate each other’s talents and work over the years.” Lamont points out that it Rundgren was who chose “In My Lonely Room,” adding, “I loved his backing vocals. It brought tears to my eyes when I heard what he had done.”

Explaining the concept behind Reimagination, Dozier says, “These songs originally were created with a feel of ballads but at the time, during the ’60s, dancing was in and uptempo things, commercially speaking. So we took these ballads and counted off a faster tempo when we got in the studio, and those were the versions everybody knows. But I always felt…that maybe some other time…I’d get to do them like we had originally intended. This is that time.”

Among the other special guests on Reimagination are Graham Nash, U.K. pop legend Cliff Richard, singer/songwriter Marc Cohn, and country star Lee Ann Womack.

Dozier tells Billboard that Reimagination could be the first of several similar albums, noting that he and the Holland brothers wrote 50 #1 hits and 76 top 10 singles that he could consider redoing.

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