Edith Wayne

"Edith Wayne" was a songwriting pseudonym used by Holland-Dozier-Holland because of legal battles with their former Motown boss, Berry Gordy.

Despite the fact that the Holland-Dozier-Holland name had become nearly synonymous with that of Motown, the trio sued label founder Berry Gordy in 1967 for withholding royalties and profits. HDH left the Motown stable shortly afterward, but it wouldn’t be until 1969 that their own labels would be up and running: Invictus (distributed by major label Capitol Records) and Hot Wax (4) (distributed by prominent indie Buddah Records). A third, the short-lived, independently-distributed Music Merchant, would be created in 1972.

Due to the ongoing litigation between HDH and Motown, the trio was contractually forbidden to use their own names on their early releases. Production was often credited to “Stagecoach Productions” or “Staff (12),” while “Edith Wayne” was HDH’s collective songwriting pseudonym (usually credited alongside Ron Dunbar, a fellow writer/producer).