Lamont Dozier, Fish Ain’t Bitin’ | Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶

In the 103rd edition of Throwback Vibez (2024), we recollect and reflect on “Fish Ain’t Bitin’” by the late, great Lamont Dozier.   

The vibes, the vibes, those Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶! Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 is a column that celebrates awesome songs from the past.  The records that grace this column are older, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re ancient – no fossils 🦴! All genres of music are welcome. In the 103^rd edition of Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 (2024), we recollect and reflect on “Fish Ain’t Bitin’” performed by Lamont Dozier.

“I’m out here fighting, hungry / The fish ain’t bitin’ / Life’s so frightenin’ / I’m out here stumblin’…” “Fish Ain’t Bitin’” is the fourth track on Out Here On My Own, the 1973, solo debut by the late, great Lamont Dozier.  Dozier is best known for his songwriting and production skills – a key part of Motown. In 1967, Dozier and his songwriting partners, the Holland brothers, left the label forming their own labels. On “Fish Ain’t Bitin’,” Dozier is the singer instead of the songwriter or producer. “Fish Ain’t Bitin’” was written by James Reddick and Mckinley Jackson. Jackson produced the track too. Dozier earned his second and final top 40 hit with the single, which peaked at no. 26 on the Billboard Hot 100.

His pen earned him his notoriety, but what makes “Fish Ain’t Bitin’” awesome? The music is superb.  “Fish” features a fat but active bass line 🏋️.  The groove is soulful.  The orchestration with the strings is celestial.  Digging into the underpinnings, the harmonic progression is sweet, extending beyond standard progressions and chords. The accompaniment sets up Dozier for success.  He matches the instrumental excellence with commanding, gritty lead vocals.  The authenticity and expression he brings to the track are fabulous.  The struggle is real as Dozier is “Trying to fight with no defense / And I can’t win with no confidence.” Lamont keeps it political and socially charged, which is idiomatic of some soul music of the era. Specifically, he references the POTUS (Richard Nixon): “Tricky Dick is trying to be slick / And the short end of the stick / Is all I’m going to get.” At the end of the second verse, Dozier is censored with a beep, pleading, “I’m on my knees, beggin’ please / Tricky Dick, stop your shit.” Oh, snap! In conclusion, we’ll always best remember Lamont Dozier for his pen.  However, his voice and the message he articulated on his top-40 hit, “Fish Ain’t Bitin’”, is timeless too.

Lamont Dozier // Out Here On My Own // Geffen // 1973

Lamont Dozier, Fish Ain’t Bitin’: Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 No. 103 (2024) [📷: Brent Faulkner / The Musical Hype; Geffen; OpenClipart-Vectors, Speedy McVroom from Pixabay]