They told Elvis not to sing "In the Ghetto."

"It's too political." 

"You're a white guy singing about a black kid." 

Etc. Etc. 

They were wrong.

Who wrote it? Mac Davis, who is Part Two of Off-Ramp's Summer Songwriter Series, as we sample the 2010 inauguration of the Grammy Museum's Songwriter Hall of Fame.

Support for this podcast is made possible by Gordon and Dona Crawford, who believe that quality journalism makes Los Angeles a better place to live; and bythe Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.

Off-Ramp theme music by Fesliyan Studios.

Lamont Dozier, the middle of the celebrated Holland-Dozier-Holland team that wrote and produced “You Can’t Hurry Love,” “Heat Wave,” and dozens of other hits and helped make Motown an essential record company of the 1960s and beyond, died Monday at age 81.

Duke Fakir, a close friend and the last surviving member of the original Four Tops, said, “I like to call Holland-Dozier-Holland ‘tailors of music.' They could take any artist, call them into their office, talk to them, listen to them, and write them a Top Ten song.”

From 1963-1967, Dozier and brothers Brian and Eddie Holland crafted more than 25 Top Ten songs and mastered the blend of pop and rhythm and blues that allowed the Detroit label, and founder Berry Gordy, to defy boundaries between Black and white music and rival the Beatles on the airwaves.

For Off-Ramp, we're listening back to his appearance at the kickoff of the Songwriters Hall of Fame at the Grammy Museum at LA Live in 2010. Songwriter Paul Williams was the emcee for the event. 

And I have lots more tape from that event, featuring Williams, Ashford and Simpson, Mac Davis, and Hal David. We'll listen to that in coming weeks. 

Support for this podcast is made possible by Gordon and Dona Crawford, who believe that quality journalism makes Los Angeles a better place to live; and bythe Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.

Off-Ramp theme music by Fesliyan Studios.

The Pokemon Go craze might get people to see more public art ... would you live in a murder house? Surf Punks!

Meet an artist named Juanita Pina who lives on LA’s Skid Row. We’ll hear from Ringo Starr and talk with some of the hundreds of fans (like Scarlet, right) who celebrated his birthday with him in Hollywood. Tim Cogshell has another DIY film festival for Off-Ramp listeners, this time looking at 3 important films in the film noir style.

Kenzi Shiokava's big break at the Hammer's "Made in LA" ... remembering the passion of Jim Hangley, owner of Mustangs Only! ... take a siesta in Nappify's sleep pods ... a day in the life of Little Arabia ... St Thomas More comes to LA ... Dogs v Fireworks

Garrison Keillor looks back on decades of Prairie Home, the Lakers hire their 4th coach in as many years and we taste test CaliBurger, Pasadena's newest In-N-Out Clone

Wrath of Khan's director Nick Meyer shares the movie he made with his dad in the late 1950s ... sound intersection ideas, literally ... Pasadena's homeless champion retires after 21 years ... the last slavery movies you will ever need to see ...

LA's hottest new museum is is in a building downtown and only open a half hour a month, Tony Danza write letters to Tupac, bunnies glow downtown

John Doe, an icon of the LA punk scene, joins us to play songs from his new album, and to talk about a new memoir about the old days ... If you’ve been called for jury duty in downtown LA, there’s a good chance you went to the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center. But who was Clara Shortridge Foltz? ... You've seen the AIDS Healthcare Foundation billboards: they’re outrageous, memorable, and very effective. We talk with the man behind AHF’s often controversial outdoor ad campaigns.

Chaya Leah Esakhan, Persian-Jewish-American, meets the author of My Single Peeps ... Birding with Xiu Xiu ... How to write an AHF billboard ... ride in a B-24 ...