Of All The Things (2008)

Dennis Lambert launched his show business career in the Fifties as a child performer in Catskill resorts, and earned his first record contract as a rock 'n' roll singer in the early Sixties. While Lambert didn't see much success as a vocalist, he enjoyed a long and lucrative career as a songwriter and producer; he produced top-selling singles for the Four Tops, Glen Campbell, Player, the Commodores and Natalie Cole, and wrote tunes for the Grassroots, Dusty Springfield, Freddie and the Dreamers and Santana, though he also had the distinction of penning the song "We Built This City (On Rock and Roll)", which as recorded by Starship was named the worst pop single of all time by Blender Magazine. In 1972, Lambert recorded a solo album, Bags and Things, which received little notice in the United States but became a smash hit in the Philippines, where the single "Of All The Things" is still a favorite love song. In the Nineties, Lambert retired from the music business and began a successful second career selling real estate in Florida, but in 2006 a concert promoter approached him about appearing in the Philippines for the first time, and Lambert eventually agreed. Lambert's son, actor and filmmaker Jody Lambert, tagged along for the trip, and the documentary Of All The Things offers a look back at Lambert's life both in and out of music as well as his return to the stage nearly eight thousand miles away from home, where he was hailed as a superstar for songs he hadn't performed for nearly thirty-five years. Of All The Things was an official selection at the 2008 South by Southwest Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi