Ashford & Simpson


Ashford & Simpson were an American husband-and-wife songwriting, production and recording duo composed of Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson.
Ashford was born in Fairfield, South Carolina, and Simpson in the Bronx, New York City. Ashford's family relocated to Ypsilanti, Michigan, where he became a member of Christ Temple Baptist Church. While there, he sang with a group called the Hammond Singers. Later, Ashford attended and graduated from Willow Run High School in Ypsilanti, Michigan, before pursuing his professional career, when he would ultimately meet his wife, Valerie Simpson. They met at Harlem's White Rock Baptist Church in 1964. After having recorded unsuccessfully as a duo, they joined an aspiring solo artist and former member of The Ikettes, Joshie Jo Armstead, at the Scepter/Wand label, where their compositions were recorded by Ronnie Milsap and Maxine Brown, as well as The Shirelles, The Guess Who, and Chuck Jackson. Another of the trio's songs, "Let's Go Get Stoned", gave Ray Charles a number one U.S. R&B hit in 1966. That same year, Ashford and Simpson joined Motown, where their best-known songs included "Ain't No Mountain High Enough", "You're All I Need to Get By", "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing", and "Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand)." Ashford and Simpson wrote many other hit songs, including Chaka Khan's "I'm Every Woman" and "Is It Still Good to Ya?", originally recorded by the duo in 1978 and covered by Teddy Pendergrass in 1980.
As performers, Ashford & Simpson's best-known duets are "Solid" and "Found a Cure". The duo was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2002. They are also recipients of The Rhythm & Blues Foundation's Pioneer Award, ASCAP Founders Award, and the Grammy Trustee Award. Rolling Stone ranked them No. 19 on its list of the 20 Greatest Duos of All Time.
Nick Ashford was also an occasional actor, having appeared as Reverend Oates in the 1991 movie New Jack City.
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Career

Songwriters

The duo essentially had two careers: one as a successful writing and producing team and the other as singers and performers themselves. They started their career in the mid-1960s, writing for artists such as the 5th Dimension, Aretha Franklin, and Ray Charles. Their work with Charles brought them to the attention of Motown chief Berry Gordy.
Upon joining the Motown staff in 1966, Ashford & Simpson were paired with the vocal duo Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, and they wrote and/or produced all but one of the late-1960s Gaye/Terrell singles, including hits such as the original version of "Ain't No Mountain High Enough", "Your Precious Love", "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing", and "You're All I Need to Get By". According to Gaye in the book Divided Soul, Simpson did most of the vocals on the last album he did with Terrell, Easy, as a way for Terrell's family to have additional income, as she was battling an ultimately fatal brain tumor. Though Louvain Demps, singer of the Andantes, has stated that she saw Terrell recording the album, Simpson is quoted as saying, in a book written by Terrell's sister Ludie Montgomery, what they saw was her singing the guide tracks for the album, which were later replaced by Tammi's own vocals.
Ashford & Simpson wrote and produced almost all the songs on three 1970s albums for former Supreme Diana Ross, including her first solo album Diana Ross and "Ain't No Mountain High Enough", Surrender, and The Boss. All three albums were critically acclaimed with Diana Ross, her 1970 album debut, and The Boss being certified platinum and "Surrender" certified gold.
Other Motown artists whom Ashford & Simpson worked with include Gladys Knight & the Pips, Smokey Robinson & the Miracles, Syreeta Wright, the Marvelettes, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, the Dynamic Superiors, Blinky Williams, and the Supremes with the Four Tops.
Other artists with whom Ashford & Simpson had hits were Teddy Pendergrass, the Brothers Johnson, Stephanie Mills, Ace Spectrum and Chaka Khan, both on her own, and with Rufus.

Performers

Ashford & Simpson's career as recording artists began in the early 1960s as part of the gospel group the Followers, with whom they recorded the album Gospel Meeting, later issued as Meetin' The Followers. The LP contains their vocals and also four Ashford compositions. In 1964, they recorded "I'll Find You", as "Valerie & Nick". That was followed by several obscure singles recorded by Ashford on the Glover, Verve and ABC labels, such as "It Ain't Like That", "California Soul", and "Dead End Kids", backed by his own version of "Let's Go Get Stoned".
Simpson appeared as part of the "Blood, Sweat & Tears Soul Chorus" on the band's debut album Child Is Father to the Man in 1968. After concentrating on working with other artists, Simpson was the featured soloist on the songs "Bridge Over Troubled Water" and "What's Going On" on the Quincy Jones albums Gula Matari in 1970, and its follow-up, Smackwater Jack.
Simpson subsequently recorded two solo LPs for Motown: Exposed in 1971, and, the following year, Valerie Simpson, which included the single "Silly, Wasn't I". In 1973, they left Motown after the albums Simpson recorded for the label received poor promotion, and the company refused to release an album of the duo recording a collection of their most famous songs for other artists.
Ashford and Simpson married after resuming their career as a duo and would go on to have two daughters. In 1973, Warner Bros. released their first duo album titled Gimme Something Real. This was followed in 1974 by I Wanna Be Selfish. In 1975, Simpson sang backing vocals on Paul Simon's number-one hit "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover", and in 1976 they released Come As You Are. 1977 saw the release of two albums – So So Satisfied and Send it. This was followed by the hit singles "Send It", "Don't Cost You Nothin'", "It Seems To Hang On", "Is It Still Good To Ya", "Found a Cure", "Street Corner", and their biggest hit, "Solid", released in 1984.
In 1978, they were featured as vocalists along with Chaka Khan, on the hit single "Stuff Like That" from Quincy Jones' Sounds...and Stuff Like That!! album and contributed to the writing of the soundtrack to The Wiz.
In 1986, the duo appeared as themselves in "Nocturne", an episode of the popular television series The Equalizer, where they performed their hit single "Count Your Blessings" from their Real Love album.
On his own, Ashford produced the hit "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me", which Diana Ross & the Supremes recorded in collaboration with the Temptations in 1968. He also appeared in the movie New Jack City, as Reverend Oates, an ordained minister who was part of Nino Brown's entourage.
Simpson's brothers were in the record business as well: Ray Simpson replaced Victor Willis in the Village People and their brother Jimmy Simpson produced the group GQ, and was in great demand as a mixing engineer during the disco era.

Recent years and Ashford's death

In latter times, Ashford & Simpson recorded and toured sporadically, and in 1996, they opened a restaurant and live entertainment venue, Sugar Bar in New York City, with an open mic on Thursday nights, where performers included Queen Latifah, Vickie Natale and Felicia Collins. Ashford & Simpson recorded the album Been Found with poet Maya Angelou in 1996. Around that time, they were also featured disc jockeys on New York radio station WRKS.
On August 16, 2006, Playbill Online reported that they were writing the score for a musical based on E. Lynn Harris's novel Invisible Life.
Ashford died at the age of 70 in a New York City hospital on August 22, 2011, four days before Valerie Simpson's 65th birthday, of complications from throat cancer. His publicist, Liz Rosenberg, said that he had undergone radiation therapy to treat his illness.
Simpson released a solo album in June 2012, called Dinosaurs Are Coming Back Again, which also featured the last recorded performance of Nina Simone, a second duet with Roberta Flack and an instrumental version of "Ain't No Mountain High Enough".
In May 2014, Simpson was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Music from Berklee College of Music.

Awards and nominations

In 1969, Ashford and Simpson won three BMI Awards for the songs "Ain't No Mountain High Enough," "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing," and "Your Precious Love."
Ashford and Simpson were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2002. They were also recipients of The Rhythm & Blues Foundation's Pioneer Award in 1999, and ASCAP's highest honor, the Founders Award, which they received in 1996.
Simpson was inducted among the inaugural honorees to the Women Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2021.

Grammy Awards

Ashford and Simpson were nominated for three Grammy Awards. In 2019, they received the Grammy Trustees Award.

Discography

Compilation albums

Singles

  • Singles credited to Valerie & Nick
  • Ashford & Simpson and Khan sang uncredited co-lead vocals on "Stuff Like That"

Solo recordings

Valerie Simpson

Listed below are solo recordings made by Valerie Simpson.
Albums
Singles

Nick Ashford

Listed below are solo recordings made by Nick Ashford.
Singles
  • 1966: "I Don't Need No Doctor"
  • 1967: "When I Feel the Need"
  • 1968: "California Soul"
  • 1970: "Dead End Kids"