Ashford and Simpson

Music Home >> Music Genres >> Urban/R&B Music



< < < < < > > > > > More Info on Ashford and Simpson Similar Urban/R&B Music Search Artistopia

Biography

Nickolas Ashford (May 4, 1941 – August 22, 2011) http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-nick-ashford-obit-20110823,0,1364822.story All Music Guide to Soul: The Definitive Guide to R& B and Soul , Vladimir Bogdanov, Chris Woodstra, Stephen Thomas Erlewine. Backbeat Books, 2003, ISBN 978-0879307448 (p. 17), and Valerie Simpson (born August 26, 1946), were a husband and wife songwriting / record producer|production team and recording artists .

Ashford was born in Fairfield County, South Carolina|Fairfield, South Carolina , and Simpson in Bronx, New York . They met at Harlem 's White Rock Baptist Church in 1963. After having recorded unsuccessfully as a duo, they joined 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 ("Never Had It So Good"), Maxine Brown (soul singer)|Maxine Brown ("One Step At A Time"), as well as the Shirelles and Chuck Jackson . Another of the trio's songs, " Let's Go Get Stoned (Ray Charles song)|Let's Go Get Stoned ", gave Ray Charles a number one U.S. R& B hit in 1966. That same year Ashford & 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 " (1978) and Teddy Pendergrass 's " Is It Still Good to You ". As performers, Ashford and Simpson's best-known duets are " Solid (song)|Solid " (1984 US and 1985 UK), and " Found a Cure " (1979). The duo was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2002.

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 (" California Soul "), Aretha Franklin ("Cry Like A Baby"), and Ray Charles (" Let's Go Get Stoned (R& B song)|Let's Go Get Stoned " and " I Don't Need No Doctor "). 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 (Marvin Gaye/Tammi Terrell album)|Easy , as a way for Terrell's family to have additional income as she was battling an ultimately fatal brain tumor. (Simpson is quoted as denying this in a book written by Terrell's sister Ludie Montgomery.)

Ashford & Simpson wrote and produced almost all the songs on three 1970s albums for former The Supremes|Supreme Diana Ross , including her first solo album Diana Ross (1970 album)|Diana Ross (" Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand) " and "Ain't No Mountain High Enough"), Surrender (Diana Ross album)|Surrender (" Remember Me (Diana Ross song)|Remember Me "), and The Boss (Diana Ross album)|The Boss .

Other Motown artists whom Ashford & Simpson worked with include Gladys Knight & The Pips ("Didn't You Know You'd Have to Cry Sometime", "The Landlord", "Bourgie, Bourgie", and "Taste of Bitter Love"), Smokey Robinson & The Miracles ("Who's Gonna Take the Blame"), The Marvelettes ("Destination:Anywhere"), The Supremes ("Some Things You Never Get Used To"), and The Dynamic Superiors ("Shoe, Shoe Shine").

Other artists with whom Ashford & Simpson had hits were Teddy Pendergrass ("Is It Still Good to You"), The Brothers Johnson ("Ride-O-Rocket"), Chaka Khan , both on her own (" I'm Every Woman " and " Clouds "), and Rufus (band)|Rufus ("Keep It Comin'" and " Ain't Nothin' But a Maybe ").

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 (on Forum Circle), later issued as Meetin' The Followers (on Roulette Records ). The LP contains their vocals and also four Ashford compositions. In 1964, they recorded "I'll Find You", as "Valerie & Nick" This was followed by several obscure singles recorded by Ashford on the Glover, Verve Records|Verve and ABC Records|ABC labels, such as "It Ain't Like That" (later recorded by Martha Reeves & The Vandellas ), " California Soul ", and " Dead End Kids ", backed by his own version of " Let's Go Get Stoned ". 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 : Valerie Simpson Exposed in 1971, and, the following year, Valerie Simpson , which included the single "Silly, Wasn't I", which was later sampled on 50 Cent 's " Best Friend " from the movie '' Get Rich or Die Tryin' (film)|Get Rich or Die Tryin' ''. The song was also sampled by 9th Wonder on Murs 's "Silly Girl" in the album '' Murray's Revenge ''. Ashford & Simpson were featured singing selections from Simpson's solo albums on the PBS TV show Soul! , hosted by Ellis Haizlip in 1971. 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.

In 1974, Ashford & Simpson married and resumed their career as a duo with the Warner Bros. album, Gimme Something Real . This was followed by the hit singles, "Don't Cost You Nothin'" (1977), "It Seems To Hang On" (1978), "Is It Still Good to Ya" (1978), "Found A Cure" (1979), " Street Corner " (1982), and their biggest hit, " Solid (song)|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 .

Simpson appeared (with Melba Moore ) as part of the " Blood, Sweat & Tears Soul Chorus" on the band's Al Kooper lead debut, Child Is Father to the Man .

On his own, Ashford (along with Frank Wilson (musician)|Frank Wilson ), produced the mammoth 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 (1991), 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 (band)|GQ (which had big hits with "Disco Nights" and " I Do Love You "), and was in great demand as a mixing engineer during the disco era.

Recent years and death

In recent times, Ashford & Simpson recorded and toured sporadically, and in 1996, they opened the restaurant and live entertainment Music venue|venue , Sugar Bar in New York City , which has an open mic on Thursday nights, where performers have included Queen Latifah and Felicia Collins . They recorded the album Been Found with poet Maya Angelou in 1996. Around this 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 .
In January 2007, they, along with Tina Turner , Mary J. Blige , Mariah Carey , Sidney Poitier , director Spike Lee , and comedian Chris Rock accompanied Oprah Winfrey when she opened her Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls|Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa .
They were given writing credit on Amy Winehouse 's 2007 CD Back to Black for the single " Tears Dry On Their Own ". The track is based on a sampling (music)|sample of Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell's 1967 Motown classic hit "Ain't No Mountain High Enough". They had begun performing their act in small, intimate venues, such as Feinstein's at the Regency in New York and the Rrazz Room in San Francisco , and in January 2009, they released a CD and DVD of their live performances titled The Real Thing . On June 22, 2009, they made a guest performance at a party at Tribeca Rooftop, New York, to celebrate Virgin Atlantic 's birthday party. They also made their first appearance in Tokyo , Japan , in November 2009, and performed 8 shows in 4 days at Blue Note Tokyo.

Ashford died in a New York City hospital on August 22, 2011, of complications from throat cancer . Nick's publicist Liz Rosenberg said that he had undergone radiation therapy to treat his illness.

Personal life

Nick Ashford and Valerie Simpson have two daughters, Nicole (born in 1975), and Asia (born in 1987).
Nicole graduated from Wesleyan University in 1997.

Discography

Albums

Valerie Simpson

Year	Album	url=Allmusic		Record label
Year	Album	US	US R& B	Record label
1971	Exposed	—	—	Motown Records
1972	Valerie Simpson	162	50
1977	Keep It Comin	—	—
"—" denotes the album failed to chart

Ashford & Simpson

Year	Album	url=Allmusic			url=http:/ / www.riaa.com/ goldandplatinumdata.php? table=SEARCH_RESULTS& artist=Ashford%20& %20Simpson& format=Album& go=Search& perPage=25	Record label
Year	Album	US	US R& B	UK		Record label
1973	Gimme Something Real	156	18	—	—	Warner Bros. Records
1974	I Wanna Be Selfish	195	21	—	—
1976	Come as You Are	189	35	—	—
1977	So So Satisfied	180	30	—	—
1977	Send It	52	10	—	Gold
1978	Is It Still Good to Ya	20	1	—	Gold
1979	Stay Free	23	3	—	Gold
1980	A Musical Affair	38	8	—	—
1981	Performance	125	45	—	—
1982	Street Opera	45	5	—	—	Capitol Records
1983	High-Rise	84	14	—	—
1984	Solid	29	1	42	Gold
1986	Real Love	74	12	—	—
1989	Love or Physical	135	28	—	—
1996	Been Found	—	49	—	—	Hopsack & Silk
2009	The Real Thing	—	59	—	—	Burgundy Records
"—" denotes the album failed to chart or was not certified

Singles

Valerie Simpson

1971: "Can't It Wait Until Tomorrow"

1972: "Silly Wasn't I" – US #63, R& B #24

Ashford & Simpson

Year	Single	url=Allmusic					Album
Year	Single	US	US R& B	US Dance	US A/ C	UK	Album
1964	"I'll Find You" (credited as Valerie & Nick)	117	—	—	—	—	Non-album single
	"Somebody's Lying on Love" (credited as Valerie & Nick)	—	—	—	—	—
	"You Don't Owe Me Anything" (credited as Valerie & Nick)	—	—	—	—	—
1973	"(I'd Know You) Anywhere"	88	37	—	—	—	Gimme Something Real
1974	"Have You Ever Tried It"	—	77	—	—	—	Gimme Something Real
	"Main Line"	—	37	—	—	—	I Wanna Be Selfish
	"Everybody's Got to Give It Up"	—	53	—	—	—	I Wanna Be Selfish
1975	"Bend Me"	—	73	—	—	—	Gimme Something Real
1976	"It'll Come, It'll Come, It'll Come"	—	96	—	—	—	Come as You Are
	"Somebody Told a Lie"	—	58	—	—	—
	"One More Try"	—	—	9	—	—
	"Tried, Tested and Found True"	—	52	34	—	—	So So Satisfied
1977	"So So Satisfied"	—	27	—	—	—
	"Over and Over"	—	39	—	—	—
	"Send It"	—	15	—	—	—	Send It
1978	"Don't Cost You Nothing"	79	10	23	—	—
	"By Way of Love's Express"	—	35	—	—	—
	"It Seems to Hang On"	—	2	—	—	48	Is It Still Good to Ya
	"Is It Still Good to Ya"	—	12	—	—	—
1979	"Flashback"	—	70	—	—	—
	" Found a Cure "	36	2	1	—	—	Stay Free
	"Nobody Knows"	—	19		—	—
	"Stay Free"	—	—		—	—
1980	"Love Don't Make It Right"	—	6	7	—	—	A Musical Affair
1980	"Happy Endings"	—	35	—	—	—
1981	"Get Out Your Handkerchief"	—	65	—	—	—
	"It Shows in the Eyes"	—	34	—	—	—	Performance
	"It's the Long Run"	—	—	—	—	—	Performance
1982	"Street Corner"	56	9	11	—	—	Street Opera
1982	"Love It Away"	—	20	—	—	—
1983	"I'll Take the Whole World On"	—	—	—	—	—
	"High-Rise"	—	17	41	—	—	High-Rise
	"It's Much Deeper"	—	45	—	—	—
1984	"I'm Not That Tough"	—	78	—	—	—
1984	" Solid (song)	12	1	15	34	3	Solid
1985	"Outta the World"	102	4	4	—	—
1985	"Babies"	102	29	—	—	56
1986	"Time Talkin'"	—	—	—	—	—	Time
	"Count Your Blessings"	84	4	—	—	79	Real Love
	"What Becomes of Love"	—	—	—	—	—
1987	"Nobody Walks in L.A."	—	—	—	—	—
1989	"I'll Be There for You"	—	2	—	—	—	Love or Physical
1989	"Cookies and Cake"	—	—	—	—	—	Love or Physical
1990	"Hungry for Me Again"	—	40	—	—	—	Def by Temptation
1996	"Been Found"	—	80	—	—	—	Been Found
1997	"What If"	—	94	—	—	—	Been Found
2001	" We Are Family (song)	—	—	—	—	—	Non-album single
"—" denotes the single failed to chart

Urban/R&B Music Artists

Ashford and Simpson

Biography

Career

Songwriters

Performers

Recent years and death

Personal life

Discography

Albums

Valerie Simpson

Ashford & Simpson

Singles

Valerie Simpson

Ashford & Simpson

See also

References

External links

Copyright Citations