Nickolas Ashford

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 ("Never Had It So Good") and Maxine Brown ("One Step at a Time"), 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" (1978) and "Is It Still Good to Ya?", originally recorded by the duo in 1978 and covered by Teddy Pendergrass in 1980. 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.

• Name — Ashford & Simpson • Landscape — yes • Origin — New York City, U.S. • Genre — * R&B • soul • funk • disco • gospel • Years Active — 1964–2011 • Label — * Motown • Warner Bros. • Capitol

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". That was followed by several obscure singles recorded by Ashford on the Glover, Verve and ABC labels, such as "It Ain't Like That" (not the same song as they would later write for Martha Reeves and the Vandellas), "California Soul", and "Dead End Kids", backed by his own version of "Let's Go Get Stoned". Simpson appeared (with Melba Moore) 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. • Illustration — Ashford & Simpson c. 1977 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'" (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", 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 (along with Frank Wilson) 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 (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 (which had big hits with "Disco Nights (Rock-Freak)" and "I Do Love You"), and was in great demand as a mixing engineer during the disco era.

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.

• Year — Album — Peak chart positions — Certifications — Record label • US — US R&B — AUT — CAN — GER — NLD — NZ — SWI — UK • | 1973 — Gimme Something Real — 156 — 18 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Warner Bros. • | 1974 — I Wanna Be Selfish — 195 — 21 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — • | 1976 — Come as You Are — 189 — 35 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — • 1977 — So So Satisfied — 180 — 30 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — • Send It — 52 — 10 — — — 53 — — — — — — — — — — — * RIAA: Gold • | 1978 — Is It Still Good to Ya — 20 — 1 — — — 43 — — — — — — — — — — — * RIAA: Gold • | 1979 — Stay Free — 23 — 3 — — — 71 — — — — — — — — — — — * RIAA: Gold • | 1980 — A Musical Affair — 38 — 8 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — • | 1982 — Street Opera — 45 — 5 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Capitol • | 1983 — High-Rise — 84 — 14 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — • | 1984 — Solid — 29 — 1 — 13 — 47 — 11 — 25 — 17 — 15 — 42 — * RIAA: Gold • | 1986 — Real Love — 74 — 12 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — • | 1989 — Love or Physical — 135 — 28 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — • | 1996 — Been Found — — — 49 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — | Hopsack & Silk • "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

• Year — Album — Peak chart positions — Record label • US — US R&B • | 1981 — Performance — 125 — 45 — | Warner Bros. • | 2009 — The Real Thing — — — 59 — | Burgundy • "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

• The Best of Ashford & Simpson (1993, Capitol) • Capitol Gold: The Best of Ashford & Simpson (1996, Capitol) • The Gospel According to Ashford & Simpson: Count Your Blessings (1996, EMI) • The Very Best of Ashford & Simpson (2002, Warner Bros./Rhino) • The Warner Bros. Years: Hits, Remixes & Rarities (2008, Rhino) • Love Will Fix It: The Warner Bros. Records Anthology 1973-1981 (2018, Groove Line)

• Year — Single — Peak chart positions — Certifications — Album • US — US R&B — US Dan — AUT — CAN — GER — NLD — NZ — SWI — UK • 1964 — "I'll Find You" — 117 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — align=left rowspan="3" • "Don't You Feel Sorry" — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — • "It Ain't Like That" — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — • | 1973 — "(I'd Know You) Anywhere" — 88 — 37 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Gimme Something Real • 1974 — "Have You Ever Tried It" — — — 77 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — • "Main Line" — — — 37 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — I Wanna Be Selfish • "Everybody's Got to Give It Up" — — — 53 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — • | 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 — — — — — — — — — — — — — 58 • "By Way of Love's Express" — — — 35 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — • "Stuff Like That" (with Quincy Jones & Chaka Khan) — 21 — 1 — — — — — 23 — — — 24 — — — — — 34 — Sounds...and Stuff Like That!! • "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 — — — 65 — — — 37 — — — — — — — Stay Free • "Nobody Knows" — — — 19 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — • "Stay Free" — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — • 1980 — "Love Don't Make It Right" — — — 6 — 7 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — A Musical Affair • "Happy Endings" — — — 35 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — • 1981 — "Get Out Your Handkerchief" — — — 65 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — • "It Shows in the Eyes" — — — 34 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Performance • "It's the Long Run" — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — • 1982 — "Street Corner" — 56 — 9 — 11 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Street Opera • "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 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — • "Solid" — 12 — 1 — 15 — 4 — 5 — 2 — 3 — 1 — 3 — 3 — * BPI: Gold * MC: Gold — Solid • 1985 — "Outta the World" — 102 — 4 — 4 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — • "Babies" — 102 — 29 — — — — — — — 53 — — — — — — — 56 • 1986 — "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 • "Cookies and Cake" — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — • | 1990 — "Hungry for Me Again" — — — 40 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Def by Temptation • | 1996 — "Been Found" — — — 80 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Been Found • | 1997 — "What If" — — — 94 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — • | 2001 — "We Are Family" (with Various Artists) — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — align=left rowspan="1" • "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. • Note1Singles credited to Valerie & Nick • Note4Ashford & Simpson and Khan sang uncredited co-lead vocals on "Stuff Like That"

Listed below are solo recordings made by Valerie Simpson.

• Year — Album — Peak chart positions — Record label • US — US R&B • | 1971 — Exposed — 159 — 30 — Tamla • | 1972 — Valerie Simpson — 162 — 50 • | 2012 — Dinosaurs Are Coming Back Again — — — — — | Hopsack & Silk • "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

• Year — Single — Peak chart positions — Album • US — US R&B • | 1971 — "Can't It Wait Until Tomorrow" — — — — — Exposed • | 1972 — "Silly Wasn't I" — 63 — 24 — Valerie Simpson • "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Listed below are solo recordings made by Nick Ashford.

• 1966: "I Don't Need No Doctor" • 1967: "When I Feel the Need" • 1968: "California Soul" • 1970: "Dead End Kids"