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Nick Ashford of Ashford & Simpson has passed away! :'(

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Nick Ashford dead at 69: Motown great co-wrote 'Ain't No Mountain High Enough'

BY David Hinckley
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Monday, August 22nd 2011, 10:58 PM





Jason Kempin/Getty
Recording artists Nick Ashford (L) with wife and writing partner, Valerie Simpson. Ashford died Monday after battling throat cancer, he was 69.



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Nick Ashford, who with his wife Valerie Simpson wrote some of Motown's most powerful love duets, died Monday in a New York hospital.

He was 69 and had been undergoing radiation treatments for throat cancer.

Ashford and Simpson wrote Motown's two favorite "Ain't" songs, "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" and "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing," along with "You're All I Need To Get By."

They also had a long singing career, scoring their biggest chart hit with 1984's "Solid (As a Rock)" and later settling into a long run at clubs and cabarets.

They also owned several restaurant/clubs, including the 20/20 on W. 20th St. and the Sugar Bar on W. 72nd St.

They were a DJ team for several years on WRKS (98.7 FM), playing the kind of music they wrote and sang.

Ashford, a tall imposing man whose signature hair was long, was known as a gentle presence in the music business.

Nickolas Ashford was born in South Carolina and grew up in Michigan. He moved to New York in the early 1960s with $57 in his pocket, hoping to make it in show business.

He was attending Harlem's White Rock Baptist Church when he met Valerie Simpson, a New Yorker who sang in the choir and also had musical ambitions.

They recorded together briefly and unsuccessfully in 1964 as "Valerie and Nick," but had more success with writing songs - which at first, said Ashford, they sold for $75 apiece.

Their first big hit was Ray Charles's "Let's Go Get Stoned," which hit the top 10 on the R&B charts in 1966, and soon after they signed to Motown.

Besides songwriting, they also produced most of Diana Ross's first three solo albums and worked with artists that included Teddy Pendergrass, Gladys Knight, Smokey Robinson and Chaka Khan.

Ashford did a few solo projects, including some unsuccessful singles and the very successful production of the 1968 Supremes/Temptations collaboration "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me."

Still, he and Simpson remained a team, and they got married in 1974. They had two daughters.

They had disco-era hits with "Send It" and "Street Corner" and wrote "I'm Every Woman," which Whitney Houston sang in "The Bodyguard."

Simpson, who did most of the composing while Ashford wrote most of the lyrics, later said it was "like pulling teeth" to get him to write "I'm Every Woman," but that it was worth the effort.

Ashford later had a few acting roles, including The Rev. Oates in "New Jack City."

His and Simpson's songs have been sampled in recent years by artists like 50 Cent. They received a writing credit for Amy Winehouse's 2007 "Tears Dry On Their Own" because so much of the melody was lifted from "Ain't No Mountain High Enough."

Ashford is survived by his wife and their two daughters.


Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/entertai...ain_high_enough_dies_at_69.html#ixzz1Voqy4DAy
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http://www.nydailynews.com/entertai..._aint_no_mountain_high_enough_dies_at_69.html

RIP Nick Ashford my payers are going out to his wife & his 2 daughters by his side! :eek::(
 
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FILE - In this Oct. 29, 2007 file photo, Singers Nick Ashford and Valerie Simpson attend the 2007 G&P Foundation 10th Annual Angel Ball in New York. Ashford's longtime friend and former publicist told The Associated Press that Ashford died Monday, Aug. 22, 2011 in a New York City hospital. He had been suffering from throat cancer and had undergone radiation treatment. (AP Photo/Evan Agostini, File)

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By Nekesa Mumbi Moody AP Music Writer / August 22, 2011

NEW YORK—Nick Ashford, one-half of the legendary Motown songwriting duo Ashford & Simpson that penned elegant, soulful classics for the likes of Diana Ross and Marvin Gaye and funk hits for Chaka Khan and others, died Monday at age 70, his former publicist said.

Ashford, who along with wife Valerie Simpson wrote some of Motown's biggest hits, died in a New York City hospital, said publicist Liz Rosenberg, who was Ashford's longtime friend. He had been suffering from throat cancer and had undergone radiation treatment, she told The Associated Press.

Though they had some of their greatest success at Motown with classics like "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" and "Reach Out And Touch Somebody's Hand" by Ross and "You're All I Need To Get By" by Gaye and Tammi Terrell, Ashford & Simpson also created anthems for others, like "I'm Every Woman" by Khan (and later remade by Whitney Houston). Ashford & Simpson also had success writing for themselves: Perhaps the best-known song they sang was the 1980s hit "Solid As A Rock."

"His music is unmatched in terms of great songwriting," Verdine White of Earth, Wind and Fire said after learning of his friend's death.

"They had magic and that's what creates those wonderful hits, that magic," White added. "Without those songs, those artists wouldn't have been able to go to the next level."

Others in the music industry also mourned the loss. On Twitter, Alicia Keys wrote, "I'm so sad that he's gone. ... So many of the greatests are going to a greater place ... what a legacy of infectious music ... man!"

Ashford and Simpson's relationship stretched more than four decades. They met in 1964 in a New York City church. Ashford, a South Carolina native, had come to the city to pursue a dance career. Simpson was a music student, and after connecting with her, they decided to start to write songs together.

"They were always comfortable with each other and they made all of us comfortable, because they were comfortable," White said.

Their first major success occurred when they came up with "Let's Go Get Stoned" for Ray Charles. The bluesy, gospel-tinged song became a huge hit for Charles, and soon, they came to the attention of Motown Records and began penning hits for their artists.

They started out writing soulful, romantic works for the duo of Gaye and Terrell that would become instant classics, like "Your Precious Love," and "Ain't Nothin' Like The Real Thing." In fact, "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" was originally their hit, until Ross later rerecorded it with a new arrangement that had sweeping pop grandeur and made it her signature song.

Ross may have been their greatest muse: With her, they had some of their biggest songs and helped give her career-defining hits that would distinguish her solo career apart from The Supremes. Among the songs Ross made hits were "Reach Out and Touch," "The Boss," "My House," and "Missing You," a tribute to the late Gaye and others. They also composed some of the music for "The Wiz," the movie musical that starred Ross and Michael Jackson.

In an industry where marriages and partnerships are fleeting, Ashford and Simpson stood the test of time.

"The thing is they were married and working together, that was what was special about them. Everybody admired that," White said.

The duo, married for 38 years, helped sell millions of records for several artists. They also had success as their own entity, but despite "Solid As a Rock," their songs were dwarfed by those they penned for others. They continued to craft hits even into the new millennium: They are credited as co-writers on Amy Winehouse's "Tears Dry On Their Own."

In recent years, the pair continued to perform. They also were owners of the New York City restaurant Sugar Bar, where many top names and emerging talents would put on showcases.

In 2002, Ashford & Simpson were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Ashford is survived by his wife and two daughters. Rosenberg said there is no information yet on funeral arrangements.

http://www.boston.com/ae/celebrity/...s_id=Boston.com+--+Latest+celebrity+headlines
 
Re: Songwriter Nick Ashford dies; had throat cancer

OH NO!!!!

The songs he helped write were magnificent. I have been to the Sugarbar before and it was very interesting to see his wife sing back on songs of artists just trying to make it.

This is so sad. :(
 
Re: Songwriter Nick Ashford dies; had throat cancer

RIP Nick
 
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