|
|
|
|
Ashford & Simpson
|
| |
|
| |
Nickolas Ashford (born May 4, 1942, in Fairfield, South Carolina) and Valerie Simpson (born August 26, 1946 in The Bronx, New York) are a successful husband and wife songwriting/production team and recording artists. They met in the choir of Harlem's White Rock Baptist Church. After having recorded unsuccessfully as a duo, they joined aspiring solo artist and former member of the Ikettes, Josie Jo Armstead, at the Scepter/Wand label where their compositions were recorded by Ronnie Milsap ("Never Had It So Good"), Maxine Brown ("One Step At A Time"), as well as the Shirelles and Chuck Jackson.
Discussion
Ask a question about 'Ashford & Simpson' Start a new discussion about 'Ashford & Simpson' Answer questions from other users |
Encyclopedia
Nickolas Ashford (born May 4, 1942, in Fairfield, South Carolina) and Valerie Simpson (born August 26, 1946 in The Bronx, New York) are a successful husband and wife songwriting/production team and recording artists. They met in the choir of Harlem's White Rock Baptist Church. After having recorded unsuccessfully as a duo, they joined aspiring solo artist and former member of the Ikettes, Josie Jo Armstead, at the Scepter/Wand label where their compositions were recorded by Ronnie Milsap ("Never Had It So Good"), 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" gave Ray Charles a number one U.S. R&B hit in 1966. Ashford & Simpson then joined Holland/Dozier/Holland at Motown where their best-known songs included "Ain't No Mountain High Enough", "You're All I Need To Get By", "Reach Out And Touch Somebody's Hand" and "Remember Me". As performers, Ashford and Simpson's best-known song is "Solid" (1984 US and 1985 UK).
History
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 1960s, writing for artists such as:
Joining the Motown staff in 1966, they wrote and/or produced e all but one of the late 1960s singles Marvin Gaye recorded with Tammi Terrell, including hits such as the original version of:
Other Motown artists that Ashford & Simpson worked with included:
- Smokey Robinson & The Miracles
- "Who's Gonna Take The Blame"
Other artists with whom they 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 with
Rufus ("Keep It Comin'" and "Ain't Nothin' But a Maybe" )
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 Moorman) as part of the "Blood, Sweat & Tears Soul Chorus" on the band's Al Kooper led debut, Child Is Father to the Man.
According to Marvin Gaye in the book "Divided Soul," Simpson did most of the vocals on the last album he did with Tammi Terrell, "Easy," as a way of Tammi's family to have additional income.
Ashford & Simpson's career as artists actually began in 1964, when they recorded "I'll Find You" as "Valerie & Nick." This was followed by several obscure singles Ashford recorded on the Glover, Verve and 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," which the duo wrote with their early collaborator Josie Jo Armstead. 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 excellent solo LPs for Motown: Valerie Simpson Exposed in 1971, and, the following year, the album Valerie Simpson, which included the single "Silly Wasn't I," which was sampled on 50 Cent's "Best Friend", from the movie 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 left Motown in 1973, after the albums Simpson recorded for the label received poor promotion and the company refused to release an album of the two of them recording a collection of their most famous songs for other artists. They first came to national prominence when they were featured singing selections from Simpson's solo albums on the PBS TV show Soul!, hosted by Ellis Haizlip in 1971.
Around this time, they got married, and in 1973, they resumed their career as a duo with the Warner Brothers album Gimme Something Real. This was followed by the hit singles, "Don't Cost You Nothin'," in 1977, "It Seems To Hang On" in 1978, "Is it Still Good to Ya" in 1978, "Found A Cure" in 1979, "Street Corner" in 1982, and their biggest hit, "Solid", which they recorded in 1984. They recorded the album Been Found with poet Maya Angelou in 1996. (A complete list of their albums can be found in the discography listed below.)
On his own, Ashford produced, along with Frank Wilson, the mammoth hit "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me", which was recorded by Diana Ross & the Supremes 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: Raymond Simpson replaced Victor Willis in the Village People and their brother Jimmy Simpson, produced the group G.Q., (who had big hits with "Disco Nights" and "I Do Love You"), and was in great demand as a mixing engineer during the disco era.
In recent times, Ashford & Simpson have recorded and toured sporadically and in 1996, they opened the restaurant and live entertainment venue Sugar Bar in New York City, which has an open mic on Thursday nights where performers have included Queen Latifah and Felicia Collins. Around this time, they were also featured disc jockeys on New York's KISS-FM radio station.
On August 16th, 2006, Playbill Online reported that they are 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 Tucker, accompanied Oprah Winfrey when she opened up the school for disadvantaged girls in South Africa.
The duo continues to write and score today. They are given credit for their writing talents on the Amy Winehouse 2007 CD "Back to Black" for the single "Tears Dry On Their Own". The track is based on Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell's 1967 Motown classic hit "Ain't No Mountain High Enough". They have started performing their live act in intimate spaces such as Feinstein's at the Regency in New York and the Rrazz Room in San Francisco and in January 2009, released a CD and DVD of their live performance, entitled The Real Thing.
Discography
Albums
- 1971 Exposed (Motown)
- 1972 Valerie Simpson (Motown)
- 1973: Gimme Something Real (Warner Bros.) - US #156, R&B #18
- 1973: Keep It Coming (Motown)
- 1974: I Wanna Be Selfish (Warner Bros.) - US #195, R&B #21
- 1976: Come as You Are (Warner Bros.) -US #189, R&B #35
- 1977: Send It - (Warner Bros.) - US #52, R&B #10
- 1977: So So Satisfied (Warner Bros.) - US #180, R&B #30
- 1978: Is It Still Good to Ya (Warner Bros.) - US #20, R&B #1
- 1979: Stay Free (Warner Bros.) - US #23, R&B #3
- 1980: A Musical Affair (Warner Bros.) - US #38, R&B #8
- 1981: Performance (Warner Bros.) - US #125, R&B #45
- 1982: Street Opera (Capitol) - US #45, R&B #5 (digital release from Stateside Records)
- 1983: High-Rise (Capitol) - US #84, R&B #14 (digital release from Stateside Records)
- 1984: Solid (Capitol) - US #29, R&B #1 (digital release from Stateside Records)
- 1986: Real Love (Capitol) - US #74, R&B #12 (digital release from Stateside Records)
- 1987: Solid Plus Seven (Capitol)
- 1989: Love or Physical (Capitol) - US #135, R&B #28 (digital release from Stateside Records)
- 1993: Capitol Gold: The Best of Ashford & Simpson (Captiol)
- 1996: Been Found (Hopsack & Silk) - R&B #49
- 2002: The Very Best of Ashford & Simpson (Rhino)
- 2007: The Best of Ashford & Simpson (Stateside Records)
- 2009: The Real Thing ( live in concert ) CD & DVD
Singles
- 1974: "(I'd Know You) Anywhere" - US #88, R&B #37
- 1976: "It'll Come, It'll Come, It'll Come" - R&B #96
- 1976: "Somebody Told A Lie" - R&B #58
- 1977: "Over And Over" - R&B #39
- 1977: "Send It" - R&B #15
- 1977: "So So Satisfied" - R&B #27
- 1977: "Tried, Tested And Found True" - R&B #52
- 1978: "By Way Of Love's Express" - R&B #35
- 1978: "Don't Cost You Nothing" - US #79, R&B #10
- 1978: "It Seems To Hang On" - R&B #2
- 1979: "Flashback" - R&B #70
- 1979: "Found A Cure" - US #36, R&B #2
- 1979: "Is It Still Good To Ya" - R&B #12
- 1979: "Nobody Knows" - R&B #19
- 1980: "Happy Endings" - R&B #35
- 1980: "Love Don't Make It Right" - R&B #6
- 1981: "Get Out Your Handkerchief" - R&B #65
- 1981: "It Shows In Your Eyes" - R&B #35
- 1982: "Love It Away" - R&B #20
- 1982: "Street Corner" - US #56, R&B #9
- 1983: "High-Rise" - R&B #17
- 1983: "It's Much Deeper" - R&B #45
- 1984: "I'm Not That Tough" - R&B #78
- 1984: "Solid" - US #12, R&B #1, Can. #7,
- 1985: "Babies" - R&B #29
- 1985: "Outta the World" - R&B #4
- 1986: "Count Your Blessings" - US #84, R&B #4
- 1989: "I'll Be There For You" - R&B #2
- 1990: "Hungry For Me Again" - R&B #40
- 1996: "Been Found" - R&B #80
- 1997: "What If" - R&B #94
See also
- List of Number 1 Dance Hits (United States)
- List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart
External links
- .* .
- discography at Discogs.
- .
- .
- at .
|
| |
|
|
