Solid As a Rock: The Musical Marriage of Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson

The Birmingham Times

Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson were a solid duo long before the pair married in 1974. Lovers of soul music know the couple best as Ashford & Simpson, the songwriting, production and recording duo behind some of the biggest hits of the 1970s and 1980s.

Ashford was born in Fairfield, South Carolina, and Simpson in the Bronx, New York City. The two met in 1964 at the White Rock Baptist Church in Harlem shortly after Ashford moved to New York City to pursue a music career.

They eventually decided to join forces as songwriters and were hired by Wand Records. With this label, they co-wrote the song “Let’s Go Get Stoned.”

Originally recorded by The Coasters and later by Ronnie Milsap, “Let’s Go Get Stoned” became a hit after the legendary Ray Charles recorded it. Charles took the song to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart with his 1966 cover, and along the way, boosted Ashford and Simpson’s careers as songwriters. They would go on to pen hits for stars like Aretha Franklin, The Guess Who, Maxine Brown and the Shirelles.

Berry Gordy, founder of Motown Records, was impressed by the success of “Let’s Go Get Stoned” and hired Ashford and Simpson as songwriters for his label in 1966. While at Motown, Ashford and Simpson became the go-to songwriting team for the duo of Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, penning such hits as “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” (which would inspire Mary J. Blige and Method Man’s “I’ll Be There for You/You’re All I Need to Get By” (1995) decades later). They also helped kick-start Diana Ross’s solo career, co-writing songs for her self-titled debut album, and later contributed to other hits such as “Surrender” and “Remember Me.”

Ashford and Simpson, however, were not only behind the scenes in the music industry. They also made a name for themselves as artists too. In 1973, they left Motown and signed to Warner Bros. record label to focus on their artistic career. That year they released the album, Gimme Something Real.

A year later, they transformed their longtime songwriting and performing partnership into a musical marriage. Ashford and Simpson were wed in November of 1974 and would go on to have two daughters.

And they kept making music. Throughout the 1970s and ’80s, they released a series of albums and singles, including the 1984 hit “Solid,” which topped the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and reached the Top 15 on the Billboard Hot 100.

In an interview with The History Makers, Simpson said she was glad that she and Ashford had been creative partners before becoming life partners.

“I’m so glad that I spent nine years getting to know him without trying to come on to somebody because then he knew my real essence, warts and all, and he loved me anyhow, and that’s how I knew him,” she said. “The business was the first part of our relationship. We each had what the other needed and so, therefore, that was the basis for the relationship, the love came after. … We loved what we did.”

In 1996, the couple opened a restaurant and live entertainment venue, Sugar Bar in New York City. Through the years, they hosted a weekly open mic and welcomed well-known performers, including Queen Latifah.

Ashford and Simpson were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2002. Ashford passed away from throat cancer in August 2011 at the age of 70, leaving behind his wife and writing partner and a wealth of music that has inspired generations of artists and painted a picture of what love could be. But perhaps their marriage is the greatest love song they ever wrote.

Sources: AmericanSongwriter.com, NYTimes.com, and Wikipedia.