Ashford & Simpson (Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson)

Nickolas Ashford & Valerie Simpson have had a renowned and celebrated career as performers, songwriters and producers, providing top music artists with some of their biggest hits. The duo boasts 31 singles on the Billboard R&B Chart; six in the Top 10 including their #1 chart hit ‘Solid.' Ashford & Simpson produced many Gold certified albums, which have come from their numerous in-studio recordings. They are the recipients of a number of awards including ASCAP's highest honor, The Founder's Award and the Pioneer Award from the Rhythm & Blues Foundation, which they received in 1999. In 2002 they were inducted into the Songwriters Hall Of Fame.

Nick & Valerie met in the choir of Harlem's White Rock Baptist Church and later married. They went on to enjoy a multifaceted career as the most successful husband & wife songwriting / production team in music history; as notable performers in their own right; and as producers at Motown working with many of the legendary artists at the peak of the iconic label's success. Ashford & Simpson's musical influence has impacted worldwide culture over the last four decades.

Legendary and top contemporary music artists that have recorded their songs include; Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Diana Ross, Gladys Knight, Smokey Robinson The Supremes, Chaka Khan, Marvin Gaye, Whitney Houston and Mary J Blige. Most recently they were given credit for their writing talents on the Amy Winehouse Grammy Award winning 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.'

 Productions (and songs) appear on:

Ashford & Simpson: LP Exposed (Motown, 1971)
Ashford & Simpson: LP/CD Gimme Something Real (Warner Bros., 1973)
Ashford & Simpson: LP/CD I Wanna Be Selfish (Warner Bros., 1974)
Ashford & Simpson: LP/CD Come As You Are (Warner Bros., 1976)
Ashford & Simpson: LP/CD So So Satisfied (Warner Bros., 1977)
Ashford & Simpson: LP/CD Send It (Warner Bros., 1977)
Ashford & Simpson: LP/CD A Musical Affair (Warner Bros., 1978)
Ashford & Simpson: LP/CD Stay Free (Warner Bros., 1979)
Ashford & Simpson: LP/CD Is It Still Good To Ya (Warner Bros., 1980)
Ashford & Simpson: LP/CD Street Opera (Capitol, 1982)
Ashford & Simpson: LP/CD High Rise (Capitol, 1983)
Ashford & Simpson: LP/CD Solid (Capitol, 1984)
Ashford & Simpson: LP/CD Real Love (Capitol, 1986)
Ashford & Simpson: LP/CD Love Or Physical (Capitol, 1989)
Diana Ross: LP/CD Diana Ross (Motown, 1970)
Diana Ross: LP Surrender (Motown, 1971)
Diana Ross & Marvin Gaye: LP/CD Diana & Marvin (Motown, 1973)
Diana Ross: LP/CD The Boss (Motown, 1979)
Gladys Knight & The Pips: LP/CD About Love (CBS, 1980)
Gladys Knight & The Pips: LP/CD Touch (CBS, 1981)
Patti LaBelle: LP/CD Winner In You (MCA,1986)
Philip Michael Thomas: LP/CD Somebody (Spaceship-Atlantic, 1988)
Smokey Robinson & The Miracles: LP A Pocket Full Of Miracles (Motown, 1970)
Smokey Robinson & The Miracles: LP Flying High Together (Motown, 1972)
Stephanie Mills: LP/CD Tantalizingly Hot (Casablanca, 1982)
Teddy Pendergrass: LP/CD TP (PIR, 1980)
Ullanda McCullough: LP Ullanda McCullough (Atlantic, 1981)
Valerie Simpson: LP Valerie Simpson (Motown, 1972)

Other contributions:

Brothers Johnson, The: LP/CD Blam!! (A&M, 1978) - songwriters
Chaka Khan: LP/CD Chaka (Warner Bros., 1978) - songwriters
Jennifer Holliday: LP/CD Feel My Soul (Geffen, 1983) - songwriters
Nona Hendryx: LP/CD Nona (RCA, 1983) - Valerie Simpson musician
Phyllis Hyman: LP/CD Can't We Fall In Love Again (Arista, 1981) - songwriters
Quincy Jones: LP/CD Sounds…And Stuff Like That!! (A&M, 1978) - songwriters
Randy Crawford: LP/CD Raw Silk (Warner Bros., 1979) - songwriters
Roberta Flack: LP/CD Oasis (Atlantic, 1988) - songwriters
Sylvester: LP/CD Sylvester (Fantasy, 1977) - songwriters