Nickolas Ashford

The husband-and-wife team of composers Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson authored some of Motown's finest songs, including the classic duets of Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, before parlaying their success into a performing career of their own. Born May 4, 1942, in Fairfield, SC, Ashford was raised in Willow Run, MI, and sang in the church choir as a youth; after dropping out of Eastern Michigan University, he relocated to Harlem and accepted a job as a busboy. In 1964, he met Simpson, then a music student at Chatham Square School, and they soon began collaborating on songs; in 1966, Ray Charles scored a hit with their "Let's Go Get Stoned," and soon after the duo signed to Motown as staff writers and producers. In addition to the magnificent Gaye/Terrell duets "Ain't No Mountain High Enough," "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing," and "You're All I Need to Get By," Ashford and Simpson also penned Diana Ross' "Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand)," the Miracles' "Who's Gonna Take the Blame," the Marvelettes' "Destination: Anywhere," and Rita Wright's "I Can't Give Back the Love I Feel for You." In 1971, Ashford also produced Simpson's solo debut, Exposed; a self-titled effort followed a year later and in 1973, the couple recorded the duets collection Keep It Comin'. A move to Warner Bros. preceded 1973's Gimme Something Real; the following year, Ashford and Simpson were married. The title track from 1977's So So Satisfied was a Top 40 R&B hit and in 1979, they cracked the pop Top 40 with "Found a Cure." That same year, Chaka Khan recorded their "I'm Every Woman"; the song was later covered by Whitney Houston for the soundtrack to her film The Bodyguard, reaching the Top Five in 1993. Ashford and Simpson scored their biggest hit as performers with their 1985 R&B...