Ashford & Simpson  

From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia

(Difference between revisions)
Jump to: navigation, search
Revision as of 21:44, 1 March 2008
Jahsonic (Talk | contribs)

← Previous diff
Current revision
Jahsonic (Talk | contribs)

Line 1: Line 1:
{{Template}} {{Template}}
-'''Nickolas Ashford''' (born [[May 4]], [[1942]], in [[Beaufort County, South Carolina|Fairfield, South Carolina]]) and '''Valerie Simpson''' (born [[August 26]], [[1946]] in [[The Bronx|The Bronx, New York]]) are a successful husband and wife [[songwriting]]/[[record producer|production]] team, as well as being [[recording artists]] in their own right. This performing and songwriting team met in the choir of Harlem's White Rock Baptist Church. After having recorded unsuccessfully as a duo, they joined another aspiring artist Jo "Joshie" 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".+'''Ashford & Simpson''' were an American husband-and-wife songwriting-production team and [[recording artists|recording duo]] of [[Nickolas Ashford]] (May 4, 1941 – August 22, 2011) and '''Valerie Simpson''' (born August 26, 1946).
 + 
 +Ashford was born in [[Fairfield County, South Carolina|Fairfield, South Carolina]], and Simpson in the [[Bronx]], [[New York City]]. Afterwards, his family relocated to [[Ypsilanti, Michigan]], where he became a member of Christ Temple Baptist Church. While there, he sang with a group called the Hammond Singers (named after the founding minister, James Hammond). Later, Nickolas attended and graduated from Willow Run High School in Ypsilanti, Michigan, before pursuing his professional career, where he would ultimately meet his wife, Valerie. They met at [[Harlem]]'s White Rock Baptist Church in 1964. After having recorded unsuccessfully as a duo, they joined an aspiring solo artist and former member of the [[Ikettes]], [[Jo Armstead|Joshie Jo Armstead]], at the Scepter/Wand label, where their compositions were recorded by [[Ronnie Milsap]] ("Never Had It So Good"), [[Maxine Brown (soul singer)|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 (Ray Charles song)|Let's Go Get Stoned]]," gave [[Ray Charles]] a number one U.S. R&B hit in 1966. That same year, Ashford & Simpson joined [[Motown]], where their best-known songs included "[[Ain't No Mountain High Enough]]," "[[You're All I Need To Get By]]," "[[Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing]]," and "[[Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand)]]." Ashford and Simpson wrote many other hit songs, including [[Chaka Khan]]'s "[[I'm Every Woman]]" (1978) and [[Teddy Pendergrass]]'s "Is It Still Good to You?"
 + 
 +As performers, Ashford & Simpson's best-known duets are "[[Solid (song)|Solid]]" (1984) and "[[Found a Cure (Ashford & Simpson song)|Found a Cure]]" (1979). The duo were inducted into the [[Songwriters Hall of Fame]] in 2002. They are also recipients of [[The Rhythm & Blues Foundation]]'s Pioneer Award, [[ASCAP]] Founders Award, and the [[Grammy Trustees Award|Grammy Trustee Award]].
{{GFDL}} {{GFDL}}

Current revision

Related e

Wikipedia
Wiktionary
Shop


Featured:

Ashford & Simpson were an American husband-and-wife songwriting-production team and recording duo of Nickolas Ashford (May 4, 1941 – August 22, 2011) and Valerie Simpson (born August 26, 1946).

Ashford was born in Fairfield, South Carolina, and Simpson in the Bronx, New York City. Afterwards, his family relocated to Ypsilanti, Michigan, where he became a member of Christ Temple Baptist Church. While there, he sang with a group called the Hammond Singers (named after the founding minister, James Hammond). Later, Nickolas attended and graduated from Willow Run High School in Ypsilanti, Michigan, before pursuing his professional career, where he would ultimately meet his wife, Valerie. They met at Harlem's White Rock Baptist Church in 1964. After having recorded unsuccessfully as a duo, they joined an aspiring solo artist and former member of the Ikettes, Joshie 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. That same year, Ashford & Simpson joined Motown, where their best-known songs included "Ain't No Mountain High Enough," "You're All I Need To Get By," "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing," and "Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand)." Ashford and Simpson wrote many other hit songs, including Chaka Khan's "I'm Every Woman" (1978) and Teddy Pendergrass's "Is It Still Good to You?"

As performers, Ashford & Simpson's best-known duets are "Solid" (1984) and "Found a Cure" (1979). The duo were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2002. They are also recipients of The Rhythm & Blues Foundation's Pioneer Award, ASCAP Founders Award, and the Grammy Trustee Award.




Unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on Wikipedia article "Ashford & Simpson" or another language Wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License; or on research by Jahsonic and friends. See Art and Popular Culture's copyright notice.

Personal tools