Nick Ashford passes at 70
Motown and the music world pause
South Carolina native Nick Ashford, of the legendary Motown songwriting duo Ashford & Simpson died of throat cancer at a hospital in New York City on Monday He was 70.
Ashford and his wife Valerie Simpson, whom he met after traveling to New York City to become a dancer, wrote Motown classics “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” and “Reach Out and Touch Somebody’s Hand” recorded by Diana Ross; “You’re All I Need To Get By” recorded by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell; and “I’m Every Woman” made famous by Chaka Khan, and again by Whitney Houston.
They also gained popularity for themselves with their hit single “Solid (As A Rock).”
The couple’s first major success occurred when they came up with “Let’s Go Get Stoned” for Ray Charles which garnered them the attention of heavy-hitting record label Motown. From then, they began penning lyrics for other artists such as “Didn’t You Know You’d Have to Cry Sometime” for Gladys Knight and the Pips, and “Who’s Gonna Take the Blame” by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles.
The couple, who had been married since 1974, was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2002. They recorded eight albums for Warner Bros., including four that went gold, five with Capitol and two independently. Their last album, 1996’s “Been Found” was a collaboration with poet Maya Angelou.
On Tuesday, friends, colleagues and supporters of the songwriting duo piled into the Sugar Bar, a restaurant and live entertainment venue founded by Ashford and his wife in 1996, to celebrate Blues night and the life of a legend.
Ashford is survived by his wife and musical partner and daughters Nicole and Asia.
Every few years or so an artist emerges in the tradition of musicians who have revolutionized the sound and style of the world. Each generation has laid claim to its own iconic artist, from Ray Charles and Dionne Warwick to James Brown and Diana Ross.
The 1980s and early 1990s provided us with five artists who reshaped the music world and introduced a level of superstardom that has yet to be matched.
Etta James, the big-voiced singer with the rowdy persona, has died after a long battle with leukemia. She was 73.
With her dyed blond hair piled high, eyes cat-shaped by mascara and big hoop earrings, she cultivated a whorish look and a loud, blustery attitude that made her seem tough, but by her own admission she was mushy inside and often confused and fearful.
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The Marianna, Ark., native, who was 80, died following a lingering illness.
Filer, who arrived in Los Angeles after serving in the Army in Okinawa, developed a love of law that he would quietly go on to use to influence others to consider the field.
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Burke, who was due to perform Tuesday in Amsterdam, was declared dead when the plane landed at Schiphol Airport in the Netherlands, according to published reports.
Richard “Dick” Griffey, an iconic figure in the Black music who went from being a concert promoter to owning his own record label SOLAR (Sounds of Los Angeles Records)—credited for releasing hits such as “Fantastic Voyage” and “Rock Steady”—died Sept. 24, after complications from an earlier quadruple bypass surgery. He was 71.
SOLAR, founded in 1977, became the second largest African American-owned record company in the United States.
