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Nick Ashford dies

By CMU Editorial | Published on Tuesday 23 August 2011

Motown songwriter Nick Ashford died yesterday, aged 70. He had been suffering from throat cancer.

Born in 1942 in South Carolina, Ashford began writing songs with his wife Valerie Simpson in the mid-60s, their early work including songs such as ‘California Soul’ for The Fifth Dimension. Their work with Ray Charles then brought them to the attention of Motown boss Ben Gordy, who brought them into the company in 1966. Their first song for Motown was Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell’s ‘You’re All I Need To Get By’, and they went on to write such classics as ‘I’m Every Woman’, ‘Ain’t No Mountain High Enough’, ‘Ain’t Nothin Like The Real Thing’ and ‘Solid As A Rock’.

Although many of their songs were recorded by other artists, including Diana Ross and Chaka Khan, Ashford and Simpson also had success as performers themselves – ‘Solid As A Rock’ being one track they released themselves, as was ‘Ain’t No Mountain High Enough’, though it was made more famous by Ross. Simpson also released three solo albums featuring their compositions.

More recently, they had continued to perform occasionally, and in 1996 opened a restaurant, The Sugar Bar, in New York, where they regularly put on showcases for emerging (and some more established) artists.

Ashford is survived by Simpson and their two daughters.