RIP, Nicholas Ashford, co-wrote "Ain't No Mountain High Enough," "Let's Go Get Stoned," "I'm Every Woman"
Nicholas Ashford, the songwriter and singer who, with his wife Valerie Simpson, penned hits like "Ain't Nothin' Like The Real Thing" (for Marvin Gaye and Tammy Terrell) and "Let's Go Get Stoned" (for Ray Charles), while also carrying on a successful career as performers with their 1984 hit "Solid," has died. He was 70, and died of throat cancer, his friend and former publicist Liz Rosenberg told the Associated Press.
Ashford and Simpson, who were married for 38 years, wrote a string of Motown classics, including "You're All I Need To Get By," "Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand)" and "Ain't No Mountain High Enough." The duo, who met in a New York church, had plenty more success after their initial '60s hot streak was over.
They also scored hits for Aretha Franklin and the Brothers Johnson and late Philadelphia soul great Teddy Pendergrass ("Is It Still Good To You"), and scored R & B silky-smooth R & B hits for Chaka Khan, both when she was with Rufus and as a solo act. The biggest of those was "I'm Every Woman," a blockbuster for Khan in 1978 and then again for Whitney Houston in 1992.
And like a handful of versatile pop stars thoughout pop history, like, say, Carole King and Kanye West, Ashford & Simpson were able to make the transition from behind the scenes hitmakers to marquee attraction stars. They were easily idenitifed as the 1980s couple who success was built on an image of conjugal bliss, a worklife where each artist was an equal partner, as exemplified by the 1984 hit that declared their love to be "Solid as a rock."
Ashford, who had recieved radiation treatment, died in New York hospital. He's survived by his wife and two daughters.
Previously: RIP, Jerry Leiber Follow In The Mix on Twitter here
