Motown songwriter Nick Ashford dies
Nick Ashford, who along with wife Valerie Simpson wrote some of Motown’s biggest hits, including Ain’t No Mountain High Enough and I’m Every Woman, has died at the age of 70.
Ashford died on Monday in a New York hospital after suffering from throat cancer, his publicist and longtime friend, Liz Rosenberg, announced.
Ashford and Simpson’s relationship spanned more than four decades. They met at White Rock Baptist Church in Harlem in 1964 after Ashford moved from South Carolina to New York to pursue a career in entertainment.
Legendary hits
The two began writing songs together and had their breakthrough hit in 1966 when Ray Charles released their song, Let’s Go Get Stoned.
They went on to write a string of hits including the 1967 classic Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell duet Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.
Some of their other popular songs include Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing, Don’t Cost You Nothing, Found a Cure and You’re All I Need to Get By.
The songwriting duo married in 1974 and signed with Motown Records, where they continued to pen successful tracks for the likes of Diana Ross, Gladys Knight, Smokey Robinson and the Marvelettes.
Their composition I’m Every Woman was recorded by Chaka Khan and later by Whitney Houston. It was also used for some time as the opening music for Oprah Winfrey’s TV talk show.
Ashford and Simpson were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2002.
Tributes on social media
Tributes for the songwriter flowed on Twitter, with many music stars and fans expressing their sympathy to Ashford’s wife, Valerie Simpson.
Alicia Keys tweeted: “I’m so sad that he’s gone…..So many of the greatest are going to a greater place….what a legacy of infectious music.”
In recent times, Ashford and Simpson had recorded together and and toured sporadically.
They released a DVD of their live performances in 2009, called The Real Thing.
The duo also earned writing credit for the single Tears Dry On Their Own, which featured on Amy Winehouse’s 2007 CD Back to Black.
The track is based on a sample of Gaye and Terrell’s classic, Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.
Ashford is survived by Simpson and their daughters Nicole and Asia.