Remembering Nickolas Ashford…

Along with Simpson, Fairfield County, South Carolina-native Nickolas Ashford is responsible for one of the most cherished canons of soul pop love songs in the history of the genre. Be it early smashes that they wrote such as “Let’s Go Get Stoned” by Ray Charles and “California Soul” by The 5^th Dimension to classics that they penned as a writing team at Motown Records such as “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” (a hit for both Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell and later Diana Ross) as well as “Shoe Shoe Shine” in the `70s for their protégé male vocal group The Dynamic Superiors to hits he enjoyed as an artist in Ashford & Simpson such as “It Seems to Hang On,” “Send It,” “Solid,” “Count Your Blessings” and “Is It Still Good To You” – Ashford was a walking/talking songwriting machine. The duo’s songs were so successful because of the dynamic nature of the music and the penetrating poetically woven truths of the lyrics – a combination that made the duo among the most successful pop songwriting teams of all-time and platinum card carrying members of the exclusive Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Nick Ashford was also known for his distinctive tall “Dark Gable” good looks, his signature being his meticulously coiffed hairstyles. Paired with his earthier and much shorter in height wife Valerie Simpson, he was part of a beloved pair that came to represent for many the ideal real life couple – one that worked and played together  faithfully, successfully and colorfully. Between Valerie’s robustly elastic voice and Nick’s higher pitched, more fragile yet supremely emotive counterparts, their sound was unmistakable. Between 1973 and 1989, Ashford & Simpson recorded 14 albums for Warner Bros. and Capitol Records. As performers, their success came much slower than that of their songwriting, but Warner Bros. stuck with them and by their fifth album Send It in `77, they scored a sizable hit with “Don’t Cost You Nothin’.”  They got a great shot in the arm when they performed on “Saturday Night Live” as the musical guests of an episode hosted by football great/comic actor O.J. Simpson (no relation).  They really took off with the next album, Is It Still Good To Ya?, the title track a hit for them as well as Teddy Pendergrass, and the dance smash “It Seems To Hang On.” Following one more studio album and a double live set, they moved to Capitol Records where they scored more hits including “Street Corner,” “High Rise,” “I’ll Be There For You”, “Nobody Walks in L.A.” (f/ Stevie Wonder) and the Quiet Storm gem “Experience (Love Had No Face).”

From there the duo enjoyed a healthy run, selling out mid-sized venues with their exhuberant combination of dance hits and love songs, bringing them to life on stage with the kind of passion only a real loving couple could exhibit – a passion many a lonely dreamer fan projected onto them as ideal. Simultaneously, they continued to write great songs for others including “The Boss” for Diana Ross, “Stuff Like That” for Quincy Jones, “Taste of Bitter Love” and “Landlord” for Gladys Knight & The Pips, songs for the film adaptation of “The Wiz,” and Chaka Khan’s signature solo debut anthem “I’m Every Woman” (later covered by Whitney Houston).

Outside of his accomplishments with Simpson, Ashford co-produced (with Frank Wilson) the smash 1968 collaboration between Diana Ross & The Supremes and The Temptations “I’m Gonna Make You Love Me” (penned by Philly’s Kenny Gamble & Leon Huff with Jerry Ross) and also had a memorable big screen turn in the gritty urban film “New Jack City” (1991) in the role of “Reverend Oates.”

From the `90s to the present, Ashford & Simpson slowed their hit roll and enjoyed the fruits of their success. They opened the successful restaurant-entertainment nightspot The Sugar Bar in New York City, were air personalities on local KISS-FM, did spot concert dates to their specifications, and recorded a couple of independent CDs – one with poet Maya Angelou – though no hits came from these.

Beyond the gold records and platinum plaques, the real legacy that Nickolas Ashford leaves behind is a treasure trove of amazing songs. Indeed, early songs Ashford & Simpson custom made for Marvin & Tammi such as “Your Precious Love,” “You’re All I Need To Get By” and “If This World Were Mine” alone cemented their mastery and laid the blueprint for their own success as artists. However, they were just as profound with lesser known album cut favorites such as “Spoiled,” “Somebody Told a Lie,” “Hungry For Me Again,” “Rushing to,” “So So Satisfied,” “Stay Free,” “By Way of Love’s Express” and the sublime “Over to Where You Are” – amazing songs that longtime fans have taken to heart and that many more will discover and swoon over as the years roll by.

A. Scott Galloway

August 22, 2011

The Urban Music Scene