Biography

Nickolas Ashford (May 4, 1941 – August 22, 2011) was an American R&B singer and songwriter, best known for his musical partnership with his wife Valerie Simpson as the duo Ashford & Simpson. He was born in Fairfield, South Carolina, and raised in Ypsilanti, Michigan, where he began singing and writing music in a church gospel choir. After briefly attending Eastern Michigan University, he moved to New York to pursue a career in entertainment. In 1964, he met Valerie Simpson in Harlem, and the two began writing songs together. Their breakthrough came when Ray Charles recorded “Let’s Go Get Stoned,” leading to a contract with Motown in 1966, where they became successful songwriters and producers. Ashford and Simpson later married in 1974 and continued to work together as performers and composers. Ashford died on August 22, 2011, in New York at the age of 70 after battling throat cancer.