Nickolas Ashford 1942 - 2011

Nickolas Ashford, one half of "one the most prolific and versatile musical couples in recording history," passed away on August 22 due to complications of throat cancer. He was 69.

Born in Fairfield, South Carolina, Ashford would meet wife and songwriting partner Valerie Simpson at a Harlem church in the early '60s. Their meeting proved fortuitous and in 1966, they would score their first songwriting hit with Ray Charles' "Let's Go Get Stoned." Throughout the rest of the decade, they'd continue writing and producing for everyone from Aretha Franklin to The 5th Dimension before joining Motown. There they would pen such timeless love songs as "Ain't No Mountain High Enough," "You're All I Need to Get By," and "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing," for Marvin Gaye, Tammi Terrell, and Diana Ross. Ashford would also produce the massive hit "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me" which Diana Ross & the Supremes recorded with the Temptations.

As performers, the pair signed to Warner Brothers, and released a steady stream of hit singles during the '70s and '80s including the 1984 dancefloor anthem "Solid." In recent years, Ashford opened a restaurant and live entertainment club, Sugar Bar, in New York City, was featured as disc jockey on New York's KISS-FM, and performed alongside his wife, in intimate venues in New York, San Francisco, and Tokyo.