Unpacking Lyrical Legacy with “An Evening with Valerie Simpson”
This week, the Student Brand Ambassadors were tasked with viewing An Evening with Valerie Simpson. In the interview, recorded shortly after Ashfor’s 2011 passing, Simpson details the historic ascendance of Ashford & Simpson. The record breaking singing and songwriting duo met in a church called White Rock Baptist Church in New Jersey. Ashford, who was experiencing homelessness at the time, entered the church looking for a free meal and met Simpson in the process. On the experience, Simpson tells History Maker’s, “...He didn't come to meet me. He came to get the free meal. But we did meet after church and got to know each other. And he wrote gospel songs... And I played the piano. So we were just like, natural, coming together…” This meeting would become the genesis of their musical and life partnership.
The duo would go on to have a stellar songwriting career for the legendary Motown Records. Tasked with writing for musical superduo Marvin Gaye and Tammy Terrell, Ashford and Simpson thrived in the competitive working environment that Motown Records facilitated. “...We were trained to work fast. We would go in the studio and do like three songs in three hours. And get in there and get it done, because you were up against people like Norman Whitfield who wrote for The Temptations, they were always watching you, and [HistoryMaker] Smokey Robinson. So when you went in the studio, they were all standing up there watching you. So you really had to bring your A-game.” Among their hits stands the titanic “Ain't No Mountain High Enough,” which remains as one of Ashford and Simpson’s biggest claims to fame. However, they still had a creative difference with the head of Motown Records and fellow songwriter Barry Gordy. On the Diana Ross re-release of Ain’t No Mountain High Enough, Simpson remembers “his point of view was, ‘All that talking, what is all that talking about... You need to just get to the main thrust of the song, you know?’ And Nick [Ashford] said, ‘No...it's like an orgasm, you know, you have to build!" Although the song wasn’t released as a single, it would still manage to climb the charts as a B-Side.
The duo would leave Motown Records in the mid-60s, signifying immense changes professionally and personally. First was their venture into a singing career as a duet. Simpson admits that this was a huge departure from what they were used to in their previous experience in the business. “We weren't real singers at that point. So we had--we needed grooming, and Nick was sweating under his arms every time he'd hit the stage...This was hard work, you know...We had to become singers...some people are born that way, but it wasn't us. We had to work at it.” The two would find continued success as a duo and in their own solo projects.
The duo for a compilation album of their greatest hits.
Valerie Simpson for the cover art of her first solo album, Exposed.
It is also in this era where the couple would fall in love. Although the romance bloomed much later than the musical partnership, Simpson made it clear that she wouldn't have it any other way. “I am so glad it worked out that way. I am so glad that I spent nine years getting to know him without, you know, being, trying to come on to somebody, because then he knew my real essence. He knew me, warts and all. And he loved me anyhow. And that's how I knew him, you know. We were, we weren't about being in love at that point. But when the love hit, it was real.” The couple would go on to marry in 1974, and had two children; daughters named Nicole and Asia.
Nick Ashford’s passing in 2011 left many in the music world in deep mourning. Of her late husband, Simpson said “Tomorrow is not promised, and the good thing about it is that he really did say everything he wanted to say, and I said everything I wanted to say to him. I'm loved up. The girls are loved up...So all we can do is live to the fullest in this moment.” Nick Ashford and Valerie Simpson remain a musical mainstay in households across the world. The music that they wrote together throughout their legendary joint career became a part of a generational soundtrack. If you are interested in viewing the clips featured in this post, along with some additional information about these Historymakers, please interact with this MyClips Playlist.
