Soul music's Nick Ashford died today at 69

 

NEW YORK (PR Newswire) — Nickolas Ashford, whose music as one-half of the R&B singing and songwriting 

duo Ashford and Simpson became a staple on radio playlists during the 1960s and 1970s, has died from cancer, US media reported Tuesday.

USA Today reported that the South Carolina native, who early in his life had aspired to be a dancer, died in a New York hospital Monday of throat cancer.

Ashford and his songwriting partner Valerie Simpson, who later became his wife, started out writing music for Scepter Records, according to information on their website.

The pair had their big breakthrough in 1966 when Ray Charles scored a major hit with their song "Let's Go Get Stoned."

They later signed with the Motown record label, where they penned some of their best loved tunes, including "Ain't No Mountain High Enough," launching the solo career of Diana Ross after she abandoned the legendary Supremes singing group.

The songwriting team, who lived in New York, penned a string of hit songs for a long list of recording artists, including Ben E. King, Gladys Knight and the Pips and Quincy Jones.

Another of their compositions, "I'm Every Woman," became an anthem first for soul diva Chaka Khan and later for Whitney Houston.

Ashford and Simpson also had success as recording artists with several hit songs which they performed themselves, releasing nine albums between 1973 and 1981.

Their hit "Solid," topped the R&B chart in 1984 and crossed over to No. 12 on the pop singles chart.

The American Society of Composers And Publishers (ASCAP) gave them its highest honor, the Founder's Award, and in 1999 they received the Pioneer Award from the prestigious Rhythm & Blues Foundation.

The couple, who had been married since 1974, were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2002.