Songwriters The duo essentially had two careers: one as a successful writing and producing team and the other as singers and performers themselves. They started their career in the mid-1960s, writing for artists such as
the 5th Dimension ("
California Soul"),
Aretha Franklin ("Cry Like a Baby"), and
Ray Charles ("
Let's Go Get Stoned"). Their work with Charles brought them to the attention of
Motown chief
Berry Gordy. and "Ain't No Mountain High Enough",
Surrender ("
Remember Me"), and
The Boss. In 1973,
Warner Bros. released their first duo album titled
Gimme Something Real. This was followed in 1974 by
I Wanna Be Selfish. In 1975, Simpson sang backing vocals on
Paul Simon's
number-one hit "
50 Ways to Leave Your Lover", and in 1976 they released
Come As You Are. 1977 saw the release of two albums –
So So Satisfied and
Send It. This was followed by the hit singles "Send It", "Don't Cost You Nothin'" (1977), "It Seems To Hang On" (1978), "Is It Still Good To Ya" (1978), "Found a Cure" (1979), "Street Corner" (1982), and their biggest hit, "
Solid", released in 1984. Around that time, they were also featured disc jockeys on New York radio station
WRKS. On August 16, 2006,
Playbill Online reported that they were writing the score for a musical based on
E. Lynn Harris's novel
Invisible Life. Ashford died at the age of 70 in a New York City hospital on August 22, 2011, four days before Valerie Simpson's 65th birthday, of complications from
throat cancer. His
publicist, Liz Rosenberg, said that he had undergone
radiation therapy to treat his illness. Simpson released a solo album in June 2012, called
Dinosaurs Are Coming Back Again, which also featured the last recorded performance of
Nina Simone, a second duet with
Roberta Flack and an instrumental version of "
Ain't No Mountain High Enough". In May 2014, Simpson was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Music from
Berklee College of Music. == Awards and nominations ==