Ashford & Simpson

Ashford & Simpson • Superstar songwriting team & hit makers for stars • Ray Charles to Amy Winehouse • Aretha to Gladys Knight • Smokey Robinson to the Supremes •

Hear the music and their stories in two intimate nights at the Dakota this coming Friday and Saturday, February 20 & 21.

Big Gigs

“Last week, David Letterman introduced the Jonas Brothers as the second-biggest group in the land next to Ashford & Simpson, who were sitting in with Paul Shaffer’s CBS Orchestra. Nick, Joe and Kevin can only wish to write as many hits as Nick Ashford and Valerie Simpson have. “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” and “Let’s Go Get Stoned” are two of their classics, not to mention “Solid” (recast last year as “Solid as Barack”). This husband-wife duo are terrific entertainers who give every performance a romantic glow.” – Jon Bream, Star Tribune 2/20/09

Ashford & Simpson are, quite simply, one of the greatest songwriting teams in the history of American music. And the list of stars who have recorded their music is as impressive as the titles they’ve penned – from the Fifth Dimension to Amy Winehouse. It includes Ray Charles (“Let’s Go Get Stoned” & “I Don’t Need No Doctor”), Aretha Franklin (“Cry Like a Baby”), Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell (every single but one – including Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing,” “Your Precious Love,” and “You’re All I Need to Get By”), Diana Ross (“Surrender,” “Reach Out and Touch Somebody,” “Remember Me”), Gladys Knight & The Pips, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, The Mavelettes, Teddy Pendergrass, Rufus, and Chaka Khan.

On their own, they’ve recorded 23 albums and charted 26 singles.

One of their songs, “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” was a hit for Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, Diana Ross, and Amy Winehouse (who used it as the base for her 2nd biggest selling hit, “Tears Dry on Their Own” on the album “Back to Black”).

They’ve been on numerous national Television shows lately featuring the scope of their career as well as their recently reworked version of their #1 hit, “Solid,” into “Solid As Barack.”

Here is a feature about them that ran on CBS Sunday Morning

• “Ain’t No Mountain”

• “Is It Still Good To Ya”

City Pages A-List – Ashford & Simpson

Nick Ashford and Valerie Simpson have had an extraordinary 40-some-year run as acclaimed songwriters, performers, producers, and club operators (New York’s Sugar Bar) … the couple have also hit the road with what’s essentially a dynamic greatest-hits show that promises to be no less than electrifying in the relatively cozy confines of the Dakota. That’s certainly the way the pair and their taut, exuberant band come across on Ashford & Simpson’s new CD, The Real Thing… the album finds fireworks flying among Nick’s soaring falsetto, Val’s lustrous, soulful pipes, the sizzling band, and the enthused crowd as they negotiate hits from the breadth of their career… The hits should come fast and furious, driven by a band featuring Sugar Bar stalwarts Bernard Davis (drums) and Sherrod Barnes (lead guitar), and led by pianist Nat Adderley Jr. of the famed Adderley musical dynasty.

- Rick Mason
City Pages

read the whole preview here

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