Nickolas Ashford, 1942 - 2011

I was very sad to hear that legendary musician, songwriter, and producer Nick Ashford passed away yesterday at the age of 69 due to throat cancer. Ashford, along with his wife Valerie Simpson, better known as the duo Ashford & Simpson wrote and released a number of soul and disco classics throughout the seventies and eighties including "Don't Cost You Nothing", "It Seems to Hang On", "One More Try", "Found a Cure", "Solid", and "Stay Free", to just name a few. On top of writing and producing numerous gems for him and his wife, Ashford also wrote a number of hits for many other artists including Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell's "Ain't No Mountain High Enough", Sylvester's "Over And Over", Chaka Khan's "I'm Every Woman", and Diana Ross's "The Boss" among many others. Looking back at Ashford's vast career which spans five decades, their might not be a greater and/or more accomplished soul, R&B, and disco song writer. Yesterday this world unfortunately lost one of it's great artists. With that being said, we will forever now remember him through the music he wrote and the joy his songs brought to the world (especially the dancefloor). In honor of this legend, I thought I would share one of my favorite songs by Ashford & Simpson in their 1976 loft-classic "One More Try".

RIP Nickolas Ashford
May 4, 1942 — August 22, 2011

Ashford & Simpson - One More Try