Respect: Musical Legend Nick Ashford, 1942-2011

August 23, 2011 by Hannibal Tabu Leave a Comment

Whether you know it or not, you loved Nick Ashford.

Born Nickolas Ashford on May 4, 1942, he was one half of the powerhouse musical factory that was Ashford and Simpson, a relentless engine of pop music creation that not only put out memorable hits of their own("Solid") but also a string of hits for other performers including (but certainly not limited to) …

"Let's Go Get Stoned" for Ray Charles
"Ain't No Mountain High Enough" for Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, then redone by Diana Ross
"You're All I Need To Get By" for Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell and famously sampled by Method Man and Mary J. Blige
"Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing" again for Gaye and Terrell
"Reach Out and Touch Somebody's Hand for Diana Ross
"Cry Like A Baby" for Aretha Franklin
"Is It Still Good To You" for Teddy Pendergrass
"I'm Every Woman" for Chaka Khan
"Who's Gonna Take The Blame" for Smokey Robinson & The Miracles
A number of songs for Gladys Knight & The Pips including "Taste of Bitter Love"

… contributing to the soundtrack for The Wiz, all of which led to the couple's rightful induction into the Songwriter's Hall of Fame in 2002. He even worked as a mixing engineer during the 70s. A veritable American musical institution, he's one of the architects of decades of soul and pop sound. Add to that an appearance for Ashford in the movie New Jack City as Reverend Oates and you've got a career and a life worth envying.

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Nick Ashford died yesterday, August 22nd of complications from throat cancer, just three days before his wife Valerie Simpson's birthday (coincidentally the same day early rock songwriter Jerry Lieber passed away). Ashford is survived by his aforementioned wife and two daughters, Nicole and Asia.

In the words of our ancestors, anedge hirak Nick Ashford, and thank you for everything.

[Source: Wikipedia, Salon]

About Hannibal Tabu

Born in Rockford, Illinois; raised in Memphis, Tennessee; matriculated in
Tacoma, Washington and broadcasting live from Los Angeles, Hannibal Tabu is
a writer, a brother, a husband, a misanthrope, a son, an emcee, an uncle, a
poet, a father, a designer, a nephew, a romantic, a storyteller, and by
god, a fan. He spent more than ten years doing the journalist thing for
Vibe, Slave Trade, MTV Online, Rap Pages, America Online, the Los Angeles
Sentinel, Spinnerrack.com, Speak and The Source. Hannibal has worked as a
web designer/producer and graphic artist for American Honda, eHobbies.com,
Quicken.com, Express.com, the California Association of REALTORS, Disney
Channel, NextPlanetOver.com, Toyota Motor Sales, Kaiser Permanente,
California Bank & Trust and many more. As a poet, Hannibal has been
published in The Drumming Between Us, (sic) Vice Verse, Drumvoices Review,
Voices From Leimert Park and other anthologies, as well as being author of
the collection BORN BENEATH AN ANGRY STAR and co-author of FLIGHT MANUAL.
As a novelist, he's written THE CROWN: ASCENSION and FARAWAY (both
available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble & Smashwords) and the upcoming sci fi
political thriller ROGUE NATION. He's the winner of the 2012 Top Cow Talent Hunt, writer of Waso: Will To Power for Stranger Comics, Project: Wildfire for Legends Press, and co-writer of an issue of Watson & Holmes (alongside 2 Guns writer Steven Grant) for New Paradigm Studios. For six years he was the editor-in-chief of the Los Angeles Herald-Dispatch group of newspapers, is currently the co-owner and editor-in-chief of Black geek website Komplicated at the Good
Men Project, and uses his Operative Network website (www.operative.net) to
publish his poetry, market what he's doing, rant at the world and emit
strangled cries for help. In addition to all that, Hannibal collects comic
books, has scores of action figures, DJs private parties, is a Mac OS
zealot, sings and sometimes even hosts karaoke, practices a form of
spirituality based on ancient Egyptian belief, and goes to bed every day,
secretly hoping that half the world will commit suicide in his honor.