{"artistName":"Ashford \u0026 Simpson","artistId":3674,"artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/413/413c2d33cb7f048f98bf4c5fde2444b1_xl.jpg","srcset":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/413/413c2d33cb7f048f98bf4c5fde2444b1_sm.jpg 50w,https://artist99.cdn107.com/413/413c2d33cb7f048f98bf4c5fde2444b1_md.jpg 80w,https://artist99.cdn107.com/413/413c2d33cb7f048f98bf4c5fde2444b1_lg.jpg 200w,https://artist99.cdn107.com/413/413c2d33cb7f048f98bf4c5fde2444b1_xl.jpg 340w","artistBio":"\u003cp\u003eNickolas Ashford (born May 4, 1942, in Fairfield County, South Carolina) and Valerie Simpson (born August 26, 1946 in The Bronx, New York) are a husband and wife songwriting/production team and recording artists. They met at Harlem's White Rock Baptist Church in 1963. After having recorded unsuccessfully as a duo, they joined aspiring solo artist and former member of the Ikettes, Josie Jo Armstead, at the Scepter/Wand label where their compositions were recorded by Ronnie Milsap (\"Never Had It So Good\"), Maxine Brown (\"One Step At A Time\"), as well as the Shirelles and Chuck Jackson. Another of the trio's songs \"Let's Go Get Stoned\" gave Ray Charles a number one U.S. R\u0026amp;B hit in 1966. That same year Ashford \u0026amp; Simpson joined Motown where their best-known songs included \"Ain't No Mountain High Enough\", \"You're All I Need To Get By\", \"Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing\", and \"Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand)\". As performers, Ashford and Simpson's best-known song is \"Solid\" (1984 US and 1985 UK). The duo was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2002.\u003c/p\u003e","musicPath":"/music/Ashford+Simpson","playStationPath":"/stations/113269653/play","stationId":113269653,"bioPath":"/music/Ashford+Simpson/_full_bio","similars":[{"musicPath":"/music/Dazz+Band","artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/5e2/5e2aed403d100575b74306c5f729e219_md.jpg","artistName":"Dazz Band","artistId":9828,"station_id":113330381},{"musicPath":"/music/Zapp","artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/a90/a90b3ebd599b857cb4ffa26f03f9dc03_md.jpg","artistName":"Zapp","artistId":5772,"station_id":113377368},{"musicPath":"/music/The+Pointer+Sisters","artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/935/935d00945f3aca06a0629079c7d04455_md.jpg","artistName":"The Pointer Sisters","artistId":1325,"station_id":113302921},{"musicPath":"/music/DeBarge","artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/408/4082d4520281bc5963b49ec268a276ae_md.jpg","artistName":"DeBarge","artistId":8861,"station_id":113291496},{"musicPath":"/music/Peabo+Bryson","artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/4bf/4bf4c0a0f01ffd2a4a377ea8416656fe_md.jpg","artistName":"Peabo Bryson","artistId":8903,"station_id":113299274},{"musicPath":"/music/Patti+LaBelle","artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/a16/a1637844de964101feb00d9fa8d8b532_md.jpg","artistName":"Patti LaBelle","artistId":2865,"station_id":113298179},{"musicPath":"/music/One+Way","artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/e8b/e8b881c347d9af8cb445af43652cd59d_md.jpg","artistName":"One Way","artistId":461266,"station_id":401346364},{"musicPath":"/music/Patti+Austin","artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/434/434e8c64ecd4fb89382da549cd1f986f_md.jpg","artistName":"Patti Austin","artistId":13405,"station_id":113398920},{"musicPath":"/music/Jeffrey+Osborne","artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/027/0273f1c4d62efaebfe99af712d190257_md.jpg","artistName":"Jeffrey Osborne","artistId":10925,"station_id":113306991},{"musicPath":"/music/T+Connection","artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/0e1/0e1427ff45f3161dd59e139c24a1027a_md.jpg","artistName":"T-Connection","artistId":3586,"station_id":113650670},{"musicPath":"/music/Aurra","artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/ee1/ee1dc4f2b1ddf922af740a5039b489a3_md.jpg","artistName":"Aurra","artistId":94450,"station_id":287827971},{"musicPath":"/music/Alicia+Myers","artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/71e/71e35bcaa5d354ba62571e677494edbd_md.jpg","artistName":"Alicia Myers","artistId":5579,"station_id":113271623},{"musicPath":"/music/Sheila+E+","artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/0b8/0b80e7f8a45f5af5b0d6a4e573c779d1_md.jpg","artistName":"Sheila E.","artistId":9953,"station_id":113472068},{"musicPath":"/music/Tavares","artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/dbb/dbbb45751b77af6dff5e8764ba62934c_md.jpg","artistName":"Tavares","artistId":3579,"station_id":113332329},{"musicPath":"/music/Thelma+Houston","artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/0e8/0e85370016e507541e91ba700fbdaeaa_md.jpg","artistName":"Thelma Houston","artistId":3681,"station_id":267904886},{"musicPath":"/music/Chic","artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/864/8647590d20badcdd9c89690e05d3f6e5_md.jpg","artistName":"Chic","artistId":261,"station_id":113279407},{"musicPath":"/music/Maze","artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/99e/99e73f90b77702557260d373cdf99a2d_md.jpg","artistName":"Maze","artistId":12249,"station_id":113279919},{"musicPath":"/music/Peter+Brown","artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/59e/59e024769518b8c2bec71044a4e1e72b_md.jpg","artistName":"Peter Brown","artistId":73008,"station_id":265464278}]}