R.I.P. Nick Ashford

BET.com honors the songwriter's many contributions.

Nick Ashford: (5/4/41 – 8/22/11) - The music community lost a legend when Ashford died on August 22, 2011, in a New York City hospital after suffering from throat cancer. In a ceremony during BET Awards 2012, Nick Ashford was remembered for some of his contributions to music.(Photo: Shawn Ehlers/WireImage)
Ashford & Simpson - Nick and Valerie met in 1963 at Harlem's White Rock Baptist Church. They later married and became one of R&B music's most successful husband and wife singer-songwriting tandems.
Diana Ross - In 1970, Motown looked no further than the songwriting talent of Ashford & Simpson when it was time to release Diana Ross's first solo single. "Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand)" is one of Ross's most popular songs. They continued to work together, writing most of the songs on three of Ross's albums (Diana Ross, Surrender, and The Boss).(Photo: Chris Jackson/Getty Images)
Stevie Wonder - In 1986, Ashford & Simpson teamed up with Stevie Wonder for "Nobody Walks in L.A."(Photo: Richard E. Aaron/Redferns)Guiding Light - In 1982, Ashford & Simpson appeared on the television soap opera Guiding Light.(Photo: CBS/Landov)

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Ashford & Simpson - Nick and Valerie met in 1963 at Harlem's White Rock Baptist Church. They later married and became one of R&B music's most successful husband and wife singing-songwriting tandems.

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