Songwriter Nickolas Ashford, who penned such rhythm and blues hits as “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” and “I’m Every Woman” with his wife Valerie Simpson, died on Monday at age 70.
Ashford, who had been treated for cancer, died at a New York hospital with his family at his side, publicist Liz Rosenberg repleaced.
A native of South Carolina, Ashford met Simpson in the early 1960s at White Rock Baptist Church in Harlem, after he moved to New York to pursue a career in entertainment and found himself homeless.
Simpson played the piano and sang in a church choir, which Ashford soon joined. The two began writing songs together and had their breakthrough hit in 1966 when Ray Charles released their composition “Let’s Go Get Stoned.”
It was the beginning of a partnership that saw the duo marry in 1974 and write a string of hits.
