from Vibe.com
The Soul Sister Chronicles: Valerie Simpson
(the Women's History Month Mix)
by Mark Anthony Neal
At the height of Motown's popularity in the mid-1960s, some of the song writers and producers were just as famous as the recorded talent. Smokey Robinson wore dual hats, but figures like Holland Dozier Holland and later Norman Whitfield were deservedly major stars in their own right and even more so because of Motown's sheen. It was a competitive environment and the young Nick Ashford and his writing partner Valerie Simpson were undaunted when they signed on to Motown as songwriters and producers in 1966. Indeed the duo had already had Aretha Franklin (who was not quite that Aretha yet) and Ray Charles ("Let's Go Get Stoned") on their resume when they walked into the door.
The rest is history as signature Ashford and Simpson tunes recorded by the duo of Tammi Terrell and Marvin Gaye and Diana Ross are still in regular rotation on the radio, in commercials and on film soundtracks. After leaving Motown in 1973, the duo went on to a distinguished recording career releasing nearly 15 studio albums for the Warner Brothers and Capitol labels culminating with the release of a remix of their most famous single, "Solid" earlier this year in celebration of the presidency of Barack Obama.
Less well known is the solo recording career of Valerie Simpson, who before she and Nick Ashford began their run as Ashford and Simpson, recorded two solo albums for the Motown label. Exposed (1971) and Valerie Simpson (1972) represented the cutting edge of a generation of black women artists that included LaBelle, Betty Davis, and Minnie Riperton (particularly her Charles Stepney produced Come into My Garden) that harked back to the great Blues Women of the 1920s like Bessie Smith, Mamie Smith, Ethel Waters and Ma Rainey--all women who used their music to speak forcefully about the realities of being black women. This was an era that was perhaps best captured by the publication of the Toni Cade Bambara edited anthology The Black Woman (1970).
Read the Full Essay HERE
(the Women's History Month Mix)
by Mark Anthony Neal
At the height of Motown's popularity in the mid-1960s, some of the song writers and producers were just as famous as the recorded talent. Smokey Robinson wore dual hats, but figures like Holland Dozier Holland and later Norman Whitfield were deservedly major stars in their own right and even more so because of Motown's sheen. It was a competitive environment and the young Nick Ashford and his writing partner Valerie Simpson were undaunted when they signed on to Motown as songwriters and producers in 1966. Indeed the duo had already had Aretha Franklin (who was not quite that Aretha yet) and Ray Charles ("Let's Go Get Stoned") on their resume when they walked into the door.
The rest is history as signature Ashford and Simpson tunes recorded by the duo of Tammi Terrell and Marvin Gaye and Diana Ross are still in regular rotation on the radio, in commercials and on film soundtracks. After leaving Motown in 1973, the duo went on to a distinguished recording career releasing nearly 15 studio albums for the Warner Brothers and Capitol labels culminating with the release of a remix of their most famous single, "Solid" earlier this year in celebration of the presidency of Barack Obama.
Less well known is the solo recording career of Valerie Simpson, who before she and Nick Ashford began their run as Ashford and Simpson, recorded two solo albums for the Motown label. Exposed (1971) and Valerie Simpson (1972) represented the cutting edge of a generation of black women artists that included LaBelle, Betty Davis, and Minnie Riperton (particularly her Charles Stepney produced Come into My Garden) that harked back to the great Blues Women of the 1920s like Bessie Smith, Mamie Smith, Ethel Waters and Ma Rainey--all women who used their music to speak forcefully about the realities of being black women. This was an era that was perhaps best captured by the publication of the Toni Cade Bambara edited anthology The Black Woman (1970).
Read the Full Essay HERE
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