One half of the married songwriting, production, and recording duo Ashford & Simpson, Nickolas Ashford, died in New York at the age of 70 from complications related to throat cancer. With his wife
Valerie Simpson, he wrote some of Motown's most significant hits, including “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)”. The duo also had hits of their own, including “Found a Cure”, which reached No. 36 on the U.S. chart in
1979, and “Solid”, which reached No. 3 on the British chart in
1985.
