The With her husband and writing partner Nicholas Ashford, Valerie Simpson wrote some of the most striking and enduring songs of the

Motown era and beyond. Today she joins us here on Sodejaker on songwriting to talk about her approach

to her art and craft and her amazing career. Yeah we can't put into words what an honor it is that

Valerie on the show once again we're just pinching ourselves really. We've been fortunate enough to speak to some true

masters of the craft over the last 12 months and this lady certainly

belongs in that category. Absolutely not only did Ashford and Simpson pen a string of

Motown standards they went on to forge an enormously successful career as

recording artists themselves.

In fact, four of the albums they recorded as a duo throughout the 70s and early 80s went gold

and they scaled the upper echelons of the singles shots on many occasions too.

In total they notched up 22 gold and platinum records.

Chicken feed?

Yeah, part-time.

And in tandem with their prolific recording career,

they continue to write and produce for other artists too.

Gladys Night in the Pips, Diana Ross, Shaka Khan to name but a few.

Valerie Simpson was born in the Bronx, New York City on August 26th, 1946, and much like one of our recent guests,

Patrice Rushing, took to the piano as a child.

By the time she met her husband and collaborated to be Nick Ashford at the White Rock Baptist Church in Harlem when she was just 17.

Valerie was already a very accomplished pianist and singer with a great gift for melody and

these factors combined with Ashford's lyrical skill led to the pair's first publishing deal within a year of starting to work together.

Soon, along with the third co-writer, Joe Armstead, under the publishing division of SEPDA Records, they were writing songs for the likes of Aretha Franklin, The Fifth Dimension, Chuck the stoned eventually found its way into the more than capable hands of Mr Ray Charles who took it to the top of the US R and B charts in 1966.

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