Ashford & Simpson

[a268165] and [a268169] were a husband and wife songwriting-production team. They started writing and recording together in 1964, and two years later wrote their first hit song - "Let's Go Get Stoned", recorded by [a30552]. They then took up staff positions at [l1723], where they wrote and produced hits for [a18984] and [a47742]. During their stay at Motown, Valerie released a couple of solo albums which flopped, prompting her and Ashford to leave in 1973. From then on, the duo concentrated on making their own records, though they also penned [a17035]'s hit "I'm Every Woman" before finally achieving recognition as artists in their own right. They had two daughters: [a=Nicole Ashford] and [a=Asia Ashford].

Both were inducted into Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2002.