Terri Lyne Carrington releases her cover of Ashford and Simpson’s “Somebody Told A Lie” from her Mosaic Project: Love And Soul album for Women’s History Month. Carrington created her own arrangement of the song from Ashford and Simpson’s Come As You Are album and was able to collaborate with Valerie Simpson on her version.  Simpson sang on the song and gave her approval: “She gave it another treatment and that’s what a songwriter wants—you want a new treatment, it already exist in its old form, so why do that again.  She took it to a whole new place, I love it.”

[youtube id=”DlI37xZwMD4″]

Kindred The Family Soul and Valerie Simpson share “A Couple Friends” in the mode of a moving photo album that never ends.

[youtube]KFAe7PMDX9w[/youtube]

Nick Ashford of the powerhouse songwriting duo Ashford & Simpson passed today from throat cancer. Nicholas Ashford and Valerie Simpson are responsible for writing some of the most important songs of the 20th century 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 husband and wife team joined Motown’s staff of writers in the ’60’s after Berry Gordy noticed their songwriting for the 5th Dimension, Aretha Franklin and Ray Charles. At Motown they wrote and produced all but one of the Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell hits as well as songs for Gladys Knight & The Pips, The Marvelettes, The Supremes and Smokey Robinson & The Miracles. They also wrote “Is It Still Good To Ya” for Teddy Pendergrass and penned Chaka Khan’s “I’m Every Woman” and “Clouds.” As performers they had hits with “Don’t Cost You Nothin’,” “It Seems To Hang On,” “Is It Still Good To Ya,” “Street Corner” and “Solid.” Quincy Jones used their vocals on “Stuff Like That” and they helped write songs for “The Wiz” soundtrack. In the ’90’s they opened the Sugar Bar restaurant and bar where many known entertainers came to perform. In ’96 they recorded the album Been Found with Maya Angelou. They were also included in Oprah’s entourage to Africa when she opened her all girls school in 2007.