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  1. #1
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    What happened to the ashford & simpson thread ?

    There was an interesting thread here about A&S leaving the label because Motown did not want them to record an album.

    I can't find the thread. Was it moved or deleted? Or do I just need a stronger eyeglass prescription?
    Last edited by milven; 01-12-2020 at 11:18 PM.

  2. #2
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    I believe your eye's are fine...I tried to find it after reading your header...Gone.
    Perhaps someone made a snarky comment and it was decided to remove the thread

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    My guess is that because the Exxon Valdez of Soulful Detroit turned the thread into yet another anti-Diana Ross screed the thread had to be removed.

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    Continuing along ... do we know what songs were recorded by A&S for the unreleased lp? I wonder if those who had spoken to Valerie about the album may know. Additionally I think I remember talk about Nick having a solo lp at about the same time, when A&S were appearing on PBS' Soul. Do we know any more about that project?

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    Quote Originally Posted by PeaceNHarmony View Post
    My guess is that because the Exxon Valdez of Soulful Detroit turned the thread into yet another anti-Diana Ross screed the thread had to be removed.
    Well, that is a shame. That thread was interesting, had nothing to do with Diana Ross, was not in the Diana Ross section, and none of us were discussing Diana Ross. It was about A&S.

    Yet he came into the thread just to spread his vile about Diana and attacked one of the posters personally by calling him drunk because he stated an opinion. that "Exxon Valdez" did not agree with.

    Well, I better leave it at that. Under the second amendment of the SD constitution, he can do whatever he wants, and I probably can get banned for something minor like ending a sentence with a preposition

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    Quote Originally Posted by PeaceNHarmony View Post
    Continuing along ... do we know what songs were recorded by A&S for the unreleased lp? I wonder if those who had spoken to Valerie about the album may know. Additionally I think I remember talk about Nick having a solo lp at about the same time, when A&S were appearing on PBS' Soul. Do we know any more about that project?
    Posted by copley on 11-18-2015:

    11-18-2015, 01:44 PM

    Nick & Val were the ones who blocked the release which was going to be one of Hip-O's first!

    From Motown Treasures

    ASHFORD & SIMPSON - 'Nick & Val'

    Unreleased Tamla LP, recorded and scheduled for release 1972.


    Side A

    1. Ain't No Mountain High Enough [[Intro)

    2. Your Precious Love

    3. Ain't No Mountain High Enough [[Interlude)

    4. Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing

    5. Ain't No Mountain High Enough [[Interlude 2)

    6. Oh Love Don't Make Me

    7. Ain't No Mountain High Enough [[Outro)

    Side B

    8. You're All I Need To Get By [[Intro)

    9. Remember Me

    10. You're All I Need To Get By [[Interlude)

    11. If You Don't Love Me [[One Day You Will)

    12. Isn't Love Supposed To Be Like This

    13. You're All I Need To Get By [[Interlude 2)

    14. Reach Out And Touch [[Somebody's Hand)



    It's such a pity that they keep on blocking it's release. It was going to be one of the first Hip-O releases over six years ago. I'm sure that it would both be excellent and a top seller too.

  7. #7
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    Wow that is an interesting set list. I wonder why they blocked it. In the original thread that was deleted, someone said that A&S left the label because Motown wanted them as writers and were not interested in releasing an album by them as recording artists. Was that the case then, and in later years it was A&S who did not want it released?

    Maybe at that point, they thought it paled compared to their later work

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    Yeah, I'm guilty. Thread was turning sour.

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    Quote Originally Posted by ralpht View Post
    Yeah, I'm guilty. Thread was turning sour.
    Hi Ralph - do you have any recollections of an A&S lp at Motown, or a Nick solo?

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    Quote Originally Posted by luckyluckyme View Post
    Posted by copley on 11-18-2015:

    11-18-2015, 01:44 PM

    Nick & Val were the ones who blocked the release which was going to be one of Hip-O's first!

    From Motown Treasures

    ASHFORD & SIMPSON - 'Nick & Val'

    Unreleased Tamla LP, recorded and scheduled for release 1972.


    Side A

    1. Ain't No Mountain High Enough [[Intro)

    2. Your Precious Love

    3. Ain't No Mountain High Enough [[Interlude)

    4. Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing

    5. Ain't No Mountain High Enough [[Interlude 2)

    6. Oh Love Don't Make Me

    7. Ain't No Mountain High Enough [[Outro)

    Side B

    8. You're All I Need To Get By [[Intro)

    9. Remember Me

    10. You're All I Need To Get By [[Interlude)

    11. If You Don't Love Me [[One Day You Will)

    12. Isn't Love Supposed To Be Like This

    13. You're All I Need To Get By [[Interlude 2)

    14. Reach Out And Touch [[Somebody's Hand)



    It's such a pity that they keep on blocking it's release. It was going to be one of the first Hip-O releases over six years ago. I'm sure that it would both be excellent and a top seller too.
    SOOO interesting; I love the 'orchestral suite' concept. I hope we get to hear it some day; I wonder why A&S did not want Hippo to release it?

  11. #11
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    On another music forum they edit threads wherein there are issues.

    I had one post removed because I included the word “politics”. That post and a few preceding posts about the EU and Brexit were removed but the thread lived on and achieved the original poster’s goal.

    Does the facility to edit a thread exist for SDF?

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sotosound View Post
    On another music forum they edit threads wherein there are issues.

    I had one post removed because I included the word “politics”. That post and a few preceding posts about the EU and Brexit were removed but the thread lived on and achieved the original poster’s goal.

    Does the facility to edit a thread exist for SDF?
    I think it exists here too. I used to moderate a music forum that was similar to this and it had the option to edit or delete inappropriate posts but keep the thread up. If the poster persisted, I banned the poster.

    But each moderator is different and Ralph has his own way.

    Glad to see that we got participation in this new thread and discussion back.

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    P&H, to my knowledge A&S came to Motown to write and produce.

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    Quote Originally Posted by PeaceNHarmony View Post
    SOOO interesting; I love the 'orchestral suite' concept. I hope we get to hear it some day; I wonder why A&S did not want Hippo to release it?
    I went to Don't Forget the Motor City and noticed that there are no known dates or locations listed for the recording of the intros, outros, and interludes. The full song titles have New York recording connections and some also list Mowest [[California) as a secondary recording site. Remembering that A& S had come to Motown after working in New York, I'm not sure if or how any of this information might have contributed to Motown's reluctance to release the album and/or A & S's exit from Motown.

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    As the initiator of the thread in question , part of me wants to blow it off and say "who cares" , but another part of me is asking "what the heck?"
    It strikes me as discouraging to want to bother creating threads of they are going to be so arbitrarily wiped off because some posters therein can't behave themselves.
    As the thread's creator I would've also appreciated a heads up as to why my thread was being eliminated [[ iow , "did I do something wrong?". I knew I personally hadn't responded to any of the off- topic posts , I felt the point of the thread was stronger than the offenses [[ perhaps additional sour comments took place that I wasn't aware of), and didn't see why my thread should suffer the consequences [[if that's what happened).
    Can I suggest another solution might be to eliminate the offending posts found therein , rather than the entirety of a thread , which I , and apparently others , thought was an interesting topic worthy of participation.

    Again not a big deal , but am adding my two cents as the effort of initiating threads should be encouraged I would think.
    Last edited by Boogiedown; 01-13-2020 at 01:52 PM.

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    Quote Originally Posted by luckyluckyme View Post
    I went to Don't Forget the Motor City and noticed that there are no known dates or locations listed for the recording of the intros, outros, and interludes. The full song titles have New York recording connections and some also list Mowest [[California) as a secondary recording site. Remembering that A& S had come to Motown after working in New York, I'm not sure if or how any of this information might have contributed to Motown's reluctance to release the album and/or A & S's exit from Motown.
    Valerie's second solo album had a lot of NY recording connections as well, in terms of the musicians. From what I understand, A & S never moved to Detroit when they signed with Motown. They would commute. I believe Val still did a lot of jingle work and outside sessions with people like Quincy Jones. Nick released a few solo singles on Verve.

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    A&S did write and produce The Dynamic Superiors first two Motown albums, both of which were released in 1975.

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    Quote Originally Posted by reese View Post
    Valerie's second solo album had a lot of NY recording connections as well, in terms of the musicians. From what I understand, A & S never moved to Detroit when they signed with Motown. They would commute. I believe Val still did a lot of jingle work and outside sessions with people like Quincy Jones. Nick released a few solo singles on Verve.

    I can't remember if they moved to Detroit officially,[[Nick Ashford is from Ypsilanti btw.), but I do know they came to Detroit and worked there a lot.

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    Quote Originally Posted by milven View Post
    Wow that is an interesting set list. I wonder why they blocked it. In the original thread that was deleted, someone said that A&S left the label because Motown wanted them as writers and were not interested in releasing an album by them as recording artists. Was that the case then, and in later years it was A&S who did not want it released?

    Maybe at that point, they thought it paled compared to their later work
    I recall that a while back [[10 years?) A&S were re-releasing their early WB albums on their own CD label; maybe just the first 2 lps. With that in mind perhaps they were thinking of releasing the Motown lp themselves?

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    Quote Originally Posted by Boogiedown View Post
    As the initiator of the thread in question , part of me wants to blow it off and say "who cares" , but another part of me is asking "what the heck?"
    It strikes me as discouraging to want to bother creating threads of they are going to be so arbitrarily wiped off because some posters therein can't behave themselves.
    As the thread's creator I would've also appreciated a heads up as to why my thread was being eliminated [[ iow , "did I do something wrong?". I knew I personally hadn't responded to any of the off- topic posts , I felt the point of the thread was stronger than the offenses [[ perhaps additional sour comments took place that I wasn't aware of), and didn't see why my thread should suffer the consequences [[if that's what happened).
    Can I suggest another solution might be to eliminate the offending posts found therein , rather than the entirety of a thread , which I , and apparently others , thought was an interesting topic worthy of participation.

    Again not a big deal , but am adding my two cents as the effort of initiating threads should be encouraged I would think.
    That is such a shame. I was enjoying reading your thread and i wondered where it had disappeared to. I think we can all guess the identity of the individual who derailed it. It is a pity his offensive comments could not be removed from the thread rather than deleting the whole thing but Ralph is the boss and we must respect his rules. All the best to you for 2020.

  21. #21
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    Quote Originally Posted by Boogiedown View Post
    As the initiator of the thread in question , part of me wants to blow it off and say "who cares" , but another part of me is asking "what the heck?"
    It strikes me as discouraging to want to bother creating threads of they are going to be so arbitrarily wiped off because some posters therein can't behave themselves.
    As the thread's creator I would've also appreciated a heads up as to why my thread was being eliminated [[ iow , "did I do something wrong?". I knew I personally hadn't responded to any of the off- topic posts , I felt the point of the thread was stronger than the offenses [[ perhaps additional sour comments took place that I wasn't aware of), and didn't see why my thread should suffer the consequences [[if that's what happened).
    Can I suggest another solution might be to eliminate the offending posts found therein , rather than the entirety of a thread , which I , and apparently others , thought was an interesting topic worthy of participation.

    Again not a big deal , but am adding my two cents as the effort of initiating threads should be encouraged I would think.
    I’ve found that I still have the deleted thread on my iPad, and I can see the offending and offensive posts. I can understand why Ralph acted, but it might have been better for Boogiedown if the offensive posts had been deleted instead of the thread.

    The real shame is that posts such as these have almost destroyed SDF and yet the culprit is still allowed to continue to make offensive comments.

    A further shame is that the same member also sometimes posts stuff of great value. So why oh why can’t they just exert a little self-discipline and either stop before they start or send a polite PM to the person with whom they disagree? There’s enough trouble in the world without people causing unnecessary offence on a music forum, which is meant to be about music, music, music.

    The valuable posts that have been made, e.g. the “Why so many Temptations?” thread deserve a wide readership, but the offensive posts such as those accusing a member of being drunk ensure that few, if anyone, will end up reading them. Also, they destroy the credibility of the poster and the forum.

    It’s beyond me.

  22. #22
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    Soto, your points are well taken. What I fail to understand is if someone is found to be abrasive, simply use the ignore button and they disappear.

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    Quote Originally Posted by ralpht View Post
    Soto, your points are well taken. What I fail to understand is if someone is found to be abrasive, simply use the ignore button and they disappear.
    Perhaps the ignore button does not work as well as you think. Burying our heads in the ground does not make the abrasive person go away. Just as not watching the news does not make the abrasive person in DC go away.

    Life can be stressful. In DC we see attacks on Sleepy Biden, Crazy Nancy etc. Here we have to put up with Stupid Milven, and other members called Drunk, Crazy and worse, and also told that they don't know what we are talking about.

    Some of us have been in the music industry longer than he has been alive. We bring something to the table too.

    I love music and come here to relax and escape some of the madness in DC. But one member has the power to ignite a peaceful thread, blow it up and make it disappear. Don't we have enough of that in the real world?

    Sorry for interruption and editorial. And now back to the music.


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    REMEMBER ME is included on side B of this unreleased album. Is it the demo that Valerie did for Diana's recording or is this a different version with both A&S singing? Although I think NIck is also on that version in the background



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    Quote Originally Posted by milven View Post
    REMEMBER ME is included on side B of this unreleased album. Is it the demo that Valerie did for Diana's recording or is this a different version with both A&S singing? Although I think NIck is also on that version in the background
    Not having heard it I don't know for sure. But around this time, Nick and Val did an episode of the series SOUL!, and during his solo segment, Nick sang REMEMBER ME [[seen in the video at TC 16:14). Maybe it was this version on the unreleased album.


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    Thanks for posting this Reese. Never saw it. Love the lyrics to REMEMBER ME and enjoyed his prelude story about the sparrow. Nick does a nice rendition of the song

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    Quote Originally Posted by reese View Post
    Not having heard it I don't know for sure. But around this time, Nick and Val did an episode of the series SOUL!, and during his solo segment, Nick sang REMEMBER ME [[seen in the video at TC 16:14). Maybe it was this version on the unreleased album.

    A&S's Soul appearance was legendary and always worth a revisit; I recall as though yesterday, as well as many other episodes of that beloved series.

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    I saw Ashford and Simpson in concert for the first time in April 1977. They were spectacular!

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    Quote Originally Posted by milven View Post
    Perhaps the ignore button does not work as well as you think. Burying our heads in the ground does not make the abrasive person go away. Just as not watching the news does not make the abrasive person in DC go away.

    Life can be stressful. In DC we see attacks on Sleepy Biden, Crazy Nancy etc. Here we have to put up with Stupid Milven, and other members called Drunk, Crazy and worse, and also told that they don't know what we are talking about.

    Some of us have been in the music industry longer than he has been alive. We bring something to the table too.

    I love music and come here to relax and escape some of the madness in DC. But one member has the power to ignite a peaceful thread, blow it up and make it disappear. Don't we have enough of that in the real world?

    Sorry for interruption and editorial. And now back to the music.

    "I love music and come here to relax and escape some of the madness in DC. But one member has the power to ignite a peaceful thread, blow it up and make it disappear. Don't we have enough of that in the real world?" Perfectly stated and many of us think the same. Best option: ignore. Fully. Forevermore.

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    As someone who loves me some A+S. I don't feel that they have ever written a bad song. While some may be more spectacular than others, I enjoy the whole body of work that they have produced. Which is why hearing about 3 songs that I had not heard of let alone heard is very tasty.
    In my humble opinion at the time of Ms. Simpsons solo releases up to the first WB LP Give Me Something Real, there was a period when this unreleased material was recorded. I am thinking that in the thoughts of the producers it wasn't up to par as far as the production techniques that they would eventually perfect, as far as producing themselves. From about the same time frame as someone on here stated they produced, the Dynamic Superiors LP's which were, no pun intended..solid. Also lets not forget the production of Ace Spectrum from around 1973-ish of "Don't Send Nobody Else" by A+S. I say all that to say, they had producing others down to a science, producing themselves was different and they may have felt that this LP in question was not up to the lofty standards they had set.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Motown4Ever518 View Post
    As someone who loves me some A+S. I don't feel that they have ever written a bad song. While some may be more spectacular than others, I enjoy the whole body of work that they have produced. Which is why hearing about 3 songs that I had not heard of let alone heard is very tasty.
    In my humble opinion at the time of Ms. Simpsons solo releases up to the first WB LP Give Me Something Real, there was a period when this unreleased material was recorded. I am thinking that in the thoughts of the producers it wasn't up to par as far as the production techniques that they would eventually perfect, as far as producing themselves. From about the same time frame as someone on here stated they produced, the Dynamic Superiors LP's which were, no pun intended..solid. Also lets not forget the production of Ace Spectrum from around 1973-ish of "Don't Send Nobody Else" by A+S. I say all that to say, they had producing others down to a science, producing themselves was different and they may have felt that this LP in question was not up to the lofty standards they had set.
    I fully agree on the 'not a bad song' aspect. The A&S lps were/are extraordinary on every level and a joy to have as part of my life!

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    Quote Originally Posted by PeaceNHarmony View Post
    "I love music and come here to relax and escape some of the madness in DC. But one member has the power to ignite a peaceful thread, blow it up and make it disappear. Don't we have enough of that in the real world?" Perfectly stated and many of us think the same. Best option: ignore. Fully. Forevermore.
    Agreed. I did the exact same thing a few weeks ago. It merely pushes the problem to one side rather than eradicate it, but the only time i ever see his posts is when one of his hapless duo of lapdogs Luke and Detmotownguy reply to one of his comments. That is about as good as it is likely to get.

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    I wonder if Motown's views on A&S being restricted in releasing their own album is a parallel situation with Frank Wilson at the time of the Do I Love You recording?

    As for A&S, anyone who has the ability to write so many of the outstanding Marvin & Tammi and Diana Ross songs, especially You're Are All I Need To Gt By, are music royalty, album or not.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Bluebrock View Post
    That is such a shame. I was enjoying reading your thread and i wondered where it had disappeared to. I think we can all guess the identity of the individual who derailed it. It is a pity his offensive comments could not be removed from the thread rather than deleting the whole thing but Ralph is the boss and we must respect his rules. All the best to you for 2020.
    Thank you Bluebrock for your response and kind support! All the best to you too in 2020, you have quite a year coming!

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    Quote Originally Posted by milven View Post
    Well, that is a shame. That thread was interesting, had nothing to do with Diana Ross, was not in the Diana Ross section, and none of us were discussing Diana Ross. It was about A&S.

    Yet he came into the thread just to spread his vile about Diana and attacked one of the posters personally by calling him drunk because he stated an opinion. that "Exxon Valdez" did not agree with.

    Well, I better leave it at that. Under the second amendment of the SD constitution, he can do whatever he wants, and I probably can get banned for something minor like ending a sentence with a preposition
    Thank you milven for your support of this thread. It's nice to know anyone was even paying attention or cared. Glad you've revived it [[ it's all yours!!) and have a good 2020.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Boogiedown View Post
    Thank you milven for your support of this thread. It's nice to know anyone was even paying attention or cared. Glad you've revived it [[ it's all yours!!) and have a good 2020.
    Thank you for posting the original. It is a great topic which is confirmed by the fact that so many people came back to the topic after it was re-posted.

    Let us hope that that one member does not come back to ignite a peaceful discussion again. If he does, ir will blow up again, and then disappear

    .

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    Well that particular member has been back on this thread and acts as if his offensive post never happened. And not an apology in sight. I agree with someone above who says the poster in question often posts some interesting stuff, but obviously couldn’t keep his particular obsession under control

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    Quote Originally Posted by Boogiedown View Post
    Thank you Bluebrock for your response and kind support! All the best to you too in 2020, you have quite a year coming!
    Yes i do! It will be hard work, but i am sure it will also be very rewarding, and something that i can look back on in years to come with great pride and satisfaction. Memories last longer than dreams.

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    Our overseas members: how well represented were A&S in your countries? Here in the USA, at least in the NYC metro area, they quickly established a reputation as great lp makers and live act; their singles got a good amount of airplay on the r&b stations as well. Even the early live shows were explosive; the Bottom Line gig for Come As You Are is, 43 years later, still a great memory; even the wait-staff and bartenders were dancing for the up-tempo songs.

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    Quote Originally Posted by PeaceNHarmony View Post
    Our overseas members: how well represented were A&S in your countries? Here in the USA, at least in the NYC metro area, they quickly established a reputation as great lp makers and live act; their singles got a good amount of airplay on the r&b stations as well. Even the early live shows were explosive; the Bottom Line gig for Come As You Are is, 43 years later, still a great memory; even the wait-staff and bartenders were dancing for the up-tempo songs.
    They were very popular cult artists here in the UK. With the exception of Solid which went top 3 they didn't really trouble the pop charts, but they were very highly regarded by the soul crowd.

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    Solid us the ONLY thing A&S are known for by 99% of people in the UK. That other 1% [[and that’s being generous) fully appreciate their massive contribution to music

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    Quote Originally Posted by Boogiedown View Post
    Thank you Bluebrock for your response and kind support! All the best to you too in 2020, you have quite a year coming!
    I’m so glad I found this thread. A&S are my favorite writers/producers. Their Warner albums, “The Boss” album along with their singles for Marvin & Tammi and Diana are simply sublime. I’m hoping we get a listen if those Motown recordings of their songs for others!

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    Quote Originally Posted by soulwally View Post
    Solid us the ONLY thing A&S are known for by 99% of people in the UK. That other 1% [[and that’s being generous) fully appreciate their massive contribution to music
    Interesting, yet, of course, disappointing! Were the albums released in the UK?

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    Quote Originally Posted by Bluebrock View Post
    They were very popular cult artists here in the UK. With the exception of Solid which went top 3 they didn't really trouble the pop charts, but they were very highly regarded by the soul crowd.
    Were you ever able to see A&S raise the roof live?

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    Quote Originally Posted by PeaceNHarmony View Post
    Were you ever able to see A&S raise the roof live?
    Yes i did. I saw them live just a couple of years prior to Nick's passing. It was at a soul weekender so they were in a very small and intimate atmosphere. They were excellent.

  46. #46
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    Quote Originally Posted by PeaceNHarmony View Post
    Interesting, yet, of course, disappointing! Were the albums released in the UK?
    I am not sure if all their Warners albums gained an official UK release. Their Capital material certainly did though.

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    I saw them perform at Lincoln Center in the early 1970s and recall most that they exuded and shared great joy. They glowed, and their positive energy flowed all around the theater and simply filled the space.

    They were far more professional than many performers appearing in New York at that time, they cared about establishing a relationship with the audience and the audience reactions seemed to elate them and matter to them.

    I think that Nick performed Remember Me; I know I saw him perform it in the televised show cited above, which aired around the same time. Too, they did a medley of some of their most known Motown hits. Cuts from Gimme Something Real [[still my favorite of their albums) made up a large share of their repertoire, if I recall correctly.

    They were quite attractive in appearance, and I believe that they wore outfits of the same medium green material, with some shimmer or beading, that evening, hers sleeveless and short-skirted, his with the open shirt he seemed to favor.

    They did not have the choreography of, for instance, Gladys Knight and The Pips but they moved with grace, seemingly spontaneously, and they were obviously comfortable with one another. They chatted in a natural, planned but unscripted manner, and sometimes you felt like you were spending a relaxed evening with them in their parlor.

    A year or two later I saw Nick walking on West 75th Street, a residential area lined by brownstones, and after I hailed him, we had a brief but unhurried chat. He seemed genuine and genuinely interested to hear which songs he co-wrote were among my favorites [[even though I probably rattled off the same half-dozen titles everyone else would in a similar conversation). It's still a nice memory.

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    The church my family attended when I was growing up in Michigan would sing a verse of Reach Out and Touch right before the minister gave the Benediction. I remember being stunned the first time we did it.

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    My husband and I saw them a few times on the upper West side and they were always very approachable. I can't say that regarding most entertainers at their level.

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    I recall the previous Ashford & Simpson thread very vaguely, but I’m sure it was a bloody great one Boogie ... I'd just like to say that I completely agree with the ‘not a bad song’ take... consistently excellent songs, singing and production, for themselves, and others. As Blue says they're only really known in the UK for "Solid"... but I’ve heard "Found A Cure" and "It Seems To Hang On" on soul radio before!

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