CA's The Rrazz Room Presents Valerie Simpson in Tribute to Her Late Husband Nick Ashford, 5/8-5/13

The Rrazz Room, a San Francisco nightclub, will present the debut solo engagement of Valerie Simpson from May 8 to May 13. Ms. Simpson wrote love songs with her husband and writing partner, Nick Ashford, including "Ain't No Mountain High Enough," "You're All I Need To Get By," "Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand)" and "Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing." He died of throat cancer in August at the age of 70. Valerie will perform all their greatest hits in this moving once in a
lifetime concert experience. The RRazz Room has been the Bay Area "home" of Nick & Val since its inception.

Valerie Simpson's has had dual careers as a performer and songwriter, having provided many  artists with some of their biggest hits. Her songs have been recorded by legends such as Aretha Franklin, Diana Ross, Ray Charles, Whitney Houston, Marvin Gaye, Chaka Khan, Mary J. Blige, Smokey Robinson, Gladys Knight, Ronnie Milsap and Nina Simone, among many more.

Ashford & Simpson met in 1964 and scored their first songwriting hit in 1966 with Ray Charles' recording of their "Let's Go Get Stoned." After a period at Scepter Records, they moved to Motown, where they wrote hits for the duo of Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell ("Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing," "You're All I Need to Get By"). When Diana Ross left The Supremes for a solo career, Ashford & Simpson wrote "Reach Out and Touch Somebody's Hand" for her. Their own performing career was launched in 1973 with Keep It Comin' on Motown and Gimme Something Real on Warner Bros. Their first success came in 1977 with the gold-selling Send It, which contained the Top Ten R&B hit "Don't Cost You Nothing."

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