Nickolas "Nick" Ashford (born May 4th, 1941 - August 22nd, 2011) and Valerie Simpson (born August 26th, 1946) were a husband-and-wife songwriting team and recording duo, known professionally as Ashford & Simpson. They wrote several Motown hits like "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" and "I'm Every Woman".
Nick and Valerie served as guest judges for the Top 10 of Season 3 of American Idol.