Critical Noir

The Soul Sister Chronicles: Valerie Simpson (the Women's History Month Mix)

Posted 03/12/2009 at 8:04 PM  |  Comment?

At the height of Motown's popularity in the mid-1960s, some of the song writers and producers were just as famous as the recorded talent.  Smokey Robinson wore dual hats, but figures like Holland Dozier Holland and later Norman Whitfield were deservedly major stars in their own right and even more so because of Motown's sheen. It was a competitive environment and the young Nick Ashford and his writing partner Valerie Simpson were undaunted when they signed on to Motown as songwriters and producers in 1966.  Indeed the duo had already had Aretha Franklin (who was not quite that Aretha yet) and Ray Charles ("Let's Go Get Stoned") on their resume when they walked into the door. 

The rest is history as signature Ashford and Simpson tunes recorded by the duo of Tammi Terrell and Marvin Gaye and Diana Ross are still in regular rotation on the radio, in commercials and on film soundtracks.  After leaving Motown in 1973, the duo went on to a distinguished recording career releasing nearly 15 studio albums for the Warner Brothers and Capitol labels culminating with the release of a remix of their most famous single, "Solid" earlier this year in celebration of the presidency of Barack Obama. 

Less well known is the solo recording career of Valerie Simpson, who before she and Nick Ashford began their run as Ashford and Simpson, recorded two solo albums for the Motown label. Exposed (1971) and Valerie Simpson (1972) represented the cutting edge of a generation of black women artists that included LaBelle, Betty Davis, and Minnie Riperton (particularly her Charles Stepney produced Come into My Garden) that harked back to the great Blues Women of the 1920s like Bessie Smith, Mamie Smith, Ethel Waters and Ma Rainey--all women who used their music to speak forcefully about the realities of being black women.  This was an era that was perhaps best captured by the publication of the Toni Cade Bambara edited anthology The Black Woman (1970).

Perhaps because Motown, via Berry Gordy, had already hitched its star to the solo career of Diana Ross or more likely didn't have faith that Valerie Simpson's music was commercial enough, the latter's  solo recordings didn't garner much attention, though the single "Sinner Man" from Exposed was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1972. A native of the Bronx, New York, Valerie Simpson grew "church" and that influence is found throughout Exposed particularly on tracks like "I Don't Need No Help" and the explicit "There is a God."   

Drawing on the sermonic introductions popularized by Isaac Hayes, Simpson offers "real talk" at the beginning  of "Can't It Wait Until Tomorrow"--a song initially recorded by Ross on her first, post-Supremes solo album, minus the spoken introduction. On Simpson's innovative riff on  Lennon and McCartney's "We Can Work It Out" (also recorded by Stevie Wonder), the song is transformed into an introspective blues groove only to explode into a revival like frenzy, not too different from Simpson's performance of Paul Simon's "Bridge Over Troubled Water" on Quincy Jones's Gula Matari (1970).

Simpson's followed-up Exposed, with Valerie Simpson (1972) a decidedly more politically sophisticated recording that included tracks like  "One More Baby Child Born"   ("he may grow up to be your president, but then again you might find him stuck in the ghetto cement") and "Genius Part 1 & 2."  Valerie Simpson (1972) was one of the last projects Ashford and Simpson did for Motown before breaking out on their own with Gimmie Something Real in 1973. The duo was probably given their biggest break at the time when they appeared on the October 11, 1972 edition of the variety show Soul!, which was hosted and produced by friend and mentor Ellis Hazlip.  Simpson is prominently featured on the episode of Soul!, performing songs from Exposed and Valerie Simpson, as well as backing Ashford on vocals and piano and closing the show with Ashford with a rousing performance of their Diana Ross recorded classic "Reach Out (And Touch Somebody's Hand)."

There's little doubt that Valerie Simpson possessed the talent to have been a major star in the 1970s and 1980s along the trajectory of Chaka Khan or a lesser known figure like Melba Moore. That Simpson chose to share the spotlight with her partner only heightens her commitment and integrity as an artist.

--Mark Anthony Neal

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