Nickolas Ashford: It definitely elevates your performance because there's no holding back. We simply have to give our all because it's so intimate and there's no fooling the audience...
Valerie Simpson: Because they're so close! [laughing]
Nickolas Ashford: ...and you find yourself wanting to connect in a different way because they are so close. I think that's one of the fabulous parts about that. In a setting like that, your spirits get so connected. It's just a wonderful feeling. We're both having a jam session. It's really great.
There's this old saying, "The more things change, the more they stay the same." You two have been around for a long time – decades – and that kind of longevity is unheard of in the current market. After all these years, what change has affected your career the most? And with time, have you found there to be a common experience that you always end up having year after year?
Valerie Simpson: I don't know. I kind of feel like we rode with the changes. The music industry has its moments, its up and its downs, and you just kind of bend with it. We just kept on writing songs. Now, instead of people writing new songs, people just come along and sample your song and write another song on top of that song. So, instead of having just one song, you have two. Now, we don't have to work that hard, so that's a change. Sampling has changed a lot.
Nickolas Ashford: In show business, everybody gets a turn, and when you get your turn, you better give it all up. Sometimes you don't know your turn has happened. I'm so glad that when we got our chance to express our talent, we were able to create a body of work that has lasted. Once you've had your turn, though, sometimes you have to move over and let somebody else express themselves. That's show business, you know.
When you look back at your career and even now to this day, what do you consider to be your legacy or biggest contribution to music history?
Valerie Simpson: I think we stand on the songs and music.
Nickolas Ashford: And, of course, how good I look [laughing].
Valerie Simpson: Oh, you're right! [laughing] I think the fact that young kids today can respond to "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" the same way people my age can says a lot about the longevity of the song. "Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand)." Even "I'm Every Woman" — we've been really fortunate to have songs that have legs, that really have lasted, you know? I think that's our legacy.
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