Valerie Simpson -of the iconic singer/songwriting duo, Ashford & Simpson- comes from a very musical family. We already know that she and her late husband, Nickolas Ashford, could create an R&B soul hit song, like no other! But little did most of us, Ashford & Simpson fans, know, Valerie also has a brother who is a popular singer.

Before we get into who her brother is, we wanna first commend this “Is It Still Good To You” singer for hangin’ in there ever since the passing of her better half, Nick Ashford, in August of 2011.

After Nick’s death, Valerie has continued to keep the legacy, she and her hubby built, alive. She released a solo album in 2012, titled Dinosaurs Are Coming Back Again. She was featured on the title track for the neo-soul duo, Kindred and the Family Soul’s, 2014 album, A Couple Friends (see video below). And as of today, ‘Mrs. Ashford’ still performs the classic jams that she and Nick ashford penned years ago on the regular.

In recent years, Valerie has not only fed the souls of her fans with great music, but she’s also fed the bellies of folks with some country style soul food at her NY restaurant, Sugar Bar, which she and Nick opened up in 1996. It’s been a hot spot for everyone from Stevie Wonder, to Freddie Jackson, Stephanie Mills, Whoopi Goldberg, Eddie Murphy and a bunch of other celebs.

MEET VALERIE SIMPSON’S SINGING BROTHER

Valerie Simpson’s brother’s name is Ray Simpson and he’s the current lead singer of the legendary 70’s/80’s group, The Village People. But the talented sibling syndrome doesn’t stop here for Valerie, her other brother, Jimmy Simpson, is a successful music producer who produced the soul group GQ, best known for hits like Disco Nights (Rock-Freak) and I Do Love You.

Here are some pics of her brother, Ray…

This explains why Valerie is so good at what she does. She was surrounded by talent all of her life. You go Valerie!

Ray Simpson and the rest of the Village People still pack houses to this very day and they perform regularly.

Check out video of Ray Simpson performing with The Village People…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvIerD7H7Ok

Nick Ashford was a remarkable talent and it’s sad that his life was cut so short, but it’s beautiful to see Valerie continuing to spread what she and Nick built together. We wish the Valerie much continued success.

The post Brother Of Valerie Simpson (Of Ashford & Simpson) Is A Legendary Singer Too appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

Phylicia Rashad’s ex-husband was a far cry from the character, “Mr. Huxtable.” She married this very outspoken guy during the disco era and his group was wild back in the day. Before she jumped the broom with former NFL player, Ahmad Rashad, America’s TV mom was once married to.

Answer: Phylicia was married to Victor Willis, the original lead singer and co-founder of the disco group, VILLAGE PEOPLE. Okay, I’ll just let that one sink in for a minute.

Victor is the original lead singer of the group. From 1978–1980, he and Phylicia Rashad were married. This was during the time when Phylicia was an understudy on the Broadway hit musical Dreamgirls. He also wrote the lyrics for her album, Josephine Superstar. On November 17, 2007 Willis married his real life “Clair Huxtable” when he married his second who is a lawyer and executive.

His persona was the Cop and Navy. The son of a Baptist preacher, Willis developed his singing skills in his father’s church. With training in acting and dance, he went to New York and joined the Negro Ensemble Company.

The Village People quickly rose to the top of the charts with Willis at the helm scoring numerous chart busters such as “Macho Man”, “Y.M.C.A.”, “In the Navy”, and “Go West”. In 1980, as preparations for a Village People feature film, Can’t Stop the Music were under way, Willis left the group. Yes, the former “policeman” and lead vocalist for the enduring disco band left the group because he said it was “too gay.” Although Victor was the main lyricist and vocalist, for songs like “In the Navy,” “Macho Man” and “Go West,” he also eventually became fed up by the homosexual subtext they took on, fearing that catering to a “niche” market would doom the group to failure, he says.

In a prior interview, Victor Willis states:

“Here’s my question: were it not for the ‘appalling homosexual subtext’ in these dance classics, would they have even registered a blip on the RADAR screens of disco dancers? They’re okay songs and all, but their real staying power lies in the pageantry and image that the iconic Village People boasted.”

Willis also was upset because he felt that “In the Navy” was rejected as a theme for the U.S. military because of the group’s gay image and fan-base.

So to sum it up, not all members in the Village People are, nor were actually gay, which is what most of us thought for all of these years. They admitted to playing into the gay culture, although only some of them were in fact gay, but not all.

Willis occasionally made headlines for arrests for drug possession.

Following an arrest in 2006, he was given probation and ordered into rehab at the Betty Ford Clinic. In 2007, following treatment, Willis made his first statement to the press in more than 25 years, saying:

“The nightmare of drug abuse is being lifted from my life… now that the haze of drugs are gone, I’m thinking and seeing clearer now than I have in years… I’m looking forward to living the second part of my life drug-free.”

As for Ms. Rashad, she’s continuing to give us those stellar performances just as she did on the now-canceled hit series, “Empire”; and as she will also do in films and stage plays going forward.

The post Phylicia Rashad Married Lead Singer Of A Controversial Music Group, Most Fans Never Knew appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

Valerie Simpson -of the iconic singer/songwriting duo, Ashford & Simpson- comes from a very musical family. We already know that she and her late husband, Nickolas Ashford, could create an R&B soul hit song, like no other! But little did most of us, Ashford & Simpson fans, know, Valerie also has a brother who is a popular singer. 

Before we get into who her brother is, we wanna first commend this “Is It Still Good To You” singer for hangin’ in there ever since the passing of her better half, Nick Ashford, in August of 2011.

After Nick’s death, Valerie has continued to keep the legacy, she and her hubby built, alive. She released a solo album in 2012, titled Dinosaurs Are Coming Back Again. She was featured on the title track for the neo-soul duo, Kindred and the Family Soul’s, 2014 album, A Couple Friends (see video below). And as of today, ‘Mrs. Ashford’ still performs the classic jams that she and Nick ashford penned years ago on the regular.

In recent years, Valerie has not only fed the souls of her fans with great music, but she’s also fed the bellies of folks with some country style soul food at her NY restaurant, Sugar Bar, which she and Nick opened up in 1996. It’s been a hot spot for everyone from Stevie Wonder, to Freddie Jackson, Stephanie Mills, Whoopi Goldberg, Eddie Murphy and a bunch of other celebs.

NOW SEE WHO VALERIE SIMPSON’S SINGING BROTHER IS>>>

The post Fans Never Knew The Brother of Ashford & Simpson’s Valerie Is A Singer In The Village People appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

Valerie Simpson of the iconic singer/songwriting duo, Ashford & Simpson, comes from a very musical family. We already know that she and her late husband, Nickolas Ashford could create an R&B soul hit song, like no other! But little did most of us, Ashford & Simpson fans, know, Valerie also has a brother who is a popular singer. 

Before we get into who her brother is, we wanna first commend this “Is It Still Good To You” singer for hangin’ in there ever since the passing of her better half, Nick Ashford in August of 2011.

After Nick’s death, Valerie has continued to keep the legacy, she and her hubby built, alive. She released a solo album in 2012, titled Dinosaurs Are Coming Back Again. She was featured on the title track for the neo-soul duo, Kindred and the Family Soul’s, 2014 album, A Couple Friends (see video below). And as of today (2017), ‘Mrs. Ashford’ still performs the classic jams that she and Nick ashford penned years ago on the regular.

Valerie is also continuing to not only feed the souls of her fans with great music, but also feed the bellies of folks with some country style soul food at her NY restaurant, Sugar Bar, which she and Nick opened up in 1996. It’s been a hot spot for everyone from Stevie Wonder, to Freddie Jackson, Stephanie Mills, Whoopi Goldberg, Eddie Murphy and a bunch of other celebs.

NOW SEE WHO VALERIE SIMPSON’S SINGING BROTHER IS>>>

The post OMG! Many Never Knew Valerie (of Ashford&Simpson) Has A FAMOUS SINGER BROTHER appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

A popular old school singer has just dropped a bombshell of a revelation in his open letter to the president of the Recording Academy, Neil Portnow. Singer, Victor Willis, founder/member of the legendary group, The Village People, has just exposed a small ‘secret committee’ that overrides the votes of ALL 14,000 Grammy voters. Y’all gotta see this:

Via TMZ: A secret committee for the Grammys is in place to undermine the rank-and-file voters if they choose to give plum awards to black artists like Beyonce … so claims the original lead singer of Village People. Victor Willis sent a scathing letter to the President of the Recording Academy, demanding he “come clean” over the existence of a clandestine group that was supposedly formed after Lionel Richie beat Bruce Springsteen for the 1985 Album of the Year. According to Willis, the committee’s purpose is to “override the decision of Grammy voters in the event the select committee does not like who the Grammy voter has chosen” for the 4 top awards. He goes on to strongly suggest a racial element, saying, “The question is how many African Americans are on that committee?” […] “If certain people at the Grammys don’t like who the voters have chosen, a Grammy committee will simply override the voters and subsequently select who they think should win. Like Adele, maybe?” […]

THE ALTERNATIVE FACTS GIVEN TO THE PUBLIC

The Recording Academy has repeatedly attempted to clean up their racially discriminating reputation throughout the years, by claiming they have a “democracy” voting process in place among their 14,000 Grammy voting members. However it has now been proven by various research outlets and by Michael Greene (the former president of the Recording Academy from 1988- 2002 who confirmed this to the LA Times in 1996), that there is an approximately 25 member SECRET VOTING COMMITTEE that gets the final Grammy votes:

Via Buzzfeed: The secret [Grammy voting] group consists of music executives, performers, producers, songwriters and journalists, and meets every December in L.A. to go over the top 20 nominations submitted by the voters. The group is granted the final say over who makes the five slots for album of the year, record of the year, song of the year, and best new artist, as well as the country, R&B, gospel, jazz, classical, and music video categories.

After reading Willis’ letter, we too, dug a lil’ deeper into this “secret committee” info and realized just how much bullcrap has been deliberately pulled over on the public. Just two days ago (Tuesday, February 14, 2017), that same R.A. president that Victor Willis wrote to (shown above with Adele), did an interview with Pitchfork and gave “alternative facts” about the Grammy voting process, yet AGAIN:

Pitchfork: A stat has been going around since the show, about how a black artist hasn’t won Album of the Year since Herbie Hancock in 2008. Do you think the Grammys has a race problem?

R.A. president, Neil Portnow: “No, I don’t think there’s a race problem at all. Remember, this is a peer-voted award. So when we say the Grammys, it’s not a corporate entity—it’s the 14,000 members of the Academy. They have to qualify in order to be members, which means they have to have recorded and released music, and so they are sort of the experts and the highest level of professionals in the industry.”

We’ve counted 10 African American artists who have won ‘Album of The Year’ in the past 59 years since the Grammy Awards’ existence:

2008 Herbie Hancock
2005 Ray Charles
2004 Outkast
1999 Lauryn Hill
1994 Whitney Houston
1992 Natalie Cole
1991 Quincy Jones
1985 Lionel Richie*****
1984 Michael Jackson Thriller
1977 Stevie Wonder
1975 Stevie Wonder
1974 Stevie Wonder

Quite frankly, sure it’s jacked up what’s being done to African American artists and all other minorities in music…however, getting trophy is great, but artists winning the respect of their fans through their body of work is priceless. To hell with the trophy chasing!

The post They Lied? 80s Singer Just EXPOSED SECRET Grammys May NOT Want BLACKS To Know appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

As y’all already know, Ashford & Simpson, graced us with some bangers throughout the years, including their hits, “Solid as a Rock,” “Is It Still Good To You,” “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” and more. Valerie Simpson and her late husband, Nick Ashford, also wrote countless multiplatinum selling hits for other artists, such as Chaka Khan’s “Im Every Woman,” Marvin Gaye’s and Tammi Terrell’s “You’re All I Need To Get By,” and many more. What many fans never knew though, is that Valerie comes from a very musical family, and even more shocking is that her that her brother is also a famous singer from the 70’s and 80’s eras.

Meet Valerie Simpson’s Brother

Meet Valerie’s brother, Ray Simpson. You may not know his face at first glance, but you’re probably very familiar with his and his group members’ legacy. He’s the lead singer of The Village People. Yep, as in the “YMCA” singers.

But the talented sibling syndrome doesn’t stop here for Valerie, her other brother, Jimmy Simpson, is a successful music producer who produced the soul group GQ, best known for hits like Disco Nights (Rock-Freak) and I Do Love You. Who knew right?

This helps explain why Valerie is so good at what she does. In addition to her tremendous love for music and her dedication to her craft, she was surrounded by talent all of her life, as well.

Ray Simpson and the rest of the Village People still pack houses to this very day and they perform regularly. Check out video of Ray Simpson performing with the Village People below…

https://youtu.be/kTYEOAX3sjM?t=13s

What Valerie Simpson Is Doing Now

Valerie Simpson, has been hangin’ in there ever since the passing of her better half, Nick Ashford. In March 2018, Valerie entered into a new profession- as a Broadway actress in the hit stage play, “Chicago Musical,” where she’s playing the role of “Mama Morton.” Her family and friends -including the legendary singer, Freddie Jackson- showed up to supported her Broadway debut…

https://www.instagram.com/p/BgRaIzzBsIX/

She also released a solo album in 2012, titled Dinosaurs Are Coming Back Again, and she was featured on the title track for the neo-soul duo, Kindred and the Family Soul’s, 2014 album, A Couple Friends. See the video here…

Valerie is also continuing to not only feed the souls of her fans with great music, but also feed the bellies of folks with some country style soul food at her NY restaurant, Sugar Bar, which she and Nick opened up in 1996. It’s been a hot spot for everyone from Stevie Wonder, to Freddie Jackson, Stephanie Mills, Whoopi Goldberg, Eddie Murphy and a bunch of other celebs.

Nick Ashford was a remarkable talent and it’s sad that his life was cut so short, but it’s beautiful to see Valerie continuing to spread what she and Nick built together. We wish Valerie and her brother Ray Simpson much continued success.

The post Valerie (of Ashford & Simpson) Has A Famous Singer Brother & Fans Surprised By Who He Is appeared first on I Love Old School Music.