Valerie Simpson quotes:

My daughters are here, and that makes me feel good. And with the spirit of Nick Ashford, I think I'll make it through. I have no choice.

I guess I'm in a state of becoming. Even though I've had a full career and I've been around a long time, it's like dinosaurs are coming back. It's all new. I'm having to be on my own and seeing how exciting life can be now.

Motown was the mecca. It was every writer's dream to work there.

Both my grandmothers had upright pianos, and I just knew how to play since I was a child. Nobody taught me. I sounded like a grown-up, and then I learned how to read music. I played so well by ear I could fool the teacher to believe I could play the notes. She'd make the mistake of playing the song once, and I could play it.

We stand on our songs and we stand on the songs that we wrote for other people. That gives us a higher platform.

We have been playing to a 70-30 black to white audience. And we are just doing what should come next, trying to attract a larger house, trying to reach an audience that's half black and white.

You know, we have two families: the one we're born into, and the one that we make for ourselves afterwards.

In transition I think the spirit goes somewhere, but I don't think it leaves.

I was a good sight reader and I could sing two or three of these jingles a day. An orchestra would come in for half an hour, and then the singers would come in and knock 'em out, and go on to the next one. I was the voice of Budweiser and Almond Joy.

If you don't try and force it, a song will find the proper moment to come to life.