FILE - In this Feb. 14, 1996 file photo, United States Poet Laureate Maya Angelou, right, performs a special Valentines Day concert with Valerie Simpson, center, and Nick Ashford of the legendary R&B group Ashford and Simpson, in New York's Paramount Theater. Nick Ashford's longtime friend and former publicist told The Associated Press that Ashford died Monday, Aug. 22, 2011 in a New York City hospital. He had been suffering from throat cancer and had undergone radiation treatment. (AP Photo/Risasi Dais, File)