A and a were a husband and wife songwriting-production team. They started writing and recording together in , and two years later wrote their first hit song - "Let's Go Get Stoned", recorded by a. They then took up staff positions at l, where they wrote and produced hits for a and a. During their stay at Motown, Valerie released a couple of solo albums which flopped, prompting her and Ashford to leave in . From then on, the duo concentrated on making their own records, though they also penned a's hit "I'm Every Woman" before finally achieving recognition as artists in their own right. Both were inducted into Songwriters Hall of Fame in .
