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Thursday, April 1, 2004; Page B06

Ernesto McKenzie Phillips, 50, a Columbia resident who was a musician in pop rhythm-and-blues groups and then produced a series of local entertainers, including singers Toni Braxton and Kimberly Scott, died March 25 at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore after a stroke. He had hypertension.

Mr. Phillips, a native Washingtonian, was raised in Crownsville and graduated from Arundel High School in Gambrills. He was a self-taught guitarist, and during high school he attended the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore to study trumpet.

He was a graduate of Anne Arundel Community College and attended Howard University, where he intended to study medicine as his father -- a psychiatrist -- had. He decided instead to make music his career.

With his four brothers -- George, Lloyd, Orlando and Gregory -- Mr. Phillips formed Licyndiana, an R&B group named after his mother and his sisters. Ernesto Phillips sang and played guitar. He also wrote songs and did production work.

Singer Renee Diggs, who was Mr. Phillips's longtime companion, and musician-songwriter Kayode "Ky" Adeyemo later joined Licyndiana.

Mr. Phillips had greater success as leader, co-producer and primary songwriter of a successor pop R&B band called Starpoint, which included the same members except for Lloyd.

The band toured nationally, opening for such performers as Luther Vandross, and appeared on "Soul Train," "Solid Gold" and other television programs. Its album "Restless" (1986) sold more than 500,000 copies, according to news reports, and included the hit song "Object of My Desire."

At the 1990 Washington Area Music Awards, Starpoint was named best R&B/urban group. Mr. Phillips, on guitar, was named best instrumentalist.

The group disbanded about 1990 as members went in different directions professionally. Until his death, Mr. Phillips worked as a producer. He owned and operated Longevity Records and Pearl Studios, both in Columbia.

"I pledged that once we made it, I was going to prove there is a lot of talent in this area," he told The Washington Post in 1995.

His best-known find is Braxton, the Grammy Award-winning singer whom he met through a friend.

In recent months, he worked as a counselor for teenagers at Sheppard Pratt psychiatric clinic in Ellicott City.

Survivors include his mother, Ana Phillips, of Columbia; four brothers, George Phillips and Lloyd Phillips, both of Columbia, and Orlando Phillips and Gregory Phillips, both of Annapolis; and two sisters, Diane Laguerre of Elk Ridge, Md., and Lisa Phillips of Columbia.

Nick Ashford of the famous songwriter/producer duo Ashford and Simpson died in New York on August 22, 2011.

Nick Ashford Together with Valerie Simpson started their career in the mid-1960s, writing for artists such as The 5th Dimension, Aretha Franklin, and Ray Charles. Their work with Ray Charles brought them to the attention of Motown chief Berry Gordy. They joined Motown and started writing songs for Marvin Gaye. Later on they produces three albums for the Diana Ross and the Supremes. Gladys Knight and the pips song some Ashford & Simpson penned songs.

In 1974, Ashford & Simpson married and resumed their career as a duo with the Warner Bros. album, Gimme Something Real. This was followed by the hit singles, "Don't Cost You Nothin'" (1977), "It Seems To Hang On" (1978), "Is It Still Good to Ya" (1978), "Found a Cure" (1979), "Street Corner" (1982), and their biggest hit, "Solid", released in 1984.

Nick Ashford died of complications from throat cancer. He is survived by his wife and two daughters. Nick Ashford RIP