nick ashford and jerry leiber. we will never forget the day nick ashford and his beautiful wife valerie simpson joined us on this stage back in 2009. they joined us for a conversation about their remarkable lives and career, a career that includes one of the most iconic songs in all of music history, "ain't no mountain high enough." what was it about this duo, about your style, what did you tap into when you started writing all of these hits that worked so well? >> when nick came up with the idea of "ain't no mountain high enough" it was coming from such a real place. he was walking down central park west. >> i was walking down central park west and the buildings were so tall and i was so hung rained pitiful at the time -- hungry and pitiful at the time. i had no friends. i couldn't see the sky or nothing. i said ain't no mountain high enough. the words just fell out of my mouth, really. tavis: next tuesday night we'll bring you that entire conversation or you can check it out at any time by visiting our website at

even the partial list of what hilts jerry leiber left us with, hound dog, jailhouse rock, poison ivy, spanish harlem, take out the paper and the trash or you don't get no spending cash. jerry leiber dead at 78. >>> anxious moments at the private island owned by the wealthy british businessman richard branson and this involved the actress kate winslet who was there with her children. a lightning strike related to the oncoming hurricane irene started a fire that spread through the private island that branson purchased back in the '80s. branson said kate winslet scooped up his 90-year-old mother, rescued her from the flames. the main house burned to the ground, but thankfully, no one was injured. >>> when we come back here tonight, a new tribute nearly 50 years later for a man whose message changed the world. >> my four little children will one day live in a nation -- >>> in the nation's capital, a new memorial opened to the public today for the very first time and this coming weekend, it's possible half a million people will be there for the official dedication ceremony of the memorial

jerry leiber died yesterday at 78 and nick ashford at 70.'t know their songs, believe us, you do. give a listen now to ben tracy. >> ♪ i'm solid solid as a rock ♪ >> reporter: nick ashford and his wife valerie simpson had their own solid hit in 1984, but 18 of their 22 gold and platinum records were songs they wrote for others. >> ♪ ain't no mountain high enough ♪ >> ♪ i'm every woman >> reporter: in 2008, ashford told "cbs sunday morning" how he did it. >> i'm not a woman. what would you say? put your hand on your hip and connect with the woman inside of you. >> reporter: in less than a decade, ashford went from being homeless to writing hits for motown. is there any ashford and simpson songs that you said, "man, i wish i had recorded that one?" >> with nick and valerie, i probably could say that about most of their songs. >> reporter: smoky robinson was there with ashford and simpson. >> they came in guns blazing and they just, you know-- everybody was very excited about them. >> reporter: jerry lieber knew all about excitement. he and mik

jerry leiber was 78 and died of heart failure. nick ashford was 70 and died of throat cancer. legacies will live on through their music. >>> and there's some welcome news for air travelers. robin and george, new federal rules aimed at reducing flight delays go into effect today. carriers could be fined up to $27,000 per passenger when international flights sit on the tarmac longer than four hours and they will have to pay more for bumping passengers and losing luggage. >>> and finally, st. louis cardinal star matt holliday paid big bucks to catch flies. but not moths. he was playing left field when an insect flew into his ear and got stuck. he had to leave the game. he appears to be okay. the moth too. holliday was not available for comment after the game. you might say he got an ear full. don't hate me, josh. >> it's something about this seat. >> i thought you would go with injury bug. sam is just shaking his head as always, sam. >> and totally skeeved out by the bug. thank you very much, we'll be here all week. let's show you what's going on with the big heat. oklahoma city,