This list assumes, of course, that you already have a computer. You don't need the fastest computer to record and mix music, but it should be reasonably fast. Anything with a Core i- or even Core 2-series processor should do the trick. Just don't use a netbook.
Ashford & Simpson also had success writing for themselves: Perhaps the best-known song they sang was the 1980s hit Solid As A Rock.. His music is unmatched in terms of great songwriting, Verdine White of Earth, Wind and Fire said after learning of his friend's death.
Satch Plays Fats, a tribute to Fats Waller, became a Top Ten LP for Columbia in October 1955, and Verve Records contracted Armstrong for a series of recordings with Ella Fitzgerald, beginning with the chart LP Ella and Louis in 1956.