David Edward Townsend (May 17, 1955 – October 26, 2005) was an American musician best known as the guitarist for the R&B band

Surface A surface, as the term is most generally used, is the outermost or uppermost layer of a physical object or space. It is the portion or region of the object that can first be perceived by an observer using the senses of sight and touch, and is ...

Biography

Early years

Townsend was born in 1955 in

Inglewood, California Inglewood is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 107,762. It was incorporated on February 14, 1908. The city is in the South Bay ...

, the son of

Ed Townsend Edward Benjamin 'Ed' Townsend (April 16, 1929 – August 13, 2003) was an American singer, songwriter, producer and attorney. He performed and composed "For Your Love", a rhythm and blues doo wop classic, and co-wrote "Let's Get It On" with Marvi ...

, a singer-songwriter famous for the song "

For Your Love "For Your Love" is a rock song written by Graham Gouldman and recorded by English group the Yardbirds. Released in March 1965, it was their first top ten hit in both the UK and the US. The song was a departure from the group's blues roots ...

" and the co-writer and producer of "

Let's Get It On ''Let's Get It On'' is the thirteenth studio album by American soul singer, songwriter, and producer Marvin Gaye. It was released on August 28, 1973, by the Motown subsidiary label Tamla Records on LP. Recording sessions for the album took pla ...

" with

Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gay Jr., who also spelled his surname as Gaye (April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984), was an American singer and songwriter. He helped to shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player and later as a solo ar ...

in 1972.Thedeadrockstarsclub.com
– accessed February 2011 The younger Townsend showed an interest in music from an early age and soon learned to play an array of instruments, including the guitar, piano and synthesiser.

Early career

Grew up in

Englewood, New Jersey Englewood is a city in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, which at the 2020 United States census had a population of 29,308. Englewood was incorporated as a city by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 17, 1899, from por ...

. After graduating from college in the mid-1970s, Townsend joined

The Isley Brothers The Isley Brothers ( ) are an American musical group originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, that began as a vocal trio consisting of brothers O'Kelly Isley Jr., Rudolph Isley and Ronald Isley in the 1950s. With a career spanning over seven decade ...

' backing band Sunrize, produced by the Isley Brothers 1982, as guitarist, before forming a group called Port Authority with David Conley, another singer and musician. They found another member in Bernard Jackson and formed a songwriting partnership, which led to them becoming staff writers at

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British Transnational corporation, transnational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in March 1 ...

. After having written songs for

New Edition New Edition is an American R&B/Pop group from the Roxbury neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, formed in 1978 by Bobby Brown. Their name is taken to mean a 'new edition' of the Jackson 5. The group reached its height of popularity in the 19 ...

("Let's Be Friends"),

Gwen Guthrie Gwendolyn Guthrie (July 9, 1950 – February 3, 1999) was an American singer-songwriter and pianist who also sang backing vocals for Aretha Franklin, Billy Joel, Stevie Wonder, Peter Tosh, and Madonna, among others, and who wrote songs made fa ...

and

Sister Sledge Sister Sledge is an American musical vocal group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Formed in 1971, the group consisted of sisters Debbie, Joni, Kim, and Kathy Sledge. The siblings achieved international success at the height of the disco era. ...

("You're So Fine"), the group decided to record some of their own material. They chose the name Surface and released "

Falling in Love Falling in love is the development of strong feelings of attachment and love, usually towards another person. The term is metaphorical, emphasizing that the process, like the physical act of falling, is sudden, uncontrollable and leaves the ...

" and "When Your 'Ex' Wants You Back" on the

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

label

Salsoul Records Salsoul Records is an American New York City based record label, founded by three brothers, Joseph Cayre, Kenneth Cayre, and Stanley Cayre (the Cayre brothers). Salsoul issued about 300 singles, including many disco/post-disco 12-inch releases, ...

Peak success (1989–1991)

Although Surface achieved some club success, Townsend felt the band could have gone a lot further on a larger label. In 1985, he went to

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

to visit his father, who was building a recording studio there. (Ed) Townsend pulled some strings to get Surface a contract with Columbia. They convinced the label to let them continue recording at The Lab, the 24-track studio they had built in Conley's living room in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

. Surface's first single on Columbia, "Let's Try Again", was a small hit, however, "Happy" reached No. 2 on the US R&B charts and No. 20 on the US Pop charts in 1987, and the group's debut album sold well. Their 1989 follow-up album, ''2nd Wave'' saw the band become staples of the

quiet storm Quiet storm is a radio format and genre of R&B, performed in a smooth, romantic, jazz-influenced style. It was named after the title song on Smokey Robinson's 1975 album ''A Quiet Storm''. The radio format was pioneered in 1976 by Melvin Lin ...

urban radio format with the success of the single "Closer Than Friends", which reached No. 1 on the R&B charts on March 18, 1989 and was there for two weeks, and "Shower Me With Your Love," a Jackson written song, reached No. 1 on the R&B Charts on July 29, which crossed over to the US Pop charts. Their next single, "You Are My Everything", featured

Regina Belle Regina Elaine Belle (born July 17, 1963) is an American singer-songwriter who started her career in the mid-1980s. Known for her singles " Baby Come to Me" (1989) and "Make It Like It Was" (1990), Belle's most notable for two hit duets, both with ...

as a guest vocalist and on November 4, 1989, took over the top of the R&B charts, replacing her single "Baby Come to Me," it also crossed over onto the British charts. Townsend had a song that he co-wrote with David Conley reach No. 1 on the US R&B charts. "Don't Take It Personal" by

Jermaine Jackson Jermaine La Jaune Jackson (born December 11, 1954) is an American singer-songwriter and bassist. He is best known for being a member of the Jackson family. From 1964 to 1975, Jermaine was second vocalist after his brother Michael of The Jackson ...

, reached No. 1 on November 18, 1989, replacing "You Are My Everything" by Surface. In 1991, Surface released the album ''3 Deep'' which included the singles "All I Want Is You", "Never Gonna Let You Down" and " The First Time", which topped the US pop charts. "The First Time" reached No. 1 on the US R&B charts on January 19, 1991 and became the group's biggest hit. However, Townsend and Conley decided to concentrate on songwriting and producing and helped

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Referred to as the " Queen of Soul", she has twice been placed ninth in ''Rolling Stone''s "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". With ...

record the album ''What You See Is What You Sweat'' in 1991, while Jackson went solo.

Later years

The group disbanded in 1994 after Townsend and Jackson left the group. However, in 1999, the band reunited and released their final studio album ''Love Zone''. Plans were being made for a reunion tour. However, those plans where cancelled when Townsend was found dead at his home on October 26, 2005, in

Northridge, California Northridge is a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of the City of Los Angeles. The community is home to California State University, Northridge, and the Northridge Fashion Center. Originally named Zelzah by settlers in 1908, the comm ...

References

External links

Surface at SoulTracks
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Townsend, David 1955 births 2005 deaths Musicians from Inglewood, California Singers from California 20th-century African-American male singers