David Townsend (musician)
Encyclopedia
David Townsend was an American
musician best known as the guitarist for the R&B
band Surface
, and the son of singer/songwriter
Ed Townsend
.
, the son of Ed Townsend
, a singer/songwriter famous for the song "For Your Love
and the co-writer and producer of "Let's Get It On
" with Marvin Gaye
in 1972
. 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.
' backing band, 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
.
After having written songs for New Edition
("Let's Be Friends"), Gwen Guthrie
and Sister Sledge
("You're So Fine"), the group decided to record some of their own material. They chose the name Surface and released "Falling in Love
" and "When Your 'Ex' Wants You Back" on the disco
label
Salsoul Records
.
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
.
Surface's first single on Columbia, "Let's Try Again", was a small hit, however, "Happy" reached #2 on the US R&B charts
and #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
urban radio format with the success of the single "Closer Than Friends", which reached #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 #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
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 #1 on the US R&B charts. "Don't Take It Personal" by Jermaine Jackson
, reached #1 on November 18, 1989, replacing "You Are My Everything" by Surface.
In 1991, Surface released the album 3 Deep which included the singles "Can We Spend Some Time", "All I Want Is You", "Never Gonna Let You Down" and "The First Time", which topped the US pop charts. "The First Time" reached #1 on the US R&B charts on January 19, 1991 and became the groups biggest hit.
However, Townsend and Conley decided to concentrate on songwriting and producing and helped Aretha Franklin
record the album What You See Is What You Sweat in 1991, while Jackson went solo.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
musician best known as the guitarist for the R&B
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
band Surface
Surface (band)
Surface was an American R&B and pop music group, active from 1983 to 1994, and best known for its #1 pop and R&B hit "The First Time".-Early years:...
, and the son of singer/songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
Ed Townsend
Ed Townsend
Edward Benjamin 'Ed' Townsend was an American attorney, songwriter, and producer. He was best known for performing his composition, "For Your Love," a rhythm and blues doo wop classic, and as the co-writer of "Let's Get It On" with Marvin Gaye.-Biography:Although he was born in Fayetteville,...
.
Early years
Townsend was born in Inglewood, CaliforniaInglewood, California
Inglewood is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, southwest of downtown Los Angeles. It was incorporated on February 14, 1908. Its population stood at 109,673 as of the 2010 Census...
, the son of Ed Townsend
Ed Townsend
Edward Benjamin 'Ed' Townsend was an American attorney, songwriter, and producer. He was best known for performing his composition, "For Your Love," a rhythm and blues doo wop classic, and as the co-writer of "Let's Get It On" with Marvin Gaye.-Biography:Although he was born in Fayetteville,...
, a singer/songwriter famous for the song "For Your Love
For Your Love
-Album reissues:The Yardbirds' 2001 compilation album Ultimate! contains eight of the eleven tracks from the original album. For Your Love has been reissued by several record labels, including JVC, Castle, and Repertoire...
and the co-writer and producer of "Let's Get It On
Let's Get It On
Let's Get It On is the twelfth studio album by American soul musician Marvin Gaye, released August 28, 1973, on Tamla Records. Recording sessions for the album took place during June 1970 to July 1973 at Hitsville U.S.A. and Golden World Studio in Detroit, and at Hitsville West in Los Angeles...
" with Marvin Gaye
Marvin Gaye
Marvin Pentz Gay, Jr. , better known by his stage name Marvin Gaye, was an American singer-songwriter and musician with a three-octave vocal range....
in 1972
1972 in music
-Events:*January 17 – Highway 51 South in Memphis, Tennessee is renamed "Elvis Presley Boulevard"*January 20 – The début of Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon at The Dome, Brighton, is halted by technical difficulties,...
. The younger Townsend showed an interest in music from an early age and soon learned to play an array of instruments, including the guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
and synthesiser.
Early career
After graduating from college in the mid-1970s, Townsend joined The Isley BrothersThe Isley Brothers
The Isley Brothers are a highly influential, successful and long-running American music group consisting of different line-ups of six brothers, and a brother-in-law, Chris Jasper...
' backing band, as guitarist, before forming a group called Port Authority with David Conley
David Conley
David "Pic" Conley is an American bassist.-Biography:Conley was born in Newark, New Jersey. He was in the band Port Authority in the 1970s with guitarist David Townsend, and then the bassist with the popular Caribbean funk band Mandrill from 1978 to 1981...
, another singer and musician. They found another member in Bernard Jackson
Bernard Jackson (singer)
Bernard Jackson is an American singer/bassist. He was the frontman for the 1980s/early 1990s R&B band, Surface from 1984 to 1994...
and formed a songwriting partnership, which led to them becoming staff writers at EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
.
After having written songs for New Edition
New Edition
New Edition is an R&B group formed in Boston in 1978. The group reached its height of popularity during the 1980s. They were the progenitors of the boy band movement of the 1980s and 1990s and led the way for groups like New Kids on the Block, Boyz II Men, Backstreet Boys and 'N Sync...
("Let's Be Friends"), Gwen Guthrie
Gwen Guthrie
Gwen Guthrie was an American singer-songwriter, who also sang backing vocals for Aretha Franklin, Billy Joel, Stevie Wonder, and Madonna, among others, and who wrote songs made famous by Ben E. King, and Roberta Flack....
and Sister Sledge
Sister Sledge
Sister Sledge is an American musical group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, formed in 1972 and consisting of four sisters: Kim Sledge Debbie Sledge , Joni Sledge , and Kathy Sledge . They are granddaughters of the former opera singer Viola Williams. The sisters used to perform under the name of "Mrs...
("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 (Surface song)
"Falling in Love" is the first single by the American post-disco/R&B trio, Surface, released in the United Kingdom and the United States in 1983 by Salsoul Records.The song reached number #84 in the Billboard R&B chart in summer 1983....
" and "When Your 'Ex' Wants You Back" on the disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
Salsoul Records
Salsoul Records
This article is about the record label. For SalSoul the Puerto Rican Salsa radio station see Cadena Salsoul.Salsoul Records was a New York City based record label founded by brothers Joseph Cayre, Kenneth Cayre, and Stanley Cayre . Salsoul released about 300 disco 12-inch singles, and a string of...
.
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 MississippiMississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
to visit his father, who was building a recording studio there. (Ed) Townsend pulled some strings to get Surface a contract with Columbia
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
. 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
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
.
Surface's first single on Columbia, "Let's Try Again", was a small hit, however, "Happy" reached #2 on the US R&B charts
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...
and #20 on the US Pop charts in 1987, and the group's debut album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
sold well. Their 1989 follow-up album, 2nd Wave saw the band become staples of the quiet storm
Quiet storm
Quiet storm is a late-night radio format, featuring soulful slow jams, pioneered in the mid-1970s by then-station-intern Melvin Lindsey at WHUR-FM, in Washington, D.C. Smokey Robinson's like-titled hit single, released in 1975 as the title track to his third solo album, lent its name to the format...
urban radio format with the success of the single "Closer Than Friends", which reached #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 #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 Belle
Regina Belle is a singer-songwriter who first surfaced in the late 1980s. She is notable for her Grammy award winning duet with Peabo Bryson, "A Whole New World".-Biography:Regina Belle was born in Englewood, New Jersey...
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 #1 on the US R&B charts. "Don't Take It Personal" by Jermaine Jackson
Jermaine Jackson
Jermaine La Jaune Jackson is an American singer, bassist, composer, a member of The Jackson 5, older brother of American pop stars Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson and occasional film director...
, reached #1 on November 18, 1989, replacing "You Are My Everything" by Surface.
In 1991, Surface released the album 3 Deep which included the singles "Can We Spend Some Time", "All I Want Is You", "Never Gonna Let You Down" and "The First Time", which topped the US pop charts. "The First Time" reached #1 on the US R&B charts on January 19, 1991 and became the groups biggest hit.
However, Townsend and Conley decided to concentrate on songwriting and producing and helped Aretha Franklin
Aretha Franklin
Aretha Louise Franklin is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Although known for her soul recordings and referred to as The Queen of Soul, Franklin is also adept at jazz, blues, R&B, gospel music, and rock. Rolling Stone magazine ranked her atop its list of The Greatest Singers of All...
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 in his home in Northridge, California.Albums
| Year | Title | Chart positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| US Pop Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
US R&B | ||
| 1987 | Surface (Columbia Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company... ) |
#55 | #11 |
| 1989 | 2nd Wave (Columbia Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company... ) |
#56 | #5 |
| 1990 | 3 Deep (Columbia Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company... ) |
#65 | #19 |
| 1991 | The Best Surface: A Nice Time for Loving (Columbia Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company... ) |
- | - |
| 1999 | Love Zone | - | - |
| 2001 | The First Time: The Best of Surface (Sony) | - | - |
Singles
| Year | Song | US Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
US R&B Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,... |
US A.C. Adult contemporary music Adult contemporary music is a broad style of popular music that ranges from lush 1950s and 1960s vocal music to predominantly ballad-heavy music with varying degrees of rock influence, as well as a radio format that plays such music.... |
US Hot Dance Hot Dance Club Play The Hot Dance Club Songs chart is a weekly national survey of the songs that are most popular in U.S. dance clubs... |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | "Falling in Love Falling in Love (Surface song) "Falling in Love" is the first single by the American post-disco/R&B trio, Surface, released in the United Kingdom and the United States in 1983 by Salsoul Records.The song reached number #84 in the Billboard R&B chart in summer 1983.... " |
- | #84 | - | - |
| 1984 | "When Your Ex Wants You Back" | - | #84 | - | - |
| 1986 | "Let's Try Again" | - | #22 | - | - |
| 1987 | "Happy" | #20 | #2 | #24 | #16 |
| 1987 | "Lately" | - | #8 | - | - |
| 1988 | "I Missed" | - | #3 | - | - |
| 1989 | "Can We Spend Some Time" | - | #5 | - | - |
| 1989 | "Closer Than Friends" | #57 | #1 | - | #39 |
| 1989 | "Shower Me With Your Love" | #5 | #1 | #3 | - |
| 1989 | "You Are My Everything" | #84 | #1 | - | - |
| 1990 | "The First Time" | #1 | #1 | #1 | - |
| 1991 | "All I Want Is You" | - | #8 | - | - |
| 1991 | "Never Gonna Let You Down" | #17 | #24 | #17 | - |
| 1991 | "You're the One"/"We Don't Have to Say Good-bye" | - | #35 | - | - |
| 1992 | "A Nice Time for Lovin'" | - | #52 | - | - |
See also
- R&B number-one hits of 1989 (USA)R&B number-one hits of 1989 (USA)These are the Billboard magazine R&B singles chart number one hits of 1989:-Chart history:-Chart comparisons:*Two songs have reached number-one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart: "Batdance" and "Miss You Much." A third song, "My Prerogative," which reached number-one on this chart at the beginning...
- R&B number-one hits of 1991 (USA)R&B number-one hits of 1991 (USA)These are the Billboard magazine R&B singles chart number one hits of 1991:-Chart history:-Chart comparisons:*Seven songs have reached number-one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart: "The First Time," "Gonna Make You Sweat ," "All the Man That I Need," "I Like the Way These are the Billboard magazine...