David Townsend (musician)
| David Townsend | |
|---|---|
| Born |
May 17, 1955 Inglewood, California, United States |
| Origin | New Jersey |
| Died | October 26, 2005 (aged 50) Northridge, California, United States |
| Genres |
R&B Quiet storm |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter |
| Instruments | Guitar, singing |
| Years active | 1973–1994 1999–2005 |
| Labels |
Salsoul Columbia Boardwalk |
| Associated acts |
The Isley Brothers Port Authority Surface Sunrize |
David Edward Townsend (May 17, 1955 - October 26, 2005) was an American musician best known as the guitarist for the R&B band Surface.
Townsend was born in Inglewood, California, 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.
Grew up in Englewood, New Jersey. After graduating from college in the mid-1970s, Townsend joined The Isley Brothers' 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.
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.
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