Ed Townsend (April 16, 1929 - August 13, 2003) was an African-American attorney, songwriter, and producer. He was best known for the performances of his composition, "For Your Love," an rhythm and blues doo wop classic, and as the co-writer of Let's Get It On with Marvin Gaye.
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Biography
Although he was born in Fayetteville, Tennessee, his family soon moved to Memphis where his father was called to pastor an African Methodist Episcopal church. The year Townsend graduated from high school, he was elected to the International American Methodist Episcopal Youth Council (IAMEYC). The honor let him travel worldwide before enrolling in college the next year at Arkansas State College. After graduating, he taught for a year. Although he never formally practiced law, he frequently used his law training to assist other entertainers in negotiating their recording and performance contracts. In 1951, Townsend joined the United States Marine Corps and served in Korea. After his discharge, he recorded a number of singles for various labels, none of which made the charts. Ironically, in 1958 he took his ballad, "For Your Love" to Capitol Records, hoping to interest Nat “King” Cole, but, impressed with his voice, Capital signed him to record it himself. The single made the US Top 20. Townsend had no further vocal hits of his own. However, in 1962 he wrote a tune for Ben E. King, "How Can I Forget?". Then he wrote and produced Theola Kilgore’s "The Love Of My Man." He also composed "Tears Of Joy," "Hand It Over," "I Might Like It," "Since I Found You," and "Foolish Fool." Townsend battled addiction to alcohol and other drugs, but was finally able to overcome it. One of his most memorable performances was on the "Doo Wop Gold" television series that featured many doo wop legends as they performed at the Benedum Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on May 16 and 17, 2000. DVDs of the event were sold as fund raisers for PBS stations nationwide. Ed Townsend was married twice, had two sons and one daughter. He died on August 13, 2003 in San Bernardino, California at the age of 74.
Filmography
Townsend served as Composer for:
- Black Fist (1975)
- The Ultimate Thrill (1974)
In the R&B world, he is best remembered for his work with Dee Dee Warwick on "I wanna Be With Yu","Foolish Fool" and "That's Not Love"
References
- ASCAP Biographical Dictionary. R. R. Bowker Co., 1980.
