Editing Ed Townsend (section)

==Biography==
Townsend was born in [[Fayetteville, Tennessee]], United States, in 1929,<ref name="Larkin50">{{cite book|title=[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music|The Virgin Encyclopedia of Fifties Music]]|editor=Colin Larkin|editor-link=Colin Larkin (writer)|publisher=[[Virgin Books]]|date=2002|edition=Third|isbn=1-85227-937-0|page=448}}</ref> and his family soon moved to [[Memphis, Tennessee|Memphis]], where his father was pastor at an [[African Methodist Episcopal]] church.

The year Townsend graduated from high school, he was elected to the International American Methodist Episcopal Youth Council (IAMEYC) and traveled worldwide before enrolling in college the next year at the [[University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff]] (formerly Arkansas AM&N 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 [[Korean War|Korea]].<ref name="Larkin50"/> After his discharge, he recorded a number of singles for various labels, none of which made the charts. In 1958, he took his ballad, "For Your Love" to [[Capitol Records]], hoping to interest [[Nat "King" Cole]], but, impressed with his voice, Capitol signed him to record it himself. [[Dick Clark]] had just started ''[[American Bandstand]]'' on television and invited Townsend to sing the first month the show aired. He was an overnight success, and the song peaked at number 13 in the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]].<ref name="Larkin50"/> Later in 1958 he reached No. 59 with a rendition of "[[When I Grow Too Old to Dream]]".

Townsend had no further vocal hits of his own.<ref name="Larkin50"/> In 1962, he wrote a song for soul singer, [[Jimmy Holiday]], "How Can I Forget?", which was later covered by [[Ben E. King]]. 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". In the early 1970s, Ed Townsend teamed up with Marvin Gaye to co-write the song "[[Let's Get It On]]",<ref name="Larkin50"/> and co-produce the album of the same title.<ref name="oxford american">
{{cite web
|url=http://www.oxfordamerican.org/magazine/item/944-natural-resources
|title=Natural Resources
|work=Oxford American, Issue 93, Summer 2016
|author=J. M. Martin
|date=August 15, 2016
|access-date=August 18, 2016}}</ref><ref name="hm1">{{cite web |url=http://www.msbluestrail.org/blues-trail-markers/mound-bayou-blues|website=Msbluestrail.org
|title=Mound Bayou Blues
|access-date=August 18, 2016}}
</ref><ref name="hm2">
{{cite web
|url=http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=90065|website=Hmdb.org
|title=Mound Bayou Blues historical marker
|access-date=August 18, 2016}}</ref>

Townsend performed on the [[PBS]] television special "Rock, Rhythm, and Doo Wop" filmed at the Benedum Center in [[Pittsburgh]], Pennsylvania on May 16 and 17, 2000. DVDs of the event were sold as fundraisers for [[PBS]] stations nationwide.

He died of a heart attack on August 13, 2003. Honored with a [[Purple Heart]] in the [[Korean War]], Townsend is buried at [[Riverside National Cemetery]] in [[Riverside, California]].

Ed's son [[David Townsend (musician)|David Townsend]], of the band [[Surface (band)|Surface]], died at age fifty in 2005.<ref name="Townsend obit"/>