Surface was an American R&B and pop music group from 1983 to 1994 best known for its #1 pop and R&B hit “The First Time
Bernard Jackson moved from Stamford, Connecticut to New York to pursue a music career. While in New York, his godfather said Jackson should contact his nephew David Townsend who had been a guitarist with The Isley Brothers. Meanwhile, Townsend was in Port Authority, a 1970s band, and met David Conley. Conley and Townsend started writing and when they met Jackson, then they formed a band.
They then became resident songwriters for EMI and wrote New Edition’s “Let’s Be Friends” and Sister Sledge’s “You’re So Fine. Encouraged by this success, the group called themselves Surface and began recording their own material, releasing several Post-disco/early-80s-style tracks under the name.[1] They would find moderate success in the UK with their singles “Falling in Love” in 1983 and “When Your Ex Wants You Back” in 1984 (according to the Allmusic, “Falling in Love” also cracked the U.S. R&B chart, peaking at #84). With a sound more reminiscent of Kashif and related early 1980s soul groups, these early singles contrast significantly with the smoother, ballad-style material that would later make the group successful in the U.S.
The trio then moved to Los Angeles, California, searching for more mainstream success. The song “Let’s Try Again” came to the attention of Larkin Arnold of Columbia Records, who signed the band and released this track as a single in 1986. Also in 1986, Jackson met with a friend, Brian Simpson, and recorded a demo tape of a track he had written entitled “The First Time.” He believed it to be a hit and hired a recording studio to get the best professional conditions for the track. Their self-titled debut album followed in 1987, featuring two more hit singles: “Happy,” which hit #2 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks, and “Lately,” which hit #8. However, in the meantime, “The First Time” did not appear on the album and remained unreleased.
The bands follow-up album, 2nd Wave, was released in 1989 and included some of the group’s biggest hits. “I Missed” reached #3 on the R&B charts, “Closer Than Friends” was the group’s first #1 hit, topping the R&B charts for two weeks, and “Can We Spend Some Time” which reached #5 on the R&B charts. The album featured two other #1 R&B hits, “You Are My Everything” which topped the charts for two weeks and the album’s biggest hit,[1] “Shower Me With Your Love” which went Gold, reached #1 on the R&B charts and #5 on the Billboard Hot 100. Thanks to the album’s number of hits, it managed to go Platinum.
The song “The First Time”, originally recorded by Jackson in 1986, was featured on the band’s third album 3 Deep in 1991 and was the first single off the album. The song was a hit, going Gold and becoming the group’s biggest hit to date. It topped both the R&B and pop charts. The album continued on with “All I Want Is You” which reached #8 on the R&B charts and helped the album go Gold.
Jackson and Townsend left in 1994, and the group disbanded. In 1999 the group go back together and released Love Zone and had just announced a return to live appearances when Townsend was found dead at his home.[1] Townsend, son of producer/songwriter Ed Townsend (co-writer of Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On”), died of unknown causes on October 26, 2005, at the age of 50, almost two years after his father.
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