Surface (band)

Surface
Background information
Origin	New Jersey Connecticut United States
Genres	Pop, R&B, post-disco, quiet storm
Years active	1983–1994 1999-present
Labels	Salsoul Columbia
Past members	Bernard Jackson David Conley David Townsend

Surface was an American music group, active from 1983 to 1994, and 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. The Isleys produced their band Sunrize with David and drummer / writer Everett Collins and long-time friend Tony Herbert (bass) from David's high school, Dwight Morrow High School in Englewood, N.J. David Townsend was formerly in a L.A. 70s band, and met David Conley. Conley, Townsend and Collins started writing back in New Jersey and began performing under the name Surface, featuring lead singer Karen Copeland. After a brief hiatus from recording, Townsend and Conley met Jackson, and they reformed "Surface" with Jackson as the frontman/bass guitarist.

They then became resident songwriters for EMI and wrote New Edition's "Let's Be Friends" and Sister Sledge's "You're 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. 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.

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