[2] Townsend was born in Fayetteville, Tennessee, United States, in 1929,[1] and his family soon moved to 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).

Dick Clark had just started American Bandstand on television and invited Townsend to sing the first month the show aired.

In the early 1970s, Ed Townsend teamed up with Marvin Gaye to co-write the song "Let's Get It On",[1] and co-produce the album of the same title.

[3][4][5] 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.