Raised Methodist, he began taking an interest in his wife's Jehovah's Witnesses faith in the early 1980s.

During high school, he appeared for three seasons in productions of Bloomer Girl, Annie Get Your Gun, and Show Boat.

In 1965, Townson and fellow St. Louis natives Billy Davis Jr. and Lamonte McLemore joined female vocalists Marilyn McCoo and Florence LaRue to form The Versatiles.

[6] The name was a reference to their varied style in music, but producer Johnny Rivers thought the name was outdated.

In subsequent years he made a guest appearance on the TV series Switch, cut records, performed solo, and formed his own group, Ron Townson and Wild Honey.

[8][9] In 1981, he and fellow group members Joyce Wright Pierce, Michael Procter, Florence LaRue, and Lamonte McLemore starred in Fats Waller's Ain't Misbehavin' to excellent reviews.

In 1990, the original five members of the group reunited for a New Year's Eve performance in Atlantic City, New Jersey.