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