It’s funny how you just run into people sometimes. When I was 15, I took a course in freelance writing at Santa Monica College. Since this was La La Land, the other folks in my class (all much older, of course) included an activist, a horror-film starlet, and Ed Townsend, who wrote “Let’s Get It On” for Marvin Gaye.

I’ll always remember the chats I had with Ed and his much-younger girlfriend (who was also taking the class). “Marvin exuded sex,” he reminisced, “He could read the Lord’s Prayer, and you’d think of sex.” Even today, “Let’s Get It On” is in heavy rotation.

Rest in peace, Ed, and thanks for taking the time to talk.