Sydney Youngblood


Sydney Ford, better known as Sydney Youngblood, is an American singer, actor and composer, who had several successful dance hits during the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Early life

Ford was born in Texas in December 1960. From an early age he loved singing. He won a competition aged six in his hometown where his grandmother called him ‘youngblood’ for his ‘vibrancy’ to perform. He played in a number of bands but at age twenty, he was drafted into the US army and served in Germany for five years. Ford returned home and returned to music straight away, only this time seeking fame and fortune as a solo artist. Signed to Virgin Records, his first release was a cover of Bill Withers' "Ain't No Sunshine", which made a short appearance in the lower section of the UK Singles Chart in 1988.

Career

Youngblood had two top 40 hits in the UK and Europe in 1988 and 1989, "Sit and Wait" and his debut "If Only I Could", which reached number three on the UK Singles Chart. The song uses the bassline and drumbeat from the Raze track "Break 4 Love".
In the US, the song "I'd Rather Go Blind" enjoyed heavy rotation on the dance scene and made the top 10 on the Billboard Dance chart. "Sit and Wait" reached number 16 in the UK in December 1989.
Youngblood continued his success with the album Feeling Free, which also contained his earlier single, "Ain't No Sunshine".
In 2018, Youngblood participated in the 12th season of the German reality show I'm a Star – Get Me Out of Here! on RTL Television.

Sydney Youngblood vs Soul II Soul

Minor controversy ensued during Youngblood's chart reign. Due to his musical style of soul vocals over hip-hop rhythms, he had been accused by some in the music press of copying the sound of Soul II Soul, an influential Black British music group who had reached number one with their hit "Back to Life". Youngblood responded by releasing a remix of his earlier hit "Feeling Free" called "The Jazzy Who? Remix" in reference to Soul II Soul's Jazzie B. The track featured a piano lead that sounded similar to "Happiness" by Soul II Soul, and used a beat identical to "Jazzie's Groove".

Discography

Studio albums