Sydney Youngblood

Sydney Ford (born December 2, 1960), 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.

Sydney Youngblood
Background information
Birth nameSydney Ford
Born (1960-12-02) December 2, 1960
San Antonio, Texas, US
GenresDance, house
Occupation(s)Singer
Years active1988–present
LabelsCirca Records, Virgin, Arista, RCA

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.[1] The song uses the bassline and drumbeat from the Raze track "Break 4 Love".

In the US, the song "I'd Rather Go Blind" (originally sung by Etta James) 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.[2]

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" (featuring Elaine Hudson) 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".[3]

Discography

Studio albums
  • Feeling Free (1989) – UK No. 23,[2] AUS No. 59,[4] AUT No. 7,[5] GER No. 9,[6] NED No. 56,[7] NZ No. 19,[8] SWE No. 5,[9] SWI No. 9[10]
  • Sydney Youngblood (1990) (North American release of the Feeling Free album) – US No. 185[11]
  • Passion, Grace and Serious Bass... (1991) – AUS No. 130,[4] AUT No. 40,[12] GER No. 60,[13] SWE No. 39[9]
  • Just the Way It Is (1993) – AUS No. 211[4]
  • The Hat Won't Fit (1994)
  • Black Magic (2014)

Singles
Year Single Peak positions Album
UK
[2][14]		 AUS
[4]		 AUT
[15]		 BEL
(FLA)
[16]		 FRA
[17]		 GER
[18][19]		 IRE
[20]		 NED
[7]		 NZ
[8]		 SWE
[9]		 SWI
[10]		 US
[21]
1988 "Ain't No Sunshine" 78——————————— Feeling Free
"Congratulations" ————————————
1989 "If Only I Could" 31223183222893—
"Sit and Wait" 165922212157—26—
1990 "I'd Rather Go Blind" 4471—34—23—————46
"Ain't No Sunshine" (France only) ————35———————
1991 "Hooked on You" 72120——3536———3427— Passion, Grace and Serious Bass...
"Wherever You Go" ————————————
1993 "Anything" 48163—27—51—————— Just the Way It Is
"No Big Deal" 90———————————
1994 "So Good So Right (All I Can Do)" —————91—————— The Hat Won't Fit
1999 "Christmas Song" ———————————— Singles only
2007 "If Only I Could" (Tom Pulse vs. Sydney Youngblood) —————89——————
2013 "Sit and Wait 2013" (with Jesse Ritch) ————————————
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released.

See also

References
  1. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 616. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  2. "Official Charts > Sydney Youngblood". The Official UK Charts Company. Retrieved March 15, 2016.
  3. "Sydney Youngblood – Sit And Wait / Feeling Free (Vinyl) at Discogs". discogs. Retrieved April 30, 2012.
  4. Australian (ARIA) peaks:
    • Top 100 peaks from January 1990 to December 2010: Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (pdf ed.). Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 309.
    • "If Only I Could", "Hooked On You" and "Wherever You Go": "Response from ARIA re: chart inquiry, received 15 July 2015". imgur.com. Archived from the original on July 16, 2015. Retrieved March 15, 2016. N.B. The No. 71 peak listed for the 1990 release of "If Only I Could" is for a triple A-side 12" release of the "I'd Rather Go Blind" single.
    • All ARIA chart peaks to September 18, 2018: "Response from ARIA re: Sydney Yountblood chart history, received 18 September 2018". Imgur.com. Retrieved September 18, 2018. N.B. The High Point number in the NAT column represents the release's peak on the national chart.
  5. "austriancharts.at > Sydney Youngblood – Feeling Free" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 15, 2016.
  6. "Offizielle Deutsche Charts > Sydney Youngblood – Feeling Free (album)" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved March 15, 2016.
  7. "dutchcharts.nl > Sydney Youngblood in Dutch Charts" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 15, 2016.
  8. "charts.nz > Sydney Youngblood in New Zealand Charts". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 15, 2016.
  9. "swedishcharts.com > Sydney Youngblood in Swedish Charts". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 15, 2016.
  10. "hitparade.ch > Sydney Youngblood in der Schweizer Hitparade" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 15, 2016.
  11. "Billboard > Artists / Sydney Youngblood > Chart History > Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved March 15, 2016.
  12. "austriancharts.at > Sydney Youngblood – Passion, Grace and Serious Bass..." (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 15, 2016.
  13. "Offizielle Deutsche Charts > Sydney Youngblood – Passion, Grace and Serious Bass... (album)" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved March 15, 2016.
  14. UK singles chart peak for "No Big Deal": "UKMix > Forums > Chart Chat > Chart Analysis > The 76–100 pos. UK-Charts-Thread > Page 9 (screen-shot)". UKmix.org. Retrieved March 15, 2016. N.B. This peak does not appear on the Official Charts site, as positions 76–100 between April 1991 and January 1994 inclusive are currently missing.
  15. "austriancharts.at > Sydney Youngblood (singles)" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 15, 2016.
  16. "Ultratop > Sydney Youngblood in Ultratop Vlaanderen" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 15, 2016.
  17. "lescharts.com > Sydney Youngblood Dans Les Charts Français" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 15, 2016.
  18. "Offizielle Deutsche Charts > Suchen nach Sydney Youngblood (single)" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved March 15, 2016.
  19. "Sydney Youngblood – German Chart". charts.de. Retrieved April 5, 2014.
  20. "The Irish Charts – All there is to know > Search results for Sydney Youngblood". Retrieved March 15, 2016.
  21. "US Hot 100 – Sydney Youngblood". Billboard. Retrieved April 5, 2014.
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