Sydney Youngblood

Sydney Youngblood
Background information
Birth name Sydney Ford
Born December 2, 1960
San Antonio, Texas, U.S.
Genres Dance, house
Occupation(s) Singer
Years active 1988–present
Labels Circa Records, Virgin, Arista, RCA

Sydney Ford (born December 2, 1960), better known as Sydney Youngblood, is an American-German 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 enlisted into the US army and served in Germany for five years. Ford returned home and returned to music, 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" (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.

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.

Discography

Studio albums

List of albums, with selected details and chart positions
Title Album details Peak chart
positions
US
AUS
AUT
GER
NED
NZ
SWE
SWI
UK
Feeling Free
Sydney Youngblood
  • Released: 1989
  • Label: Circa
  • Format: LP, cassette, CD
  • Titled Sydney Youngblood for North America
185 59 7 9 56 19 5 9 23
Passion, Grace and Serious Bass...
  • Released: 1991
  • Label: Circa
  • Format: LP, cassette, CD
130 40 60 39
Just the Way It Is
  • Released: 1993
  • Label: RCA
  • Format: Cassette, CD
The Hat Won't Fit
  • Released: 1994
  • Label: RCA
  • Format: Cassette, CD
Black Magic
  • Released: February 2014
  • Label: 7soul
  • Format: CD, digital

Compilation albums

List of albums, with selected details
Title Details
Hooked On You The Best Of
  • Released: 1994
  • Format: CD
  • Label: Virgin

Singles

Year Single Peak positions Album
UK
AUS
AUT
BEL
(FL)

FRA
GER
IRE
NED
NZ
SWE
SWI
US
1988 "Ain't No Sunshine" 78 Feeling Free
"Congratulations"
1989 "If Only I Could" 3 122 3 1 8 3 2 2 28 9 3
"Sit and Wait" 16 59 2 2 21 2 15 7 2 6
1990 "I'd Rather Go Blind" 44 71 34 23 46
"Ain't No Sunshine" (France only) 35
1991 "Hooked on You" 72 120 35 36 34 27 Passion, Grace and Serious Bass...
"Wherever You Go"
1993 "Anything" 48 163 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