Penny Ford (born June 11, 1964), also known as Pennye Ford, is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer from

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

, Ohio, who lives in Germany. She rose to fame in the 1980s after signing a recording contract with Total Experience Records and releasing her debut solo album, ''Pennye''. It spawned the singles "Change Your Wicked Way" and "Dangerous", which were produced and written by Ford. She garnered international fame as the lead singer of

Eurodance Eurodance (sometimes referred to as Euro-NRG) is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1980s in Europe. It combines many elements of Hip-hop, rap, techno and Eurodisco. This genre of music is heavily influenced by the use ...

group

Snap! SNAP! is a German Eurodance group formed in 1989 by producers Michael Münzing and Luca Anzilotti. The act has undergone several lineup changes over the years, featuring American singers, songwriters, and rappers such as Thea Austin, Turbo ...

Managed and produced by Michael Münzing and Luca Anzilotti, the group released their debut album, ''

World Power A great power is a sovereign state that is recognized as having the ability and expertise to exert its influence on a global scale. Great powers characteristically possess military and economic strength, as well as diplomatic and soft power ...

'', in 1990, which sold over seven million copies worldwide and became one of the most successful dance albums to date.Snap! Biography
Milk 'n' 2 Sugars. Retrieved on January 10, 2017 The album contained the hits " The Power", "

Ooops Up "Ooops Up" is a song by German Eurodance group Snap!, released in June 1990 as the second single from their debut studio album, ''World Power'' (1990). The song is a re-working of " I Don't Believe You Want to Get Up and Dance (Ooops!)"; a 1980 ...

", " Cult of Snap", and "

Mary Had a Little Boy "Mary Had a Little Boy" is a song by German Eurodance group Snap!, released in November 1990 as the fourth and final single from their debut studio album, ''World Power'' (1990). The song features vocals by Penny Ford, who also co-wrote the lyr ...

", which have collectively sold over nine million records.Penny Ford – Biography
Billboard. Retrieved on January 8, 2017 Snap!'s hiatus saw the release of Ford's second album, ''Penny Ford'' (1993), which established her as a solo artist worldwide and featured the singles "

Daydreaming Daydreaming is a stream of consciousness that detaches from current external tasks when one's attention becomes focused on a more personal and internal direction. Various names of this phenomenon exist, including mind-wandering, fantasies, a ...

" and "I Lose Control". Ford has also been a member of the groups Klymaxx and Soul II Soul. In 2006, she returned to

and began touring worldwide with them. Throughout her career, Ford has sold over 16 million records.

Early life

Penny Ford was born in

, Ohio, to Carolyn Griffith (née Ford), an evangelist, and Gene Redd, Sr., a veteran record company executive and producer.Penny Ford of Snap! : Songwriter Interviews - Songfacts
SongFacts. Retrieved on January 8, 2017 Penny's older half-sister, Sharon Redd, was also a singer. Ford attended St. Mark Catholic School in Cincinnati, where she enrolled in dance and music classes.Interview: Penny Ford – The Power of Experience
Blog Critics. Retrieved on January 9, 2017 Her interest in music and performing continued after winning a talented teen pageant at a young age, reading a

Maya Angelou Maya Angelou ( ; born Marguerite Annie Johnson; April 4, 1928 – May 28, 2014) was an American memoirist, poet, and civil rights activist. She published seven autobiographies, three books of essays, several books of poetry, and is credi ...

piece and singing

George Gershwin George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned jazz, popular music, popular and classical music. Among his best-known works are the songs "Swan ...

's " Summertime" to beat other contestants. In 1979, she snuck into a local club where she landed a job as a background singer for electro-funk group Zapp as part of a

Parliament-Funkadelic Parliament-Funkadelic (abbreviated as P-Funk) is an American musical collective, music collective of rotating musicians headed by George Clinton (funk musician), George Clinton, primarily consisting of the funk bands Parliament (band), Parliame ...

World Funk Tour at age 14. After graduating from high school at age 16, she traveled to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, where she auditioned at a studio for

Motown Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau ...

and was given a job as a demo singer.

Career

1984–1988: Career beginnings

Following a stint as a Gap Band backing vocalist, Ford released an album entitled ''Pennye'' in 1984, and two singles from the album made the UK Singles Chart: "Change Your Wicked Ways", which reached No. 76, and " Dangerous", which reached No. 43.Chart Stats – Pennye Ford
/ref> In 1986, Ford replaced Lorena Shelby as the lead singer of Klymaxx. After a year on the road, Ford joined

the S.O.S. Band The S.O.S. Band (sometimes written as S.O.S. Band; abbreviation for Sounds of Success) is an American Contemporary R&B, R&B and Boogie (genre), electro-funk musical ensemble, group who gained fame in the 1980s. They are best known for the songs ...

for a six-month stint, including recording "It's Time to Move" for the Police Academy soundtrack. In 1988, Ford became friends with fellow vocalist

Chaka Khan Yvette Marie Stevens (born March 23, 1953), better known by her stage name Chaka Khan ( ), is an American singer. Known as the " Queen of Funk", her career has spanned more than five decades beginning in the early 1970s as the lead vocalist of ...

while singing background vocals on "Our Day Will Come", a duet with

Edwin Starr Charles Edwin Hatcher (January 21, 1942 – April 2, 2003), known by his stage name Edwin Starr, was an American singer and songwriter. He is best remembered for his Norman Whitfield-produced Motown singles of the 1970s, most notably the num ...

. She also toured as a background vocalist for Khan's European Tour in 1988.

1989–1991: Snap!

During a trip to Germany in late 1989, Ford was asked to substitute for Chaka Khan when she couldn't make it to a recording session. The session was for the recording of an album for a new electronic dance group being put together called

The original lineup for the group consisted of Ford, rapper Turbo B, and producers Michael Münzing & Luca Anzilotti. In early 1990, the group released their debut single, " The Power", which immediately became an international hit, selling over a million copies in America. In May 1990, Snap! released their debut album, ''

''. It reached number seven on Germany's

Media Control Charts The GfK Entertainment charts are the official charts for music, home video, and video games in Germany and are gathered and published by GfK Entertainment (formerly Media Control and Media Control GfK International), a subsidiary of GfK, on be ...

, number 25 on Australia's

ARIA Charts The ARIA Charts are the main Australian record chart, music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA beca ...

, number four on the

Ö3 Austria Top 40 Ö3 Austria Top 40 is the official Austrian singles chart, as well as the radio show which presents it, aired on Tuesdays on Hitradio Ö3. The show presents the Austrian singles, ringtones and downloads chart. It premiered on 26 November 1968 as ...

, number 20 on the Topplistan chart in Sweden, number four on the

Swiss Music Charts The Swiss Hitparade () is Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland. The Swiss charts include: * Singles Top 75 (released since 1968) * Singles T ...

, number 10 on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...

, and number 30 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 chart. Although it did not chart on the Dutch MegaCharts, it earned gold

certification Certification is part of testing, inspection and certification and the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements. It is the formal attestatio ...

from the

NVPI NVPI (Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers) () is the Dutch trade association of the entertainment industry. The NVPI represents most of the Dutch record companies, video distributors, and game-softw ...

, for sales in excess of 60,000 copies in the Netherlands. ''World Power'' has also been certified gold in Australia, Austria, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States, while it has received platinum certifications in both Germany and Switzerland. The group's second single, "

", also became an international success, peaking in the top-ten position on many charts. The single also earned a gold certification, selling over 500,000 copies in America. Their success continued with the singles " Cult of Snap" and "

", and an international tour. After the tour, the group began working on their second album. Ford took on a lesser role and only wrote two songs, " Colour of Love" and "See the Light", which were recorded by replacement members

Thea Austin Thea Tereese Austin (born June 10, 1960) is an American singer-songwriter/composer from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She is the lead vocalist and co-writer of the German Eurodance hit song " Rhythm Is a Dancer" by Snap! Early life and career Austin ...

and Niki Haris, as Ford chose to leave the group in 1991.

1991-1995: ''Penny Ford'' and Soul II Soul

Shortly after leaving Snap!, Ford became the subject of a major-label bidding war that resulted in her signing to Columbia/

Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (i ...

in June 1991. During this time, she began recording with British musical group Soul II Soul and contributed background vocals for the song "Move Me No Mountain". The song was released as the second single of their third album ''Volume III Just Right'' in 1992. In 1992, Ford began recording her second solo album. In March 1993, Ford released her second album, ''Penny Ford''. Its lead single, "

", peaked at number 40 on Billboard's R&B singles chart and number 43 on the UK Singles chart. The album also spawned two additional singles, "I'll Be There" and "I Lose Control"—the latter penned by

Mariah Carey Mariah Carey ( ; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Songbird Supreme" by ''Guinness World Records'', Carey is known for her five-octave voc ...

. In 1994, Ford began working with Soul II Soul again. She sang lead vocals on their single "Love Enuff", which was released in 1995. She was also present when the group performed the song on

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British record chart television programme, made by the BBC and broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most of its histo ...

2003: Judge Mathis appearance

In 2003, Ford appeared on an episode of the US television program ''

Judge Mathis ''Judge Mathis'' is an American Court show#Arbitration-based reality court show, arbitration-based reality court show presided over by Judge Greg Mathis, a former judge of Michigan's 36th Michigan district courts, District Court and African Ame ...

'', suing a producer/boyfriend. One of her witnesses was Chaka Khan. Though the latter did not appear, she spoke to Judge Mathis via telephone.

2006–present: Later career and current work

In 2006, Ford returned as the original and official singer of the group Snap! She also rejoined with Snap! producers Michael Münzing and Luca Anzilloti, and has been performing with them worldwide. She lives in Offenbach, Germany. In 2022, Ford was inducted into the Cincinnati Black Music Walk of Fame.

Artistry

Ford is a multi-instrumentalist. She has been known to play the guitar, flute, drums, percussion, bass, keyboards, and synthesizer, all of which she played during her early career as a demo singer. On her first album, she played all of the instruments on the song "Serious", and three instruments on the remaining songs. She has produced and arranged songs for

Natalie Cole Natalie Maria Cole (February 6, 1950 – December 31, 2015) was an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She was the daughter of singer and jazz pianist Nat King Cole. She rose to prominence in the mid-1970s, with the release of her debut ...

the Gap Band The Gap Band was an American Contemporary R&B, R&B and funk band that rose to fame during the 1970s and 1980s. The band consisted of three brothers: Charlie Wilson (musician), Charlie, Ronnie, and Robert Wilson, along with other members; it wa ...

, Chaka Khan,

Victoria Wilson-James Victoria Wilson-James is an American-born English singer, songwriter and record producer. Born and raised in Gary, Indiana, she performed in various theatre plays and musicals as a teenager. Following the release of her debut single "I Want You ...

, and Snap!.Penny Ford – Credits
All Music Guide. Retrieved on January 10, 2017

Discography

* ''Pennye'' (1984) * ''Penny Ford'' (1993)

References

External links

Snap! website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ford, Penny 1964 births 20th-century American pianists 20th-century American singer-songwriters 21st-century American keyboardists 21st-century American pianists 21st-century American singer-songwriters African-American women singer-songwriters American women singer-songwriters African-American pianists American women pianists African-American record producers Record producers from Ohio American dance musicians American women pop singers American multi-instrumentalists American music arrangers American rhythm and blues keyboardists American rhythm and blues singer-songwriters American contemporary R&B singers American soul keyboardists American soul singers American women guitarists American feminist musicians Living people Motown artists Musicians from Cincinnati American women in electronic music Rhythm and blues pianists Singer-songwriters from Ohio Singers with a three-octave vocal range Guitarists from Ohio 20th-century American women singers 20th-century American bass guitarists 20th-century American women guitarists 21st-century American women singers American women record producers African-American guitarists 20th-century African-American women singers 21st-century African-American women singers Soul II Soul members Snap! members 20th-century American flautists 21st-century American flautists