Colton Ford

Former singer, then famous (gay) porn star, now back to dance music singer, Colton Ford is the stage name of Glenn Soukesian, born 12 October 1962 in Pasadena, CA, U.S.A Though you may recognize Colton Ford from his previous foray into adult films, it's time to avert your eyes and prick up your ears. Ford's effort to break from adult film into the pop music industry via the recording of his 2004 single "Everything," was the subject of the documentary, “Naked Fame,” which was released theatrically by here! Films/Regent Releasing and can still be seen on the gay cable network, here! TV. ("Everything" was released on Nervous Records.) His first mainstream. Ford is one of the stars of the original series 'The Lair', playing Sheriff Trout. The series debuted in June 2007. After he decided to change careers, Ford set his sights on becoming a Club/Dance and House music singer-songwriter. He then released several singles including "Everything" and a cover of Stevie Wonder's "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours". On that track, he collaborated with Club/Dance singer-songwriter Pepper Mashay. The song peaked at number 9 on the Dance Club Play and number 25 on the Dance Singles Sales charts Colton Ford has been a musician since childhood. From school days playing the violin, the guitar and singing in choirs, to post high school years performing in dinner theater ensembles, jazz clubs and Las Vegas reviews (opening for Wayland Flowers & Madame and David Brenner) to adulthood, recording several late-Eighties dance singles. In 1992, he was signed to Denise Rich's (and Michael O'Hara's) production company (MIDE Productions), which brought him to the attention of the Godfather of House Music, Frankie Knuckles, who chose him to be the vocalist on his second album. As it turned out, the label tripped over having a white male vocalist front the album and Ford was replaced by Adeva. Still, it's worth noting that Ford was Frankie's first choice. A solo album for the same label was also in the works, but as often happens, it was a victim of "restructuring," and subsequently shelved and never released. Ford also caught the ear of the legendary Chaka Khan: The two met when they sang together on a 2000 Atlantis cruise. Diva was impressed, as was her musical director–who stayed in touch–and just as he was about to sign Ford to his new record label, the financing fell through. Still, hello, Chaka Khan gave him the nod. Ford's relatively recent single, “Signed, Sealed, Delivered” (duet with dance diva Pepper MaShay), released on Centaur Music, peaked at 7 and remained on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart for 15 weeks. Finally, what does Colton Ford have to say to the skeptics who won't believe their ears? "I fully accept that there will be those who just can't or won't let themselves get over my past, and will want to keep me neatly slotted as a porn star," he says. "That's fine. I feel, however, that there are more people out there that are open and able to see beyond that. I'm multifaceted, as we all are: I'm a sexual person, I'm a musical person, I'm many things and I embrace all of it. For those that are interested in taking a look, they'll see that my music stands on it's own. I've sung professionally for 25 years, I did porn for 10 months: It's what I've done all of my life, not an afterthought." The press aggrees: "The biggest challenge for adult film stars who desire to cross over into music has remained the same for years: the need to be taken seriously and respected as an artist. It's almost as if an adult film star has more to prove than a less talented singer who has not appeared in adult films" - Michael Paoletta, editor for recording industry trade Billboard. "He comes across as a blue-eyed soul singer." – Kurt B. Reighly, The Advocate Colton Ford is managed by Peace Bisquit. The House of Peace Bisquit put their inimitable stamp on everyone from glittering scene-stealers like Cazwell, Le Tigre, Amanda Lepore, Tom Tom Club and RuPaul to favorite divas like Ultra Naté, Jody Watley N'Dea Davenport and Crystal Waters to bumping film soundtracks for films like “Another Gay Movie,” “Inside Deep Throat” "Party Girl" and “Party Monster.” As of May 2007, he resides in New York City. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.