David Foster

For other people named David Foster, see David Foster (disambiguation).

David Foster
Foster speaking during a ceremony for Andrea Bocelli at the Hollywood Walk of Fame, in 2010.
Background information
Birth name	David Walter Foster
Born	November 1, 1949 (1949-11-01) (age 62) Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Genres	Pop, Pop rock, Classical, Gospel
Occupations	Record producer, musician, composer, songwriter, arranger
Instruments	Piano, keyboards, French horn, synthesizer
Years active	1971–present
Labels	Reprise, 143, Atlantic
Associated acts	Skylark, Attitudes, Airplay, Ronnie Hawkins & The Hawks
Website	davidfoster.com

David Walter Foster, OC, OBC (born November 1, 1949), is a Canadian musician, record producer, composer, singer, songwriter, and arranger,^[1] noted for discovering singers such as Michael Bublé, Josh Groban, and Charice Pempengco; and for producing some of the most successful artists in the world, such as Céline Dion, Toni Braxton, Madonna, Air Supply and Michael Jackson. Foster has won 16 Grammy Awards from 47 nominations.

Career

Throughout his career, he has produced recordings for a wide range of musical artists, including Bryan Adams, Tamia, Christina Aguilera, The Bee Gees, Andrea Bocelli, Boz Scaggs, Mariah Carey, Toni Braxton, Chicago, Destiny's Child, Neil Diamond, Céline Dion, Earth Wind and Fire, Gloria Estefan, Whitney Houston, Janet Jackson, Michael Jackson, Chaka Khan, Beyonce Knowles, Kenny Loggins, Madonna, Olivia Newton-John, Nsync, Plus One, Charice Pempengco, Prince, LeAnn Rimes, Kenny Rogers, Barbra Streisand, Donna Summer, Shania Twain, Hall & Oates, The Tubes, and Jackie Evancho.

Foster was a keyboardist for the pop group Skylark discovered by Eirik Wangberg. The band's song “Wildflower” was a top ten hit in 1973.

Together with Jay Graydon he formed the band Airplay, whose album of the same name is often labeled the most important within the Westcoast AOR genre.

He produced debut albums for The Corrs,^[2] Michael Bublé,^[3] Renee Olstead and Josh Groban, which were released under his own record label, 143 Records, and distributed through Warner Music. Foster helped launch Kevin Sharp's career after the two met through the Make-A-Wish Foundation and he produced David Hayes singing a song by composed by Ed Scheid and Laramy Smith title "Friend".

In 1985, Rolling Stone magazine named Foster the "master of ... bombastic pop kitsch."^[4] That year, Foster composed the score for the film St. Elmo's Fire,^[5] including the instrumental "Love Theme from St. Elmo's Fire", which hit No. 15 on the US pop charts. Another song from the film, "St. Elmo's Fire (Man in Motion)", recorded by John Parr hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 on September 7, 1985. The following years, Foster continued turning out occasional film scores, including the Michael J. Fox comedy The Secret of My Success and the Jodie Foster-Mark Harmon drama Stealing Home, both of which spawned soundtrack albums with prominent Foster-penned contributions. He collaborated with then-wife Linda Thompson on the song "I Have Nothing", sung by Whitney Houston in the 1992 film The Bodyguard. The couple were nominated for a Grammy Award and an Academy Award for Best Song for the song.

He produced Japanese singer Seiko Matsuda's 1988 album "Citron", also arranging and co-writing all the songs on the album, including the number one single "Marrakech".

In 1995 Foster signed a deal with Warner Brothers that enabled him to set up his own boutique label, 143 Records, as a joint venture with Warner.^[6] Foster gave the responsibility for running the label to then manager Brian Avnet.^[6] One of the label's first signing was little known Irish folk-rock band The Corrs, for whom he produced their debut album.^[6] By 1997 Foster had come to the realisation that, in the American market at least, "logo labels" like 143 were in a "bad spot" and as a result Foster sold the label back to Warner and became senior vice-president at the corporation.^[6]

Foster, along with Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, composed "The Power of the Dream" as the official song of the 1996 Summer Olympics, with then-wife Thompson providing the lyrics (sung by Céline Dion). He also composed "Winter Games", the theme song for 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Alberta. "Winter Games" is the soundtrack for a fountain show at the Bellagio resort in Las Vegas as well as a fountain show at Sea World Orlando. Also in 2001, he collaborated with Lara Fabian and the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra to record the Canadian national anthem, "O Canada", for an English version, a French version, and a bilingual (French/English) version, for a promotion of the Government of Canada. Foster, along with his then-wife Thompson, composed "Light the Fire Within" which was sung by LeAnn Rimes for the 2002 Winter Olympics. In 2003, Foster won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Music and Lyrics for The Concert for World Children's Day. His song "I Will Be There With You" (sung with Katharine McPhee) is being used by Japan Airlines to promote the introduction of new aircraft to its US flights.

During the 1990s he often featured vocalist Warren Wiebe in his performances. He discovered Wiebe in 1987, and in 1994 formed a group called Millennium featuring Wiebe, Nita Whitaker, Wil Wheaton and other vocalists; an album was recorded but never released. Wiebe was Foster's "mouth" on many of his videos but committed suicide before he could release a solo album.

In 2005, record producer David Foster, his daughter Amy Foster-Gillies and Knowles wrote "Stand Up For Love" as the anthem to the World Children's Day, an annual worldwide event to raise awareness and funds for children causes. Over the past three years, more than $50 million has been raised to benefit Ronald McDonald House Charities and other children's organizations. Destiny's Child lent their voices and support as global ambassadors for the 2005 program.

In 2009 it was revealed that Foster had worked with songwriter Diane Warren to produce records for Whitney Houston's upcoming album. It was then announced that her comeback single would be the Foster-produced "I Didn't Know My Own Strength".^[7]

He recently collaborated with American Idol finalist Michael Johns on the re-write of his popular 1980s hit "St Elmo's Fire (Man in Motion)."

In July 2011, it was announced that Foster would take the helm of Verve Records under Universal Music and shift the focus of the label from jazz to adult contemporary pop.^[8]

Television appearances

In early 1992, the national television station RCTI, David Foster came to Indonesia for the TV show David Foster's Twilight Orchestra.

In early 2001, Foster was in Popstars, a reality series that aired on WB. The series aimed at coming up with the next girl group and eventually became Eden's Crush (featuring Nicole Scherzinger). David Foster and Linda Thompson wrote and produced several songs on their album.

Foster's home life was featured in a Fox staged^[9] reality TV show called The Princes of Malibu, in which he attempts to force his two spoiled stepsons, Brandon and Brody Jenner (the children of Thompson and Olympian Bruce Jenner), to straighten their lives up and earn their own way.

In late April 2005, Foster appeared as a special guest on both American Idol (as a mentor) and Nashville Star (as a judge) two weeks apart. He was also a judge on Celebrity Duets, a FOX TV show, and appeared on Star Tomorrow, where auditions were held in Los Angeles and New York for undiscovered talent. It aired only one [July 31, 2006] episode on NBC.

In July 2006, Foster made a brief appearance on The View as Star Jones's vocal coach. In August 2006, he was the musical director for JCPenney Jam]: The Concert For American Kids, which aired on CBS and was later released in CD/DVD format. In November 2007, Foster appeared in Oprah's annual "Favourite Things" episode, performing with Josh Groban.

In September 2008, singer Charice joined Foster on The Oprah Winfrey Show with Celine Dion via satellite; and later on October 31, he and Andrea Bocelli appeared on Oprah again together, where he stated that Bocelli was his "favourite singer on the planet".^[10]

In December 2008, Foster was featured in a PBS special titled Hitman David Foster & Friends, a concert featuring live performances by Foster and numerous other performers.^[11] Foster was also featured in Under the Desert Sky in 2006, Vivere Live in Tuscany in 2007, and the My Christmas Special, in 2009, Andrea Bocelli's three latest PBS Specials. Bocelli also performed during Foster's Hitman special.

In late 2009, he also appeared on a number of TV shows to promote Bocelli's My Christmas album, which he produced, including The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Dr. Phil, The Early Show and Fox & Friends. He also made a number of appearances in 2010 with Filipino singer Charice, to promote her album.

Personal life

Foster has been married four times, has five biological daughters, an ex-stepdaughter, and two ex-stepsons. Foster has a daughter, Allison Jones (b. April 6, 1970). His first marriage was to singer/writer B.J. Cook. She already had a daughter, Tamre Winger, whom he raised. Together, B.J. Cook and Foster had one daughter, Amy Foster (b. July 29, 1973), a songwriter who has collaborated with classic artists such as Andrea Bocelli, Michael Bublé, and Josh Groban. His second wife was model Rebecca Dyer. They had three daughters: Sara Foster (b. August 24, 1981), Erin Foster (b. August 24, 1983), and Jordan Foster (b. September 1986).^[12] Foster married third wife Linda Thompson on June 27, 1991. The two became a songwriting team, collaborating on several songs including "I Have Nothing," performed by Whitney Houston in The Bodyguard, and "Grown-Up Christmas List." Thompson filed for divorce Monday July 11, 2005, the day after her short-lived reality series, The Princes of Malibu premiered.^[12] Thompson is the mother of Brody Jenner and Brandon Jenner from her previous marriage to former Olympian Bruce Jenner.

He married model Yolanda Hadid in Beverly Hills on November 11, 2011 in a star-studded 11/11/11-themed ceremony with food by guest Wolfgang Puck and music by many of Foster's friends, including 11-year-old Jackie Evancho, Andrea Bocelli, Michael Bublé, Natalie Cole, Donna Summer, Peter Cetera, Baby Face, Kenny G, the Canadian Tenors, Neil Sedaka, Avril Lavigne, Kate Hudson. Other guests included Barbra Streisand, James Brolin, Oprah Winfrey, Muhammad Ali, Bo Derek, Suzanne Somers, Steve Wynn and Brian Mulroney.^[13]

Foster's sister, producer Jaymes Foster, is the mother of Clay Aiken's son Parker Foster Aiken.^[14] David's cousin, Billy Foster, died in a race car accident in 1967.

In 1992, David Foster was driving on the Pacific Coast Highway when his car struck actor Ben Vereen, who had been on the road because he had crashed his car and was in a daze. Despite being thrown 90 feet, Vereen survived. Vereen also went on record to say that it probably saved his life: he had a serious drinking problem caused by the death of his daughter.^[15]

Discography

In addition to the numerous albums he has produced, the following are Foster's own solo or band works:^{[citation needed]}

• 1972: Skylark (self-titled)
• 1974: 2 Skylark
• 1976: Attitudes (self-titled)
• 1977: Good News Attitudes
• 1980: Airplay (self-titled)
• 1983: The Best of Me
• 1986: David Foster (self-titled)
• 1988: The Symphony Sessions
• 1989: Time Passing
• 1990: River of Love
• 1991: Rechordings
• 1992: A Touch Of David Foster
• 1993: The Christmas Album
• 1994: Love Lights The World
• 2000: The Best Of Me: A Collection of David Foster’s Greatest Works
• 2001: O Canada (with Lara Fabian)
• 2002: Love Stories
• 2003: Teko’s Theme - with Nita Whitaker
• 2004: The Best Of Me - Original Recording Remastered
• 2008: Hitman: David Foster and Friends
• 2010: The Magic of David Foster & Friends
• 2011: Hitman Returns: David Foster and Friends

Singles

• 1985: "Love Theme From St. Elmo's Fire (For Just a Moment)" (US #15)
• 1986: "The Best of Me" (Duet with Olivia Newton-John) (US #80)
• 1988: "Winter Games (Can't You Feel It)" - Official theme song for the Calgary 1988 Winter Olympics (US #85)

Awards and honours

In 1995, Foster became the recipient of the Order of British Columbia, the highest honour awarded in his native province of British Columbia. Foster became an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2006.^[16]

Foster has won 16 Grammy Awards, including three Producer of the Year award and has been nominated a total of 47 times.^[17]

He has been nominated three times for an Academy Award for Best Original Song and won the 1999 Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song for the song "The Prayer" (sung by Andrea Bocelli and Celine Dion) from the film Quest for Camelot. He has been named BMI's "Songwriter of the Year".^[18] In June 2010, he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.^[19]

See also

Music of Canada portal

• Music of Canada
• Canadian Music Hall of Fame
• List of Canadian composers

References

1. ^ "David Foster Current Biography at Executive Visions". http://www.executivevisions.com/projectdetails.asp?ProjectID=114. 
2. ^ "The Corrs, The Pride of Ireland - family biography". Emerald-corrner.com. http://www.emerald-corrner.com/the-corrs-biography.html. Retrieved 2011-06-07. 
3. ^ "Michael Bublé biography". Michaelbuble.com. http://www.michaelbuble.com/biography. Retrieved 2011-06-07. 
4. ^ Shewey, Don. Album Reviews: Kenny Loggins: Vox Humana, Rolling Stone, 6 June 1985.
5. ^ St. Elmo's Fire credits, Internet Movie Database
6. ^ ^{a b c d} "Interview with Brian Avnet". HitQuarters. 16 Feb 2004. http://www.hitquarters.com/index.php3?page=intrview/opar/intrview_BrianAvnetInterview.html. Retrieved 21 Dec 2010. 
7. ^ "Dianne Warren Confirms Whitney's new single to VIBE magazine". Vibe.com. 2011-06-01. http://www.vibe.com/news/online_exclusives/2009/04/whitney_houston_new_single_confirmed/. Retrieved 2011-06-07. 
8. ^ Hollywood Reporter, 7/29/2011: "David Foster To Be Named Head of Jazz Label"
9. ^ "Reality Blurred: "Princess of Malibu’s fakeness "was meant to play funny," producer says"". http://www.realityblurred.com/realitytv/archives/fox/2005_Aug_22_princes_malibu_effect. 
10. ^ "Live with Faith Hill & David Foster". www.oprah.com. http://www.oprah.com/slideshow/oprahshow/20081031_tows_fridays/9. Retrieved 2008-10-31. 
11. ^ "Hitman: David Foster & Friends". PBS. http://www.pbs.org/wnet/gperf/episodes/hitman-david-foster-friends/introduction/456/. Retrieved 11 March 2009. 
12. ^ ^{a b} David Foster Biography page at the Internet Movie Database
13. ^ Leach, Robin. "David Foster weds model Yolanda Hadid in fourth walk down the aisle", Las Vegas Sun, November 16, 2011
14. ^ "Clay Aiken Welcomes A Son", People, 8 August 2008
15. ^ David Foster: Hitman, Huffington Post, 2 December 2008.
16. ^ Order of Canada citation
17. ^ "David Foster eager to add to Grammy haul". CBC News. January 27, 2010. http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/music/story/2010/01/27/david-foster.html. Retrieved October 11, 2011. 
18. ^ David Foster. "David Foster at Peermusic". Peermusic.com. http://www.peermusic.com/peermusic/index.cfm/artist-writer/artist-details/?artist_id=70. Retrieved 2011-06-07. 
19. ^ "2010 Award and Induction Ceremony". Songwritershalloffame.org. 2010-06-17. http://www.songwritershalloffame.org/ceremony/C6029. Retrieved 2011-06-07. 

Further reading

• David Foster; Pablo F. Fenjves (6 October 2009). Hitman: Forty Years Making Music, Topping the Charts, and Winning Grammys. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 9781439149508. http://books.google.com/books?id=6vJQwZCIVbkC&pg=PP1. 

External links

• Official website
• David Foster at Yahoo! Movies
• David Foster on The Hour

Persondata
Name	Foster, David
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	November 1, 1949
Place of birth	Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Date of death
Place of death