David Foster
David Walter Foster OC OBC (born November 1, 1949) is a Canadian record producer, film composer, and music executive. He has won 16 Grammy Awards from 47 nominations.[1][2] Foster's career began as a keyboardist for the pop group Skylark in the early 1970s[3] before focusing largely on composing and production. Often in tandem with songwriter Diane Warren,[4] Foster has contributed to material for prominent music industry artists in various genres since then, and is credited with production on over 40 pop hits on the Billboard Hot 100. He has also chaired Verve Records from 2012 to 2016.
This article is about the Canadian music producer. For other uses, see David Foster (disambiguation).
David Foster
David Walter Foster
November 1, 1949
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
- Record producer
- songwriter
- arranger
- music executive
- film composer
- Keyboards
- Piano
- French horn
1971–present
-
B.J. Cooke(divorced)
-
Rebecca Dyer(m. 1982; div. 1986)
Early life and career[edit]
Foster was born in Victoria, British Columbia, the son of Maurice "Maury" Foster, an office worker, and Eleanor May Foster (née Vantreight), a homemaker.[5][6][7] In 1963, at the age of 13, he enrolled in the University of Washington music program.[8] In 1965, he auditioned to lead the band in an Edmonton nightclub owned by jazz musician Tommy Banks. Banks mentored Foster in jazz, producing records, and the music business. After one year there, he moved to Toronto to play with Ronnie Hawkins. In 1966, he joined a backup band for Chuck Berry.[8][9] In 1974, he moved to Los Angeles with his band Skylark.[9]
Career[edit]
Early years[edit]
Foster was a keyboardist for the pop group Skylark, discovered by Eirik Wangberg. The song "Wildflower" was a top ten hit in 1973.[3] When the group disbanded, Foster remained in Los Angeles[8] and, together with Jay Graydon, he formed the band Airplay. In 1975, Foster played on George Harrison's album Extra Texture. He followed that up a year later by playing the Fender Rhodes and clavinet on Harrison's album Thirty Three & 1/3. In 1976, Foster joined Guthrie Thomas on Thomas' second Capitol Records album, Lies and Alibis, with Ringo Starr and a host of other performers. Foster was a major contributor to the 1979 Earth, Wind & Fire album I Am, as a studio player and arranger. He was a co-writer on six of the album's tracks, such as "After the Love Has Gone", for which he and his co-writers, Graydon and Bill Champlin, won the 1980 Grammy Award for Best R&B Song.
1981–1999[edit]
Foster worked as a producer on albums for The Tubes: 1981's The Completion Backward Principle and 1983's Outside Inside. Foster co-wrote such songs as "Talk to Ya Later", with Tubes singer Fee Waybill and Steve Lukather from Toto; the Top 40 hit "Don't Want to Wait Anymore"; and the number 10 US hit "She's a Beauty". On the 1980 Boz Scaggs album Middle Man, he co-wrote and he played keyboard on some of Scaggs's most successful songs, including "Breakdown Dead Ahead", "Jojo", and "Simone", followed by "Look What You've Done to Me" from the film Urban Cowboy.
Foster was a major contributor to the career of jazz rock band Chicago in the early and middle 1980s, having worked as the band's producer on Chicago 16 (1982), Chicago 17 (1984) — their biggest selling, multi-platinum album — and Chicago 18 (1986). As was typical of his producing projects from this period, Foster was a co-writer on "Hard to Say I'm Sorry" (US No. 1), "Love Me Tomorrow" (US No. 22), "Stay the Night" (US No. 16), and "You're the Inspiration" (US No. 3). These were co-written with the band's bassist Peter Cetera. In 1986, Foster also helped Cetera co-write (along with Cetera's wife Diane Nini) his US No. 1 solo hit "Glory of Love".
Foster co-wrote Kenny Loggins's songs "Heart to Heart" (US No. 15), from the 1982 album High Adventure, and "Forever" (US No. 40), from the 1985 album Vox Humana.
Foster worked with country singer Kenny Rogers on the hit albums What About Me? (1984) and The Heart of the Matter (1985). The latter features "The Best of Me", co-written with Richard Marx that was covered by Cliff Richard in 1989, resulting in a number-two UK hit.
In 1985, Rolling Stone magazine named Foster the "master of . . . bombastic pop kitsch".[10] That year, Foster composed the score for the film St. Elmo's Fire, 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, reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 on September 7, 1985.
In 1985, Foster also co-wrote and produced "Tears Are Not Enough", which reached top 15 status. The album was recorded by a group of fellow Canadian artists including Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, and Bryan Adams.
Foster continued turning out occasional film scores, including the Michael J. Fox comedy The Secret of My Success (1987), which featured a song co-written by Foster titled "The Price of Love", a version of which was performed by Roger Daltrey on his album Can't Wait to See the Movie, which Foster also produced. Foster wrote the score for the Jodie Foster-Mark Harmon film Stealing Home (1988). Both films spawned soundtrack albums with Foster's prominent contributions.
Foster composed "Winter Games", the instrumental theme song for the 1988 Winter Olympics and performed "Winter Games" and its vocal version "Can't You Feel It?" in Calgary, Alberta. "Winter Games" is the soundtrack for fountain shows at the Bellagio resort in Las Vegas.[11]
Foster collaborated with then-wife Linda Thompson on the song "I Have Nothing", sung by Whitney Houston in the 1992 film The Bodyguard. The couple appeared in the film's Oscars scene as the conductor and an Academy member.
In 1995, Foster signed a deal with Warner Brothers for his own boutique label, 143 Records, as a joint venture with Warner.[12] Foster gave responsibility for running the label to then-manager Brian Avnet.[12] One of the label's first signings was a then-little known Irish folk-rock band, the Corrs, whose debut album he produced.[12] By 1997, Foster decided that, in the American market at least, "logo labels" like 143 were in a "bad spot", so he sold the label back to Warner and became a senior vice president at the corporation.[12] Foster and Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds composed "The Power of the Dream", the official song of the 1996 Summer Olympics. Foster produced the Diane Warren songs "Un-Break My Heart" sung by Toni Braxton, "Because You Loved Me" sung by Celine Dion, and "Have You Ever?" sung by Brandy.
2000s[edit]
Foster produced major-label debut albums for Josh Groban (2001), Michael Bublé (2003),[13] Renee Olstead (2004), and Charice (2010), which were released under his 143 Records.[14]
In 2001, Foster collaborated with Lara Fabian and the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra to record English-language, French-language, and bilingual versions of the Canadian national anthem, "O Canada", for a promotion of the Canadian government. Foster, with his then-wife Linda Thompson, composed "Light the Fire Within", 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), has been used by Japan Airlines to promote the introduction of new aircraft for its US flights.
The 2001 film The Score, starring Robert De Niro and Marlon Brando, features a Diana Krall recording, "I'll Make it Up as I Go". The song was composed by Foster together with his daughter Amy Foster-Gillies.[15]
In 2005, Foster, his daughter Amy Foster-Gillies, and Beyoncé 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's causes. Over the years, more than $50 million has been raised to benefit Ronald McDonald House Charities and other children's organizations.
Christmas album productions[edit]
Foster has produced multiple best-selling Christmas albums beginning with Once Upon a Christmas, by Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton in 1984. He produced Celine Dion's These Are Special Times (1998), Josh Groban's Noël (2007), Andrea Bocelli's My Christmas (2009), Michael Bublé's Christmas (2011), Rod Stewart's Merry Christmas, Baby (2012), Mary J. Blige's A Mary Christmas (2013), and Jordan Smith's 'Tis the Season (2016). Thus, he has produced the best-selling Christmas albums of 1984, 1998, 2007–09, and 2011–12. Four of these albums rank among the top fifteen best-selling Christmas albums ever. He composed "Grown-Up Christmas List" (1990).
Foster and his fifth wife Katharine McPhee recorded a seven-song Christmas EP called Christmas Songs in 2022.[38][39] On October 20, 2023, the album was "completed" and re-released with seven additional songs.[40]
Personal life[edit]
Foster has been married five times and has five daughters, one son and seven grandchildren. His first child, Allison Jones Foster, was born in 1970 when Foster was 20. He placed her for adoption and reconnected with her when she was 30.[44] His first marriage was to singer and writer B.J. Cook.[45] Cook and Foster had one daughter together, Amy (b. 1973), a songwriter and author.[45]
He married his second wife, Rebecca Dyer, on October 27, 1982 and they divorced in 1986.[46] They had three daughters: Sara (b. 1981), Erin (b. 1982), and Jordan (b. 1986).[47] Foster is the father-in-law of former professional tennis player Tommy Haas, who is married to Sara.
He married his third wife, songwriter Linda Thompson, in 1991 and divorced in 2005.[48] The two became a songwriting team, collaborating on several songs, including "I Have Nothing", performed by Whitney Houston in The Bodyguard (1992), and "Grown-Up Christmas List".[49] Foster was stepfather to Brandon and Brody Jenner (Linda's sons with Caitlyn Jenner), who both grew up living in his Malibu home. Both Jenner boys starred in a short-lived TV reality show called The Princes of Malibu in 2005 which also featured Foster and Thompson and was filmed in their home.
In 1992, Foster was driving on the Pacific Coast Highway when his car struck actor and dancer Ben Vereen, who had just suffered a stroke while driving near his Malibu home and was stumbling on the highway.[50] Vereen was critically injured but recovered after going through physical rehabilitation.[51][52] Vereen said afterward that he would have died if Foster had not collided with him and then called for emergency services.[50]
Foster married his fourth wife, Dutch model Yolanda Hadid, in Beverly Hills, California on November 11, 2011.[53] David had three stepchildren from Yolanda Foster's previous marriage to Mohamed Hadid: Gigi (b. 1995), Bella (b. 1996), and Anwar (b. 1999). On December 1, 2015, Foster announced that after four years of marriage and nine years together, he and Yolanda had made the decision to divorce.[54] The divorce was finalized on October 16, 2017.[55]
In June 2018, Foster became engaged to Katharine McPhee.[56] On June 28, 2019, the couple wed at the Armenian Church of St Yeghiche, South Kensington in London.[57] McPhee gave birth to a son, Rennie David, in February 2021.[58][59]
Foster's sister, producer Jaymes Foster, has a son with Clay Aiken.[60] Foster is a cousin of racecar driver Billy Foster.[61]
In 1985, Rolling Stone magazine named Foster the "master of ... bombastic pop kitsch".[10] Foster has won 16 Grammy Awards, including three Grammy Awards for Producer of the Year and has been nominated a total of 47 times.[67] 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".[68]