Ruthie Foster
Ruthie Cecelia Foster (born February 10, 1964)[1] is an American singer-songwriter of blues and folk music. She mixes a wide palette of American song forms, from gospel and blues to jazz, folk and soul. She has often been compared to Bonnie Raitt and Aretha Franklin.[2]
Not to be confused with Ruth Foster.
Ruthie Foster
Biography[edit]
Foster is from Gause, Texas, and comes from a family of gospel singers. At the age of fourteen, Foster was a soloist in her hometown choir, and was certain that her future would revolve around music. After high school, she moved to Waco, Texas, to attend McLennan Community College, where her studies concentrated in music and audio engineering. She began fronting a blues band, learning how to command a stage in the bars of Texas.[3]
Hoping to travel and gain a wider world perspective, Foster joined the Navy, and soon began singing in the naval band Pride, which played pop and funk hits at recruitment drives in the southeastern United States. Following her tour of duty, Foster headed to New York City, where she became a regular performer at various local folk venues. Atlantic Records got wind of Foster's talent and offered her a recording deal, with the intent of cultivating her as a budding pop star, but Foster wasn't interested in a pop career, preferring instead to explore the various strains of American roots music that had informed her childhood. When her mother fell ill in 1993, Foster left New York and her recording deal and returned to Texas to be with her family. She began working as a camera operator and production assistant at a television station in College Station, Texas, while she cared for her mother, who died in 1996.