David Foster

David Foster – Canadian singer, songwriter, producer, composer

David Walter Foster was born on 1 November 1949 in Victoria, British Columbia. His father was a construction worker. His mom was a homemaker. In 1963, the young man enrolled in the University of Washington music program, where he studied for two years.

After the program was over, the musician got a gig at a local nightclub, which became famous thanks to the celebrity jazz artist Tommy Banks. Banks took Foster under his wing and helped the aspiring artist find his way in the music business. A year later, the singer moved to Toronto to work with Ronnie Hawkins. In 1966, he got a chance to work in the backup band for Chuck Berry. In the 1970’s the artist went to Los Angeles with his group Skylark. The band’s song “Wildflower” got into the top-10 of the Canadian chart in 1973, which was a big success for the group. However, it fell apart shortly.

After Skylark’s disbanding, Foster stayed in the USA. Together with Jay Gaydon, they formed a band called Airplay. The group released several albums. In 1975, David got an opportunity to work with George Harrison on his album, Extra Texture. It reached the 8th spot on Billboard Top LPs & Tape, came in 16th on the UK Albums Chart, and settled on the 63rd position of Canadian RPM Top Albums Chart.

In 1976, Guthrie Thomas invited Foster to record his song “Lies and Alibis”. In 1979, David worked on the LP I Am, recorded by Earth, Wind, and Fire. The public gave great reviews to the single "After the Love Has Gone". A year later, it was nominated for a Grammy Award as Best R&B Song.

In 1980, David started showing his skills as a producer. He worked with the group The Tubes on their albums The Completion Backward Principle and Outside Inside, which came out in 1981 and 1983 accordingly.

In 1984, Foster presented his debut album, The Best of Me. Two years later, he recorded one more LP, David Foster. The album edged its way into Billboard 200, settling on the 195th position. The following songs became hits, "Love Theme from St. Elmo's Fire", "Flight of the Snowbirds", and "All That My Heart Can Hold".

In 1988 and 1989, the artist presented The Symphony Sessions and Time Passing. At that time, many fans wanted to book David Foster for their events.

In the 1990’s, Foster came up with several albums, River of Love in 1990, Rechordings in 1991, The Christmas Album in 1993, and Love Lights The World in 1994. In 1993, the artist filmed his own TV show David Foster's Twilight Orchestra. David worked on many television projects throughout his career.

For some time, David hasn’t been recording any new LPs. He focused his attention on the production career. In the early 2000’s, Foster worked on the albums of such artists as Michael Bublé, Charice, Renee Olstead, and Josh Groban, achieving impressive results. Later, he collaborated with such celebrities as Toni Braxton, Chaka Khan, Natalie Cole, Christina Aguilera, Andrea Bocelli, Michael Bublé, Chicago, Michael Jackson, Alice Cooper, Rod Stewart, Kenny G, Cheryl Lynn, Celine Dion, Brandy Norwood, Madonna, Whitney Houston, Jennifer Lopez, Kenny Rogers, Seal, Jake Zyrus, Josh Groban, Mary J. Blige, Peter Cetera, Olivia Newton-John, Donna Summer, and Barbara Streisand.

Since April 2006, Foster has been working as one of the judges on the popular TV show American Idol. He used this opportunity to find new talent and promote it after the show.

In 2008, the documentary Hit Man: David Foster & Friends came out. It described Foster’s life and career.

In 2011, together with Andrea Bocelli, Foster recorded an album, Concerto: One Night in Central Park. A year later, he appeared in one of the episodes of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.

In 2015, the singer was invited to work as a judge on Asia’s Got Talent. The same year he released a compilation album, The Many Sides of David Foster.

Throughout his career, Foster was nominated for a Grammy Award 47 times. He won 16 of them.

David Foster continues recording new songs, working as a producer, and giving live performances.