David Foster Biography

Summary

"David Walter Foster", O.C., O.B.C., LL.D. (born November 1, 1949 in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada) is a Canadian musician, producer, composer and arranger..

Personal

From an early age, it was apparent that he would make his mark in the music industry and he began taking piano lessons at the age of 5. As a keyboardist, he established himself in the early 1970s as a sought-after session musician. He is a cousin of race car driver Billy Foster.

On June 27, 1991, he married Linda Thompson (former Hee-Haw Hunnie and Elvis Presley mistress) and the two became a songwriting team and worked together on several songs, such as 'My Grownup Christmas List' and a few songs from The Bodyguard movie soundtrack. Thompson filed for divorce Monday July 11, 2005, the day after the short-lived reality series, The Princes of Malibu which David, his ex-wife, and two stepsons, Brandon and starred in themselves] premiered.

David has five daughters: Allison, Amy Foster-Gillies (b. 1973, by first wife of ten years, B.J. Cook); Sara (b. August 24 1981), Erin (b. August 2, 1982), and Jordan (b. September, 1986), the latter three who are by second wife of eight years, Rebecca. David has six sisters, one whom's name is Jaymes. His mother, Eleanor died in 2006 and his father, Maurice, died in 1968 when David was only 18. He is currently dating former Dutch model, Yolanda Hadid.

Music

David Foster was part of the group Skylark whose song 'Wildflower' was a huge hit in 1972. He has worked with The Bee Gees, John Lennon, Michael Buble, Clay Aiken, Josh Groban, Katharine McPhee, Céline Dion, Barbra Streisand, Kenny Rogers, Faith Hill, The Corrs, George Harrison, Ronnie Hawkins, Chicago, Earth, Wind & Fire, Chaka Khan, Filippa Giordano, Laura Pausini, Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, Brandy, Luis Miguel, Fred Norris, Richard Marx, Mariah Carey, Destiny's Child, Vanessa Williams, Anne Murray, Olivia Newton-John, Andrea Bocelli, Deborah Blando, Lisa Marie Presley, Lara Fabian, Dolly Parton, Julio Iglesias, Gordon Lightfoot, Madonna, All-4-One, Ricardo Montaner, Al Jarreau, Kenny Loggins, Natalie Cole, Yolanda Adams, The Tubes, Peter Cetera and many others.

He composed the score for the film "St. Elmo's Fire",

which produced two hits, including the instrumental hit 'Love theme from St. Elmo's Fire' which hit #15 in US pop charts. The other song, 'St. Elmo's Fire (Man in Motion)', recorded by John Parr hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 on September 7 in 1985. The song is also known in Canada for its original inspiration, the Canadian wheelchair activist hero, Rick Hansen, who was attempting a (ultimately successful) trek around the world in his chair for his cause.

He has produced debut albums for The Corrs, Michael Bublé, Renee Olstead, and Josh Groban, which were released under his own record label, 143 Records, and distributed through Warner Music. He also was one of the executive producers of John Stevens' debuting CD, "Red".

In 1992 they were nominated for a Grammy Award and an Academy Award for Best Song for their composition of the song 'I Have Nothing' sung by Whitney Houston in the 1992 film, "The Bodyguard". Foster, along with Kenneth 'Babyface' Edmonds, composed 'The Power of the Dream' as the official song of the 1996 Summer Olympics, with Thompson providing the lyrics (sung by Celine Dion).

For his compositions, David Foster earned BMI's 'Songwriter Of The Year' honors. He has won fourteen Grammy Awards (three for producer of the year) and has been nominated a total of forty-two times. He also has been nominated three times for an Academy Award for Best Song and won a Golden Globe Award for the song 'The Prayer' from the film "Quest for Camelot". He also composed 'Winter Games', the theme song for 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Alberta. 'Winter Games' also provides the soundtrack for one of the most popular fountain shows at the Bellagio resort in Las Vegas as well as a fountain show at Sea World Orlando. In 2003, Foster won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Music and Lyrics for "The Concert for World Children's Day".'

In 2007, David Foster produced the song "Body Language" for MTV's "The Hills" Heidi Montag. On the track, Montag's fiancee Spencer Pratt was featured rapping.

Television

In early 2001, David was in Popstars, a reality series that aired on WB, which was aimed at coming up with the next girl group, which eventually came up with the name of Eden's Crush. He (as well as ex-wife Linda Thompson) wrote and produced several songs on their album.

David Foster's home life was featured in a Fox staged reality TV show called "The Princes of Malibu", in which he attempts to force his two spoiled step-sons, 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 2006, David 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. David also 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 the NBC network and the viewers got to vote for the talent online.

In July 2006, David made a brief appearance on The View as Star Jones's vocal coach.

By August 2006, David was the musical director for JCPenney Jam: The Concert For American Kids, which aired on CBS. It was later released in CD/DVD format. The event was held (and taped) in the historic Los Angeles Shrine Auditorium just 2 months before. It featured performances by David himself, John Legend, country superstars Kenny Chesney Sara Evans and Martina McBride, R&B sensation Mary J. Blige, Sting, rock band 3 Doors Down, jazz musician Chris Botti, renowned tenor Andrea Bocelli, rocker Jon Bon Jovi, American Idol runner-up Katharine McPhee, and Latin pop star Alejandro Sanz. The television special was hosted by Dr. Phil and his wife, Robin McGraw.

Movies

Foster was an extra in the critically-acclaimed 1992 film The Bodyguard as the conductor in the chamber pit during the movie's Academy Award show. His now ex-wife, Linda Thompson was a female academy member who was the shrieking bystander who got spattered with blood by Rachael Marron's (Whitney Houston) stalker at the movie's Academy Awards.

Discography

In addition to the numerous albums he has produced, the following are Foster's own solo or band works:

"Skylark" (self-titled) (1972)

Skylark - "2" (1974)

"Attitudes" (self-titled) (1976)

Attitudes - "Good News" (1977)

"Airplay" (self-titled) (1980)

David Foster - "The Best of Me" (1983)

"David Foster" (self-titled) (1986)

David Foster - "The Symphony Sessions" (1988)

David Foster - "Time Passing" (1989)

David Foster - "River of Love" (1990)

David Foster - "Rechordings" (1991)

David Foster - "A Touch Of David Foster" (1992)

David Foster - "The Christmas Album" (1993)

David Foster - "Love Lights The World" (1994)

David Foster - "The Best Of Me: A Collection of David Foster's Greatest Works" (2000)

David Foster - "O Canada - with Lara Fabian" (2001)

David Foster - "Love Stories" (2002)

David Foster - "Teko's Theme - with Nita Whitaker" (2003)

David Foster - "The Best Of Me - Original Recording Remastered" (2004)

Singles

1988 - 'Winter Games (Can't You Feel It)' - Official theme song for the Calgary 1988 Olympic Games

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.