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David Foster music biography continued...

Columbia, Canada, Foster got his start in music as a keyboardist for the Los Angeles-based pop group Skylark, which scored a Top Ten hit with the 1972 tune, "Wildflower." After the group disbanded Foster stayed in Los Angeles, Foster building a strong reputation as a talented session keyboard player. He added his input to songwriting and arrangement in sessions and eventually worked his way into producing and writing his own songs. In 1979 he won his first Grammy Award, for best rhythm and blues song, for co-writing Earth, Wind and Fire's "After the Love Has Gone." Foster released a self-titled album on Atlantic Records in 1986, which included a duet with Olivia Newton-John. His next solo album, The Symphony Sessions, appeared in record stores in 1988. The disc featured Foster performing his compositions with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and included "Winter Games," the song he wrote for the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics. The Symphony Sessions showcased a reworked rendition of Foster's Golden Globe-nominated theme for the movie The Secret of My Success. Foster would go on to pen and compose a number of award-winning song for movies, including St. Elmo's Fire, Urban Cowboy, Summer Lovers, One Good Cop, If Looks Could Kill, and Karate Kid Part II. Although few would know his name, everybody came to know his music.



Foster released River of Love in 1990, which included the single "Grown-Up Christmas," sung by Natalie Cole. Brian Wilson, Bryan Adams, Bruce Hornsby, Mike Reno, and others contributed both songs and performances to the album. The following year, Foster released Rechordings, which featured instrumental versions of Foster's most popular compositions. He continued to produce top talent as well, and in 1994 Time reporter Charles P. Alexander noted "Over the past two years, Foster productions have held the No. 1 spot on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 more than 25% of the time." He continues to perform, write and compose songs, making numerous television appearances in the 00s. Foster once summed up the purpose and theory of his career in one sentence in his Atlantic Records press biography, noting "I gravitate toward tugging at heartstrings-- and I treat every day in the studio as life or death." Fans know that that clearly shows in his work.