David Foster

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For other persons named David Foster, see David Foster (disambiguation).

David Foster
David Foster in 2003
Background information
Born	November 1, 1949
Origin	Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Occupation(s)	Producer, composer and arranger
Label(s)	Reprise Records/143 Records
Website	davidfoster.com

David Foster, OC, OBC , LL.D. born November 1, 1949 in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, is a multi Grammy Award winning musician, producer, composer and arranger.

David Foster was part of the group "Skylark" whose song "Wildflower" was a huge hit in 1972. He has worked with Clay Aiken, Katharine McPhee, Céline Dion, Barbra Streisand, Kenny Rogers, The Corrs, George Harrison, Earth, Wind & Fire, Chaka Khan, Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, Chicago, Fred Norris, Richard Marx, Mariah Carey, Destiny's Child, Anne Murray, Olivia Newton-John, Andrea Bocelli, Gordon Lightfoot, Madonna, All-4-One, Al Jarreau and Yes.

He composed the score for the film St. Elmo's Fire, which produced two hits, including the instrumental love theme. The other song, the #1 "St. Elmo's Fire (Man in Motion)", recorded by John Parr, eventually became more famous for its original inspiration, the Canadian wheelchair activist hero, Rick Hansen, who was attempting a world tour 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.

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.

In 1991, he married Linda Thompson and the two worked together on several songs. 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. He also composed "Winter Games", the theme song for 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Alberta. In 2003, Foster and his wife won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Music and Lyrics for "The Concert For World Children's Day."

For his work supporting research into children's cancer, leukemia, and AIDS, in 1997 David Foster was honored with the United States Children's Choice Award from the Neil Bogart Memorial Fund. Both Foster and his wife are involved in a number of humanitarian causes and wrote the song "Voices That Care" which they donated to the American Red Cross and the United Service Organizations (USO). In 1996 in his native Canada, Foster established the David Foster Foundation, giving generously of his time and talent to raise money to assist families throughout Canada with children who require organ transplants.

In recognition of his achievements and humanitarian work, David Foster was made an Officer Of The Order Of Canada, his country's highest civilian honor, and was given an Honorary Doctorate from the University Of Victoria. He has a star on Canada's Walk of Fame, was awarded the Order Of British Columbia and was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame.

David Foster's homelife was featured in a Fox reality TV show called The Princes Of Malibu, in which he attempts to force his two spoiled step-sons to straighten their lives up and earn their own way. The show was considered a poor attempt to make his two stepsons, the children of Thompson and Olympian Bruce Jenner, famous^{[citation needed]}. Like Paris Hilton, the two sons have questionable talent but are attractive^{[citation needed]}. The attempt backfired^{[citation needed]}. The show looked staged (more than usual for a "reality" show)^{[citation needed]}, David Foster came across as a bumbling dad^{[citation needed]}, and the show was quickly canceled. Around that time, Foster's wife, Linda Thompson, filed for divorce.

He is the father of actress Sara Foster and of singer/songwriter Amy Foster-Gillies, with whom he has collaborated.

In 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.

[edit] 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)
• Airplay (self-titled) (1980)
• David Foster - The Best of Me (1983)
• David Foster (self-titled) (1986)
• David Foster - The Symphony Sessions (1988)
• David Foster - River of Love (1990)
• David Foster - Rechordings (1991)
• David Foster - The Christmas Album (1993)

[edit] Singles

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

[edit] External links

• The Official David Foster Website
• YouTube - Can't You Feel It - performed at the 1988 Calgary Olympics Closing Ceremonies.