In 1984, David Foster made Canadian music history by assembling many of this country’s top artists to record Tears Are Not Enough, a song he wrote with fellow British Columbians, Bryan Adams and Jim Valance, to aid African famine relief.
By that time, Foster was already on track to become one of the most successful and influential music producers since George Martin produced The Beatles. By 1973, Foster was already in Los Angeles performing as a keyboardist alongside notables such as John Lennon, Diana Ross, Rod Stewart, George Harrison, and Barbara Streisand.
While lucrative, Foster grew tired of session work, preferring to write and produce his own music. In 1979, he won a Grammy Award for co-writing After the Love Has Gone for Earth Wind and Fire. It was to be the first of 14 Grammys, including three coveted Producer of the Year awards. In 1985, he produced John Par’s Man in Motion for the hit movie St. Elmo’s Fire. Other top-selling soundtracks produced by Foster include Ghostbusters and Footloose.
In 1993, he was named Billboard’s Top Singles Producer and Top R&B Producer, while receiving the largest number of Grammy nominations, and winning Producer of the Year for Whitney Houston’s soundtrack to The Bodyguard.
A long-time champion of children and advocate of their rights, Foster lends his musical skills to many charitable foundations and organizations. In 1985, he established the David Foster Foundation to assist families of children in need. To date, the foundation has raised several million dollars to assist children throughout Western Canada.
