David Foster, you’re the inspiration

When I started following the music scene, I really didn’t know what a producer was. Then I heard about David Foster, and not only learned what a producer did but ended up considering David Foster a role model and an inspiration.

That also came from work he did for charity, and music he wrote and performed himself.

These days, he is heavily involved in the promotion of organ donation and transplantation. Some information about his work with the David Foster Foundation came across my desk the other day, and it reminded me of how much I really like him.

Chicago
David Foster first came to my attention when he was producing albums for Chicago. It was Grade 10 so the 1984-1985 school year, and I was just getting into music when I saw an interview with him and Peter Cetera, the lead singer of Chicago. The album “Chicago 17” was on the charts releasing hit singles and they talked about that. They also talked about the previous album, “Chicago 16”, and the number one hit it yielded called “Hard to Say I’m Sorry”.

Later on, a couple years ago, I recorded a special CTV made on David Foster, and it talked about his Chicago days.

When they hired him to produce, they were done. No one was buying their records but worse, no one was listening to their music. They had a real brass, jazzy kind of sound that just didn’t resonate with listeners.

Foster made them more of a pop band, and the hits started to roll. The documentary revealed he was kind of ruthless about it, but he made them famous again.

An obvious cleavage developed between the oldtime band members and Peter Cetera. You could hear it in their comments. The old band members said they betrayed their sound and stop being true to who they were because Foster changed their sound. Cetera said all he knew was he sang a lot of hits that made a lot of money.

Interestingly, as that segment concluded, they played a clip of Chicago performing recently – and it was one of the sell-out David Foster songs. Interesting.

David Foster at the recording of "Tears Are Not Enough" in 1984.

Source: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090141/mediaviewer/rm3038411520/

(May be subject to copyright)

Northern Lights
At about that same time, reports were coming in of severe drought, famine and starvation in Ethiopia. A group of British rock stars got together calling themselves Band Aid, and recorded a single at Christmas time of 1984 with all proceeds going to famine relief.

The Americans followed suit, forming a group called USA for Africa, and releasing a song called “We Are the World”. It was part of a full-length record.

Another part of that record was a song by Northern Lights, a group of Canadian performers, called “Tears Are Not Enough”.

It was a very proud moment to be a Canadian.

David Foster and Bruce Allen, a music agent for many including Bryan Adams, brought together “Tears Are Not Enough” and produced it.

Maybe a year later, CBC aired a behind the scenes documentary on “Tears Are Not Enough”, and it really showed how the process worked, given we only see the finished product.

One of the things I remember best was how each singer, who were only singing a few lines each, would sing take after take after take. Then Anne Murray sang her “If we can learn to share, and show how much we care”. Foster asked her to do it again, and again.

Then he paused, then commented she had nailed it the first take, and that rarely happens. Then he admitted he was so tired he almost missed it, and kind got down on himself.

It was very revealing, but showed me how committed and invested he was.

The results speak for themselves.

“Tears Are Not Enough” is a powerful, moving song.

Love theme
A few months after that, I was in Grade 11 by then, this really cool instrumental started playing regularly on the radio.

I used to listen to this request show weeknights at 9 p.m. on 1090 CHEC called “Rock and Roll Your Own”. One night, someone called in requesting the new song by David Foster. It was called “The Love Theme for St. Elmo’s Fire”.

There had already been one song from that movie soundtrack, “St. Elmo’s Fire (Man in Motion)” that, as it turned ou, Foster had also produced. It had topped the charts and been a big hit for John Parr, who sang it.

Now, David Foster was moving behind the microphone, so to speak, with a song of his own.

It was awesome, and really stirred the soul. The accompanying music video was shot in black and white and told the story of Foster writing the song and reflecting on the relationship he was in while composing the song. Again, just awesome.

The “Love theme for St. Elmo’s Fire” went all the way to number 15 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, pretty good for an instrumental.

A few months later I ordered the “Soundtrack for St. Elmo’s Fire” from Columbia House. I discovered there was a second version of the love theme, this one with lyrics.

It just didn’t sound the same.

Duet
A few months after that, in 1986, I heard Foster’s name on the radio again. This time it was a duet with Olivia Newton-John. It was this beautiful ballad called “The Best of Me”.

I was surprised by two things about “The Best of Me”. It peaked on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 80, when I thought it would have been much higher. It did peak at number six on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart. It must have benefitted by Canadian Content regulations because I heard it a lot. I even taped it off the radio one night. It did go to number 17 in Canada and number three on the Canadian Adult Contemporary chart. I was also surprised that Foster had actually first released the song as the debut single on a solo album in 1983, also called “The Best of Me”. I didn’t realize he had a solo career, or that much of a career as a performer at all.

Which brings me to something else I learned about David Foster.

“Wild Flower”
David Foster had actually been in a band in the 1970s, and it had a pretty big hit. Skylark formed in 1971 and released “Wildflower” in 1972. It was a really heartfelt, soulful song. It went to number one in Canada on the Adult Contemporary chart and number 10 on the singles chart, as well as number nine on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

However, Skylark was done by 1973, after their second album did not do as well as they expected.

Olympic anthem
Calgary hosted the Winter Olympics in 1988, and there was a lot of buzz in the Fall of 1987 when I left for university in Edmonton.

I was home for Christmas and driving in downtown Coaldale when I heard this great instrumental on the radio. It sounded like an anthem, and even a call to arms.

It turned out David Foster was back again, after writing this piece called “Winter Games” which was the instrumental theme song for the 1988 Winter Olympics. The song peaked at number 21 in Canada and made the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 85.

Prolific period
Wikipedia reveals David Foster did a lot more in the 1980s. Just some of the songs he was involved in 1982 were “Hard to Say I’m Sorry” and “Love Me Tomorrow” by Chicago; and “The Girl is Mine” by Michael Jackson; “

In 1983, there was “Twist of Fate” and “Take a Chance” by Olivia Newton-John; “Prima Donna” by Chicago; “We’ve Got Tonight” by Kenny Rogers; and “She’s a Beauty” by the Tubes.

In 1984, there was “Stay the Night”, “Hard Habit to Break”, “Along Comes a Woman” and “You’re the Inspiration” by Chicago; “What About Me?” by Kenny Rogers”; and “Lady of my Heart” by Jack Wagner.

In 1985, there was “St. Elmo’s Fire (Man in Motion)” by John Parr; “Shake Down”: by Billy Squier; “Young and Innocent” by Elefante; “This Time it Was Really Right” by Jon Anderson; “Saved my Life” by Fee Waybill; “If I Turn You Away” by Vicki Moss; “Love Theme from St. Elmo’s Fire (Instrumental)”, “Georgetown”, and Love Theme from St. Elmo’s Fire (For Just a Moment)” all by Foster; and “Stressed Out” by Foster as Airplay, all from the “St. Elmo’s Fire Original Soundtrack”.

There was also “Somewhere” by Barbra Streisand; “Tears Are Not Enough” by Northern Lights; “That’s What Friends Are For” by Dionne and Friends; “Forever” by Kenny Loggins; “Who’s Holding Donna Now” by DeBarge; and “Stuck in the Rain”, “You’re the Only Love”, “Cruel Hearted Lovers”, and “Here’s the World 4 Ya”, by Paul Hyde and the Payolas.

In 1986, there was “If She Would Have Been Faithful” and “Will You Still Love Me” by Chicago; “Glory of Love” by Peter Cetera; “Now and Forever (You and Me)” by Anne Murray; and “On My Own” by Pattie LaBelle;.

In 1987, there was “Secret of My Success” by Night Ranger; and “Love Power” by Dionne Warwick and Jeffrey Osborne.

Parting thoughts
David Foster went on to even greater success in the 1990s and into the 21st Century with all sorts of performers from Whitney Houston and Josh Groban to Celine Dion and so much more.

Yet, as a typical Canadian, he is quite humble about all his accomplishments. I read his autobiography, “Hit Man”, and he really understates a lot of his work. Some of it he doesn’t even mention at all. I know this because I also saw a documentary on him on CTV.

David Foster is an incredible artist, a role model who just inspires me to want to do more and more.

He may have co-written “You’re the Inspiration.”

To me, he is the inspiration.