Fred Foster

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For others with the same or a similar name, see Fred Foster (basketball), Fred Foster (American football), and Frederick Foster (disambiguation).
Fred Foster
Birth nameFred Luther Foster
Born(1931-07-26)July 26, 1931
Rutherford County, North Carolina, U.S.
DiedFebruary 20, 2019(2019-02-20) (aged 87)
Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.
GenresCountry, pop
Occupation(s)Record producer, songwriter, music executive
Years activec.1948–2018

Fred Luther Foster (July 26, 1931 – February 20, 2019)[1] was an American record producer, songwriter, and music business executive who founded Monument Records. As a record producer he was most closely associated with Roy Orbison, and was also involved in the early careers of Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson. Foster suggested to Kris Kristofferson the title and theme of "Me and Bobby McGee",[2] which became a hit for Kristofferson, Roger Miller, and Janis Joplin, and for which Foster received a co-writing credit.

Biography

Early life and career

Born in

Bumming Around".[3][4]

In 1953 he started to work for

ABC-Paramount, where he acquired the rights to George Hamilton IV's recording, "A Rose and a Baby Ruth", which became the company's first million-seller, and also signed Lloyd Price to the label.[3]

Monument Records

In March 1958, while working in Baltimore,[5] Foster used his life savings and formed Monument Records and publishing company Combine Music with minority partner Buddy Deane, a disc jockey at WTTG. In 1959, after the company had seen some success with records by Billy Grammer and others, Deane sold his stock back to Foster, and Foster re-located the label to Hendersonville, Tennessee, in 1960. Foster remained active with the label until the 1980s.[4]

Foster is credited with the development of

Nashville session musicians such as Charlie McCoy and Jerry Kennedy.[5]

In 1963, Foster expanded his label, forming the

Dixie Belles, Arthur Alexander, and Ivory Joe Hunter. Orbison left the Monument label in 1964. Thereafter, Foster worked mainly with country musicians. He played a significant role in Dolly Parton's early career, signing her to Monument in 1964, shortly after her arrival in Nashville, and overseeing her recordings, culminating with her first top-40 country hit, "Dumb Blonde", in 1967.[3] Foster also produced recordings by Willie Nelson, Ray Stevens, Kris Kristofferson, Tony Joe White, Larry Gatlin, Charlie McCoy, Al Hirt, Boots Randolph, Jeannie Seely, Jerry Byrd, Billy Joe Shaver, Grandpa Jones, the Velvets, and Robert Mitchum. Foster suggested to Kris Kristofferson the title and theme of "Me and Bobby McGee", which became a hit for Kristofferson, Roger Miller, and Janis Joplin, and for which Foster received a co-writing credit.[3]

Later activities

Foster sold the Monument label to

Ray Price, Last of the Breed (2007). The latter was the winner of the 2008 Grammy for Best Country Collaboration, for the track "Lost Highway".[citation needed] Foster’s final production was Dawn Landes
’s Meet Me at the River (2018).

Honours

Foster was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum on October 12, 2009,[6] and was inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame on October 11, 2012.[7]

On March 29, 2016, it was announced that Foster would become a member of the

Country Music Hall of Fame.[8] He was inducted alongside fellow North Carolinians Randy Travis and Charlie Daniels on October 16, 2016.[9]

Death

Foster died in Nashville in 2019, aged 87, after a short illness.[4]

References

  1. ^ Paulson, Dave; Watts, Cindy (February 21, 2019). "Fred Foster, country music producer who helped launch Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson, dies at 87". The Tennessean. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
  2. ^ Kristofferson, Kristoffer. "Ralph Emery Show". Youtube. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Non-performer Hall of Fame Inductee: Fred Foster" (PDF). Country Music Association. Retrieved 20 April 2017.
  4. ^ a b c Stephen L. Betts, "Fred Foster, Producer of Dolly Parton, Roy Orbison, Dead at 87", Rolling Stone, February 21, 2019.
  5. ^ a b c Unterberger, Richie. "Biography: Fred Foster". AllMusic. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
  6. ^ "Rascal Flatts Perform With Toto During Musicians Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony". CMT.
  7. ^ "N.C. Music Hall of Fame offers tickets". The Salisbury Post. August 29, 2012. Archived from the original on December 31, 2013. Retrieved September 10, 2012.
  8. ^ Watts, Cindy, "Randy Travis, Charlie Daniels, Fred Foster to be inducted to Country Music Hall of Fame," The Tennessean, March 29, 2016. Accessed 03-29-2016.
  9. ^ "CHARLIE DANIELS, FRED FOSTER AND RANDY TRAVIS INDUCTED INTO THE COUNTRY MUSIC HALL OF FAME". Country Music Hall of Fame. January 4, 2018.

External links

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