Music maverick David Foster was born on November 1, 1949, in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Foster began studying piano at age five, and by his early teens, was admitted to the University of Washington's music program. The piano prodigy joined Chuck Berry's back-up band when he was sixteen, and moved to Los Angeles in his early twenties with his own band, Skylark. The band turned out the hit song "Wildflower" in 1972, and Foster’s keyboard skills became sought after by such superstars as John Lennon, Barbra Streisand, Diana Ross, and Rod Stewart.

By 1976, Foster had joined the band Attitudes, producing their self-titled debut album. He then began writing and producing material for other artists such as Hall & Oates, Carole Bayer Sager, Boz Scaggs, and the Average White Band. By the end of the decade, Foster had earned his first of many Grammy Awards, for writing Earth, Wind and Fire's After the Love Has Gone. Three years later, he racked up a second Grammy for producing the original cast album to the Broadway smash Dreamgirls.

The mid-80s was an intense period in Foster’s career, which saw him working on such juggernauts as Lionel Richie's 1983 album, Can't Slow Down, and Chicago’s 1984 smash single, "Hard Habit to Break," earning him a Grammy for Producer of the Year. Foster followed up with writing and producing John Parr's hit "St. Elmo's Fire (Man in Motion)," the theme song to Canadian wheelchair athlete Rick Hansen’s Man in Motion world tour fundraiser for spinal cord research.

The late-80s saw Foster working closely with Neil Diamond on his 1988 album The Best Years of Our Lives. Foster ushered in the 90s by collaborating with fellow-Canadian songstress Celine Dion, writing and producing her album Unison. In 1991, he scored three more Grammys for his work with Natalie Cole on Unforgettable, including Record of the Year, Album of the Year, and Producer of the Year. In 1992, Foster collaborated with yet another balladeer, Whitney Houston, for the hit soundtrack to her film The Bodyguard, for which he earned another Album of the Year Grammy as well as Grammys for Record of the Year and Producer of the Year. Foster re-teamed with Celine Dion in 1993 to produce The Color of My Love, and in 1996, Falling Into You, which received an Album of the Year Grammy.

Foster has worked with a huge amount of successful contemporary pop artist in North America, and continues to churn out hit after hit with such artists as Clay Aiken, Josh Groban, Katharine McPhee, Michael Jackson, Mariah Carey, Destiny's Child, Andrea Bocelli, Dolly Parton, Julio Iglesias, Madonna, and many more. He has won fourteen Grammy Awards and received a total of forty-two Grammy nominations.

In 1991, Foster married fellow songwriter, Linda Thompson, with whom he collaborated on several hit songs throughout the rest of the decade. The couple, along with Foster’s stepsons, Brandon and Brody Jenner, were featured on the Fox reality show The Princes of Malibu in 2005. Shortly after the show debuted, Thompson filed for divorce from Foster. Foster also has two daughters, actress, Sara Foster and singer and songwriter Amy Foster-Gillies, with whom he has collaborated.

In 2006, Foster guest-starred on both American Idol and Nashville Star. He has also served as a judge on Celebrity Duets.

In addition to his work in the recording industry, Foster has also worked on behalf of several humanitarian efforts, including supporting research for cancer and AIDS. In 1996, Foster founded the David Foster Foundation, which assists Canadian families with children who require organ transplants. Foster has been recognized with the prestigious Officer of the Order Of Canada for his humanitarian endeavors.

YUDDY