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David Foster ”Betty Boop” composer: moving to the Big Apple

David Foster Betty Boop

David Foster Betty Boop

David Foster to get ‘Betty Boop’ to Broadway

NY Daily News has reported that Grammy-Award winning composer David Foster has made the move to New York to get ‘Betty Boop‘ to Broadway. Foster confirmed the move at the Prince Grace Awards, saying, “I bought a place in New York City. You cannot be that West Coast pop guy who rolls into New York and says, ‘Hey, I am going to do a Broadway musical’… I want to be accepted and not be ‘that guy from the West Coast.’ ”

The name and talent of David Foster as one of music’s most acclaimed songwriters and producers is the stuff of legend. Having spent the last four decades creating hits for stars including Celine Dion, Barbra Streisand, Whitney Houston, Josh Groban, Earth, Wind + Fire, Chicago, Andrea Bocelli, Michael Buble’ and scores of others, this 45-time Grammy nominee, three-time recipient of The Grammy® Producer of the Year and Academy Award nominee has achieved extraordinary levels of success.

‘I love top 40 music, but it is not what I do anymore’

The 67-year-old composer says the move was a long time in the making, and hopes to do a reading for ‘Betty Boop’ as early as December, with Jerry Mitchell overseeing the project. Foster also told NY Daily News, “At a certain point in your career you need to go where you belong. I love top 40 music, but it is not what I do anymore. But on Broadway, I can still write a good song that moves people.”

Betty Boop starred in more than 100 cartoons

Betty Boop is one of the most iconic animated creations of the 20th century. First introduced in the 1930s, Betty Boop was created by Max Fleischer for his “Talkartoons” series, the first “talkies” of animation, which Max’s company, Fleischer Studios, produced for Paramount. Mae Questel provided Betty’s distinctive voice. By 1932 Betty, considered to be the first and only female animated screen star, had taken the country by storm. Betty starred in more than 100 cartoons, 90 of which are included in the official “Betty Boop” series, which ended in 1939. Since then, Betty has appeared in dozens of hit movies, television specials and commercials. She was the first cartoon character to be profiled by A&E’s “Biography” series.

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David Foster is looking forward to a new US Tour

David Foster US Tour

 

 

 

 

David Foster wouldn’t say no to be married again

After four divorces, David Foster says he is open to reuniting again with the singing voice with singer Katharine McPhee.
After having divorced her fourth wife Yolanda Hadid earlier this month, 67-year-old Canada native has not sworn all women, having recently seen McPhee.

“It’s quite obvious by my track record that I love being married, so I wouldn’t say no to being married again,” Foster tells PEOPLE exclusively. “I like the concept, I’m just not that good at it.”

David Foster is going to tour US

Although David admits he is not “good” at marriage, he is a musical talent and he can not wait to go back on tour. The songwriter, who has not shot in the US since 2010, will launch his Hitman tour in Palm Desert, California, in March, PEOPLE reveals it exclusively.

“I wouldn’t mind traveling and not working,” he tells PEOPLE. “The only time I’ve ever traveled is for work. I want to go to the Antarctic. I just have this pull to get there. And I’ve never been to South America, which is kind of weird, but I’d like to go there to just hang out.”

“I’ve toured extensively in Asia and I figured, why not stay at home?” L.A.-based Foster says. “The thing about Asia that’s so great is the people seem to really care there about who wrote the songs. They don’t necessarily want the stars standing in front of them. They just want to hear the songs. And we’re thinking America is ready for that kind of thing too.”

David Foster is searching for the next Josh Groban and Michael Bublè

Instead of legends such as Andrea Bocelli, Céline Dion, Bette Midler and Barbra Streisand performing the songs they have released with Foster, they will have singers like American Idol alumn Ruben Studdard and Pia Toscano, in addition to unknown talents, take the stage. If the producer has his way, the fresh faces will explode like Michael Bublé and Josh Groban, the latter of whom Foster staged in 1999 after meeting his mixtape.

“I joke with Josh and Bublé all the time; I go, ‘I’ve been looking for the new you for the past 10 or 15 years,’ ” says the 16-time Grammy winner. “But I just can’t find them because the longer I go, the longer I realize how extraordinary Josh and Michael are. They’re total one-offs.”

The long list of legends that Foster has worked with has added Mariah Carey, Chicago, Earth, Wind & Fire, Madonna, Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston. And while the hitmaker can not promise a Taylor Swift style tour that every day has a difference in guest appearance, Foster hopes to bring out some of the great names.

“I won’t be able to do that,” he says referring to Swift’s 1989 tour, “but I might be able to give a surprise or two.”

PBS will perform again the David Foster Hitman concert

In front of his next launch of the tour, PBS will perform his 2008 Hitman concert: David Foster and Friends. The two special hours highlight Foster’s shows along with dozens of great collaborators like Bocelli, Bublé, Brian McKnight and Blake Shelton. It will include some unprecedented movies, such as an exclusive clip with Dion.

“Getting so many big stars together for one night was almost insurmountable [in terms of] the amount of work my manager and I had to do to pull it off,” Foster recalls. “But it was just an amazing night — kind of like my funeral while I was alive.”

Foster is still writing music for the upcoming Betty Boop musical

In addition to preparing for the tour and the relaunch of the special concert, Foster is writing music for the upcoming Betty Boop musical. He also bought a new place in Manhattan with the hope of immersing himself in the city’s culture and demonstrating he has what it takes to do it on Broadway.

“I think the Broadway community, they don’t take people like me lightly. A West Coast, pop guy blows into town, thinks he can write a musical,” the Asia’s Got Talent judge says. “But I’ve been working on Betty Boop for seven years, so it’s not just an overnight thing. I know I need to do my part to be accepted in the Broadway community.”

Source: People

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David Foster works on three new projects in New York

david foster works on new projects

 

 

 

 

 

 

There were hard times for David Foster Foundation

David Foster admits that there was time when the future of charitable foundation bearing his name was uncertain.

The organization that collects funds for survivors of pediatric organ transplants has helped with the medical expenses of over 1,100 Canadian families to date. This weekend celebrates its 30th Gala and Concerto Anniversary in Vancouver with a line of stars, including Oprah Winfrey, Jay Leno, Goldie Hawn and Steven Tyler, to name a few.
The 16 award-winning producer and musician outlined the goals he has for the foundation, which he admits, was inadequate in the early 2000s.

“We hit a serious lull about 15 years ago when I took my eye off the ball and we were down to $49,000 in the bank,” said Foster. “So I decided to get fierce and we expanded across Canada and had a major shift in the board in 2010 that lead to making a $30 million dollar commitment, which will probably turn into $50 million by the end. The $49,000 was my fault and the $50 million will be due to a lot of others, not just me.”

The list of others is a true celebrity of entertainment and sports as well as corporate superstars such as Boston Pizza founder and Dragons’ Den member Jim Treliving. Foster is candid about what it takes to get the likes of Oprah to join you on stage.

“It’s begging, really,” he said. “We all do things for each other on occasion, as I appeared at Goldie’s fundraiser awhile back, and so on. Jay Leno, who I know but not well, just volunteered to be there because he’s one of those great guys who is very charitable. Steven Tyler did our event in Calgary which was a huge blowout and he donated money to the foundation that night.”

There have been numerous 250 events to support the foundation and have been able to bring in a very varied and A-list guest group at all. Like every show, you get to use your connections. Sometimes celebrities could be linked, like German Tommy Haas, who is Foster’s father-in-law. As always with this annual event, David Foster works on and promises that there will be some surprise names added to the already loaded roster.

“I always do my best to give the crowd a little something extra and they won’t be disappointed,” he said. “Honestly, I get star-struck myself being around people like Oprah. There is just something about her.”

David Foster new production: Carla Bruni ‘s “French Touch”

Recently, Foster plied his producer chops with no less than a celebrity model and star singer Carla Bruni-Sarkozy. The newly released album, titled French Touch, is the first English version of the Franco-Italian vocalist. The cover song collection ranges from Highway to Hell AC / DC to Clash Jimmy Jazz and standards such as Stand By Your Man and Moon River that have given a distinctive cool jazz.

“To Carla’s credit, she lead me on this album because she didn’t want the David Foster sound even though she wanted to work with me,” he said. “She has a huge fan base, who probably prefer to hear her sing in French, and had very specific ideas of how to do this which included my string arrangements. I think we succeeded, mainly because of her keeping the album cool because she just reeks with coolness.”

This eclectic project falls beyond the popular pop kingdom of Foster. David Foster works on the project he thinks is humble enough and he hopes to help Bruni bring a broader fan base.

David Foster works on new projects in New York

Surprisingly, Foster is taking his talent away from pop and heading to Broadway. He bought a home in New York and is working on three different projects, all destined for the musical theater stage. Among the projects is an adaptation of Amy Bloom’s Lucky Us novel, a project he can not name and – of all things – a musical based on the iconic Max Fleischer Betty Boop comic character. The first cartoon character to be ever profiled in A & E biography television series, the character featured by Mae Questel, appeared in over 100 cartoons from 1932 to 1939.

The show was fast for production next year, with readings in December. David Foster works writing musicals, explaining his interest comes from a love for form and a good song.

“The way to explain it, is that when I wrote all those hits in the 80s and 90s, I did it with abandonment and didn’t think about it,” he said. “But when you get older, you eventually start to go from leading to chasing to write for a particular artist or style. The thing about Broadway is that you don’t have to do that, because it’s about the song suiting the story, and I find myself behind the keyboard writing with abandonment again.”

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David Foster and Brenda Russell: “I was so blown away with her voice”

David Foster Brenda Russell

Remember when Brenda Russell and David Foster were making music together

E-zine Popmatters.com shares the interesting story about singer-songwriter Brenda Russell, written by Christian John Wikane.

“Counting the Stars: Treasured Singer-Songwriter Brenda Russell Shares Her Story” is an amazing review of Brenda Russell’s recordings since the 1970’s, when she worked with producers and renowned artists such as David Foster, Earth Wind & Fire, Andre Fischer, Greg Phillinganes, Steve Lukather and more.

David Foster says about her: “One of my favorite subjects, a triple threat. I was so blown away with her voice, her songwriting, her piano playing and everything about her when I first met her. She has written some of the best songs on the planet and she continues to be a driving force in the music business with no regard to boundaries. She doesn’t write R&B music. She doesn’t write jazz music. She doesn’t write pop music. She simply writes music, beautiful and melodic music for all ages and times.


She also has the most spectacular spirit, which only enhances all of her other wonderful abilities. I always have been and I always will be a Brenda Russell fan. I am so happy that I was just one of many that got to witness her talent up close and collaborate with her.”

David Foster recommending Brenda Russell to Earth, Wind & Fire

David Foster recommend her to Earth, Wind & Fire founder Maurice White. As the group prepared Faces (1980) at AIR Studios in Montserrat, White called Russell and asked her to contribute lyrics to a trio of songs for the album, “And Love Goes On”, “You”, and “Song In My Heart”. Russell’s association with Earth, Wind & Fire continued on Raise! (1981), which featured “I’ve Had Enough”, her collaboration with Philip Bailey and Greg Phillinganes.

David Foster ‘s band Skylark

Brenda and his husband Brian wrote a song in 1975, “Please pardon me”, lately recorded by Skylark band (the one with David Foster on keyboard and ex-wife B.J.Cook as the singer).

This is the link to the whole article: http://www.popmatters.com/