from DAVID FOSTER
Written by David Foster & Jeremy Lubbock
Late last month, world-class arranger Jeremy Lubbock passed away (June 4, 1931 to January 29, 2021). Mr. Lubbock was born in England and moved to Los Angeles in the late seventies. He was unanimously recognized as one of the best arrangers in the history of popular music. Mr. Lubbock would work alongside heavyweights including Quincy Jones, Pat Metheny, Burt Bacharach, Joni Mitchell and, of course, David Foster.
Mr. Lubbock was the mastermind behind the orchestral landscapes that enriched many of Foster’s classic productions including Chicago’s “Hard Habit To Break” and “Hard To Say I’m Sorry,” the late Whitney Houston’s (1963-2012) “I Have Nothing” and “I Will Always Love You,” Michael Bolton’s “To Love Somebody” and the late Al Jarreau’s (1940-2017) “Mornin’.” This arranger extraordinaire gained 14 Grammy nominations with three wins. He also wrote timeless gems like “Not Like This” for Jarreau, “Goodbye Love” for Manhattan Transfer, “The Best Of Me” co-written with Foster and Richard Marx and sung by superstars like Cliff Richard and Barry Manilow and “Whatever We Imagine,” also penned with the Hitman, lyricist Paul Gordon and sung by the incomparable James Ingram (1952-2019).
To honor Mr. Lubbock’s memory, “All That My Heart Can Hold” was picked for its gorgeous instrumental that Mr. Lubbock co-wrote with Foster for the Canadian super-producer’s 1986 self-titled album.
“All That My Heart Can Hold” sported one of Foster’s trademark heart-wrenching melodies and an intimate nocturne feel that resulted in pure listening bliss. The track was all performed by Foster on various keyboards and synths except the timely mid-track appearance of Dave Boruff’s warm saxophone. This gorgeous instrumental was eventually rediscovered by Latin superstar Luis Miguel. Miguel recorded a version with added Spanish lyrics under the title of “Ayer” that jumped to #1 in 1993 on the Latin chart.
On this solemn occasion, David Foster dedicated a few words to his friend:
“I don’t remember how I met Jeremy, but right from the start I fell in love with his musical brain. He was simply a notch more talented than most of us. His brain was wired differently. Jeremy hated to compromise (and seldom did) and he had an uncommon ability to walk between the world of classical and pop. Sure, we did have extraordinary success with Chicago, Whitney, etc., but I particularly loved his contributions to a couple of lesser-known Josh Groban tracks like the arrangement of the Christmas classic, ‘Oh Holy Night’ and ‘Mi Mancherai’ from Closer.”
On a personal note, we were lucky enough to exchange a few emails in the past with Mr. Lubbock and here was the first paragraph of his first answer:
“Many thanks for your very kind e-mail. First of all, my name is Jeremy, NOT Mr. Lubbock!!!!!!!”
R.I.P. Jeremy
Listen
- Keyboards & Synthesizers: David Foster
- Saxophone: Dave Boruff
- Arranged by David Foster
- Produced by David Foster & Humberto Gatica
Lyrics
No Lyrics