“Gotta Love the Holidays” is an all-star collection released for Christmas 2003 to benefit the Larry King Cardiac Foundation. King’s wife Shawn, a talented singer and actress, and her good friend, singer/songwriter Bruce Roberts, were the engines behind this project. David Foster was immediately involved for the special occasion and he pulled out all the stops by providing classic Christmas recordings he has produced for Celine Dion and Michael Bublé, plus a new version of “Blue Christmas” by Renee Olstead. Foster also crafted the melodious title track co-written by Roberts and beautifully performed by King. “Gotta Love the Holidays” is a modern torch song tastefully arranged by Foster who also played the acoustic piano and keyboards while Kenny G added an elegant performance with his soprano sax.

Another track recorded specifically for “Gotta Love the Holidays” is a spoken word rendition of “T’was the Night Before Christmas” by actress Sharon Stone with Larry King. Elton John’s “Step Into Christmas” is another goody while Barry Manilow, Natalie Cole and pianist Jim Brickman added more Christmas evergreens to the mix.

Listen

[audio:https://www.fozfan.com/archives/clips/gotta_love_the_holidays.mp3|titles=Gotta love the holidays|artists=Shawn King]

Lead Vocals: Shawn King
Saxophone: Kenny G.
Keyboards: David Foster
Arranged by David Foster & Bruce Roberts
Strings Arranged by Jerry Williams
Produced by Bruce Roberts
Associate Producer: Peter Stengaar

Lyrics

NO LYRICS

Through the years David Foster has put his golden print on many classic Christmas albums including Céliné Dion’s “These Are Special Times,” Josh Groban’s recent triumph “Noel” and his own 1993 “The Christmas Album.” His first Christmas hit was the 1984 Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton double platinum release “Once Upon A Christmas.” This record was the soundtrack of a successful TV special that featured the two superstars performing many Christmas classics plus a few new holiday-themed tunes mostly written by Parton. Foster produced the album with his usual skill, giving the audience a mix of pop and country flavored arrangements that perfectly suited the two singers’ beautiful harmonies. “Once Upon A Christmas” includes both duet and solo performances with intense moments like Parton’s “White Christmas” and Rogers’ “Silent Night.” Among the duets is the single written by John Jarvis, “The Greatest Gift of All,” that made it to Billboard’s Hot 100. It’s a catchy ballad with a trademark Foster vibe. The title track is an inspirational song with a grand arrangement for orchestra and chorus. The track that most resembles Foster’s hi-tech pop of the era is Parton’s “A Christmas To Remember” with its smooth atmosphere and jazzy feel.

“Once Upon A Christmas” was eventually released on cd in 1987 by BMG but, for contractual reasons, the label didn’t include Rogers’ solo offerings of “Silent Night” and “The Christmas Song.” They replaced them with “Hard Candy Christmas,” a song that wasn’t recorded during the “Once Upon A Christmas” sessions. “Hard Candy Christmas” was written and performed by Parton for the 1982 hit movie “Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.”

Listen

[audio:https://www.fozfan.com/archives/clips/a_christmas_to_remember.mp3|titles=A christmas to remember|artists=Kenny Rogers & Dolly Parton]

Lead Vocals: Kenny Rogers & Dolly Parton
Keyboards: David Foster
Drums: John Robinson
Guitars: Michael Landau & Paul Jackson jr.
Bass: Neil Stubenhaus
Percussion: Victor Feldman
Strings Arrangement by Jeremy Lubbock
Produced by David Foster & Kenny Rogers

Lyrics

You’ve made this a Christmas to remember
Springtime feelin’s in the middle of December
Strangers meet and they willingly surrender
Oh! What a Christmas to remember
Almost went to Aspen but something told me no
I considered Mammoth but there wasn’t enough snow
And I even thought of Gatlinburg but that seemed so far to go
So I headed up to Tahoe for a Christmas on the slopes

And I had fantasized about Christmas in this way
Curled up by a fireplace in a Tahoe ski chalet
With a fast talking lover and some slow burning wood
But even in my wildest dreams it never got this good and

You’ve made this a Christmas to remember
Springtime feelin’s in the middle of December
Change the radio and I’ll turn the lights down dimmer
Oh! What a Christmas to remember

Strangers when we met, lovers as we leave
Christmas to remember, too good to believe
Don’t know how or when, but I know we’ll meet again
We’ll come blowin’ back to somewhere like some wild restless winter’s wind

And you’ve made this a Christmas to remember
Springtime feelin’s in the middle of December
Neath the mistletoe you kissed me warm and tender
Oh! What a Christmas to remember

We loved and laughed and played and joked
Sang Christmas songs and talked to folks
Sleighed the fields and skied the slopes
Then to the lodge for dinner
But now it’s time for us to go
As our hearts melt like chimney snow
There’s just one thing I want to know
Can we do this next winter
Oh! What a Christmas to remember

You’ve made this a Christmas to remember
Springtime feelin’s in the middle of December
Though the fire is hot, we’ll just have to let it simmer
Oh! What a Christmas to remember

You’ve made this a Christmas to remember
Springtime feelin’s in the middle of December
Though it’s cold outside we’ll just stroke the burning embers
Oh! What a Christmas to remember

Mike Reno was the lead singer of the popular Canadian rock band, Loverboy. Their melodic rock brought them great success in the eighties with hits like “Lovin’ Every Minute Of It,” “This Could Be The Night” and “Heaven In Your Eyes.” Reno also had a tremendous solo hit with “Almost Paradise,” a duet with Ann Wilson of Heart from the “Footloose” soundtrack. By the end of the 80s Loverboy had disbanded. A few years later Reno started working on a solo album with producer Mark Spiro. Unfortunately, their collaboration never saw the light of day until 2004 when the singer made the album available through his website. “Renovation” included a some solid AOR ballads and up-tempo songs performed with Reno’s typical style and strong echoes of his former band. Included on the album was a special bonus track entitled “All I Ever Needed Was You,” co-written by the singer and David Foster. The original version of this song was title “All I Ever Needed” and was released on Foster’s solo “River Of Love” in 1990. Foster’s version was a full band, powerful keyboard and guitar driven rock anthem with Reno’s masterful vocal performance on top. However, Reno’s raw track is just his tenor vocal with Foster’s beautiful accompaniment at the acoustic piano making this song one of the highlights of “Renovation.” Other good moments for AOR lovers are the rousing opener, “Affection,” and a couple of intense power ballads, “Still In Love” and “Take Me Back.” Reno is in top form vocally and confirms himself as one of the Rock’s best tenor voices.

Listen

[audio:https://www.fozfan.com/archives/clips/all_i_ever_needed_was_you.mp3|titles=All i ever needed was you|artists=Mike Reno]

Lead Vocals: Mike Reno
Keyboards: David Foster
Arranged by David Foster
Produced by Humberto Gatica

Lyrics

I found myself thinkin’ of you today
the way it used to be
when you were the only one
like a long lost friend
It never goes away
whatever you do
You’ll always be the only one.
It hit me without a warning
before I knew that you were gone
I saw my life before my eyes
and I knew that something’s wrong

Chorus:
All I ever really needed was you
like an answer to my prayer
you know you make my dreams come true
All I ever really needed
All I ever really neede was you
Sometimes it hurts so bad
it never goes away
not for a moment…oh no
and I know there comes a time
when you need to say you’re mine
you’ve got to hold on to it
we’ll get through it
it’s everything you got
It hit me without a warning
before I knew that you were gone
I found myself out looking for you
please don’t tell me I was wrong

-Repeat Chorus-

Bridge:
My world goes around and around
and I don’t know what I’m gonna find
now it’s only a matter of time
and I can’t get you outta my mind.
And it hit me without a warning
for I knew that you were gone
I saw my life before my eyes
and I knew that something’s wrong.

-Repeat Chorus-

Donna Summer and David Foster first crossed paths in 1982 when Quincy Jones enlisted the Canadian musician to work on the singer’s self-titled album. For that project, Foster co-wrote and arranged two songs, “Livin’ in America” and “Love Is Just a Breath Away.” Fourteen years later, Foster produced “Whenever There Is Love,” a duet between the former disco queen and singer/songwriter Bruce Roberts who co-wrote this power ballad for the movie soundtrack of Sylvester Stallone’s “Daylight.”

Finally, at the dawn of the new millennium, Foster and Donna Summer got together again to work on the title track for the animated movie “Pokemon 2000 The Power of One” soundtrack. Again we’re talking about a grand ballad, this time co-written by former Take 6 member Mervyn Warren, but with a gospel feel that makes it a bit different and enjoyable. Foster’s trademark ingredients are here; his dramatic, keyboard-driven arrangement and the effective use of acoustic and electric guitars, courtesy of maestros Steve Lukather and Dean Parks, that enhance the singer’s powerful performance at the song’s climax. There’s also a good dance remix of “The Power of One” that went to #2 on Billboard’s dance chart.

Another Foster production entitled “One” found it way on the “Pokemon 2000 The Power of One” soundtrack. It’s performed by newcomer Denise Lara. “One” is another nice ballad that could easily attract Foster’s collectors.

Listen

[audio:https://www.fozfan.com/archives/clips/the_power_of_one.mp3|titles=The power of one|artists=Donna Summer]

Lead Vocals: Donna Summer
Keyboards: David Foster
Guitar: Steve Lukather
Acoustic Guitar: Dean Parks
Synthesizers Programming: Nathan DiGesare & Felipe Elgueta
Arranged by David Foster & Nathan DiGesare
Produced by David Foster
Co-produced by: Nathan DiGesare and Bruce Sudan

Lyrics

You must always remember

Life can be a challenge
Life can seem impossible
It’s never easy
When so much
Is on the line
But you can make a difference
With courage
You can set things right
A gift to dream
And make dreams real
Is yours and mine

The power of one
Begins with believing
It starts in the heart
Then flows through the soul
And changes the world
Imagine how life will be
When we stand in unity
Each of us holds the key
To the power of one

Each of us is chosen
There’s a mission just for you
Just look inside
You’d be surprised what you can do

The Power of one
Begins with believing
It starts in the heart
Then flows through the soul
And changes the world
Imagine how life will be
When we stand in unity
Each of us holds the key
To the power of one

One by one
We can make the world
A much better place

The power of one
Begins with believing
It start in the heart
Then flows through the soul
And changes the world
Imagine how life will be
When we stand in unity
Each of us holds a key
It’s inside of you and me
Each of us holds the key
To the power of one

The power of one

“Three Men and a Baby” was the biggest box office success of 1987. Directed by Leonard Nimoy and starring Tom Selleck, Ted Danson and Steve Guttenberg, this romantic comedy grossed almost $168 million in the U.S. alone. Although the orchestral score was composed by the legendary Marvin Hamlisch, the soundtrack included several pop songs of the era. Among these were Peter Cetera’s tender “Daddy’s Girl” from his record “Solitude Solitaire,” Simply Red’s hit “The Right Thing” and Miami Sound Machine’s “Conga.” A couple of new songs were Gloria Estefan’s “Bad Boy” and John Parr’s “The Minute I Saw You.”

Known for his mega hit “St. Elmo’s Fire,” Parr’s “The Minute I Saw You.” was a great, up-tempo tune co-written by the singer with Hamlisch, Carole Bayer Sager and David Foster who, like with “St. Elmo’s Fire”, produced and arranged the track. The song is catchy with an energetic vibe and sports a strong performance by the singer underlined by Foster’s state of the art keyboard work. The only questionable thing about the whole project is that neither Parr’s song nor the “Three Man and a Baby” soundtrack were released on the music market. It’s a pity because both the soundtrack and “The Minute I Saw You” could have been hits given the huge success of the movie and the quality of the track.

Listen

[audio:https://www.fozfan.com/archives/clips/the_minute_i_saw_you.mp3|titles=The minute i saw you|artists=John Parr]

Lead Vocals: John Parr
Keyboards: David Foster
Produced & Arranged by David Foster

Lyrics

NO LYRICS