Curtis Stigers is a talented singer/songwriter/saxophone player who achieved popularity in both the pop and jazz fields. Signed by Arista Records in the early nineties, Stigers was probably seen as the next Michael Bolton.

The singer’s self-titled debut followed the footsteps of Bolton’s style with a mix of pop ballads and
rock’n’soul up-tempo songs. The album became a multi-platinum smash and included the hit single “I Wonder Why,” an elegant ballad that paved the way for the album’s success. Stigers’ 1995 sophomore effort, “Time Was,” was another elegant radio-friendly affair with the singer’s powerful and evocative singing in the spotlight. Stigers also co-wrote interesting moments of the album like the rocking title track, the ballad “Keep Me From The Cold” and the soulful “It Never Comes.” “Time Was”
presented a stellar line-up of musicians and producers including session aces John Robinson, Vinnie Colaiuta, Dave Koz, Neil Larsen and Michael Thompson while David Foster, Glen Ballard, Stewart Levine and Danny Kortchmar were behind the glass. Foster produced and arranged the adult contemporary ballad, “This Time.” The smooth song develops beautifully with a gentle melody and effective refrain. The elegant arrangement and perfect production are trademark Foster. Thompson’s guitar and Foster’s piano back up the singer’s heartfelt performance that’s also enriched by his fired up saxophone playing. “This Time” was the single off the album though it didn’t become a hit.

After “Time Was,” Stigers decided to go back to jazz. He released a series of wonderful albums that established him as one of premiere jazz singers in America.

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[audio:https://www.fozfan.com/archives/clips/this_time.mp3|titles=This time|artists=Curtis Stigers]

Lead Vocals & Saxophone: Curtis Stigers
Piano & Keyboards: David Foster
Electric Guitars: Michael Thompson
Synclavier: Simon Franglen

Produced & Arranged by David Foster

Lyrics

Love makes us laugh
Love makes us cry
We’re up and we’re down
We don’t understand why
But we take it
We’re just trying to make it
Sometimes we lose touch
With our feelings inside
Put up our walls
When we injure our pride
And we break up
Only to make up
Easy
Love has never been easy
And I’ve been searching
Trying every door
’
Til I finally found what I was looking for
And it takes what it takes
We all make mistakes
There are so many Mountains to climb
But I know that our love will survive
Baby this time
We heal from the pain
We learn from the past
The future is ours
Now we found it at last
We both know it
Can’t help but show it
Easy
Love has never been easy
And I’ve been searching
Trying every door
’
Til I finally found what I was looking for
And it takes what it takes
We all make mistakes
There are so many Mountains to climb
But I know that our love will survive
Baby this time
There were so many times
When the road got rough
Thought that we’d both had enough
But we kept it alive
Somehow the love wouldn’t die

Josh Groban’s phenomenal Christmas album, “Noel,” was released in the fall 2007. Masterfully produced by David Foster, this magnificent holiday themed collection became the best selling album of 2007. “Noel” was certified platinum 4 times before the end of the year and is the first Christmas album to ever spend five consecutive weeks at #1 on Billboard’s Top 200 chart.

“Noel” is a great showcase for Groban’s top notch vocal performances on classics like “Silent Night,” “The Christmas Song” and “What Child Is This.” There are also less obvious choices like a beautiful duet with Brian McKnight on the traditional “Angels We Have Heard On High” and an intense cover of “It Came Upon A Midnight Clear.” The album has had several tracks on the adult contemporary chart with a moving rendition of “I’ll Be Home For Christmas” reaching the #1 spot. Another shining moment on the album is the original song, “Thankful.” Co-written by Foster with Carole Bayer Sager and Richard Page, “Thankful” is a wonderful song with an evocative atmosphere beautifully performed by Groban. Throughout the album, the superstar’s vocals are impeccable, tender and smooth yet powerful when needed. Foster’s inventive arrangements and state of the art production are another key element of the triumph of “Noel.” Recently this album earned a well-deserved Grammy nomination as “Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album” and has very good chances of receiving the award.

Merry Christmas everybody!!

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[audio:https://www.fozfan.com/archives/clips/thankful.mp3|titles=Thankful|artists=Josh Groban]

Lead Vocals: Josh Groban
Piano: David Foster

Produced & Arranged by David Foster

Lyrics

Somedays we forget
To look around us
Somedays we can’t see
The joy that surrounds us
So caught up inside ourselves
We take when we should give.

So for tonight we pray for
What we know can be.
And on this day we hope for
What we still can’t see.
It’s up to us to be the change
And even though we all can still do more
There’s so much to be thankful for.

Look beyond ourselves
There’s so much sorrow
It’s way too late to say
I’ll cry tomorrow
Each of us must find our truth
It’s so long overdue

So for tonight we pray for
What we know can be
And every day we hope for
What we still can’t see
It’s up to us to be the change
And even though we all can still do more
There’s so much to be thankful for.

Even with our differences
There is a place we’re all connected
Each of us can find each other’s light

So for tonight we pray for
What we know can be
And on this day we hope for
What we still can’t see
It’s up to us to be the change
And even though this world needs so much more

There’s so much to be thankful for

Glen Campbell is a true legend of country music. During the course of his long career, his smooth mix of country and pop brought the singer a stunning number of hit singles and albums on Billboard’s charts. The list of his classics includes evergreens like “Wichita Lineman,” “Southern Nights,” “Galveston,” “Try A Little Kindness” and “Rhinestone Cowboy.”

In 1980, Campbell was asked to sing the title track for the Clint Eastwood movie, “Any Which Way You Can.” The song, produced by Snuff Garrett, is a country/pop ballad with a sweet melody and memorable refrain. Glen Campbell’s beautiful performance was backed by David Foster’s trademark acoustic piano. “Any Which Way You Can” became a top ten country single. Its parent album presented more interesting songs mostly co-written by famous songwriter Steve Dorff with Garrett. Among them is a duet between Ray Charles and Eastwood entitled “Beers To You” and “Whiskey Heaven” sung by Fats Domino. The “Any Which Way You Can” soundtrack reached #5 on Billboard’s top country albums chart. The title song was also included in Campbell’s 1981 album, “It’s The World Gone Crazy,” another nice collection of pop songs with strong country overtones.

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[audio:https://www.fozfan.com/archives/clips/any_which_way_you_can.mp3|titles=any which way you can|artists=AGlen Campbell]

Lead Vocals: Glen Campbell
Piano: David Foster
Guitars: Larry Byron, Fred Tackett & Billy Joe Walzer
Steel Guitar: Jay Dee Maness

Strings Arranged by Steve Dorff
Produced by Snuff Garrett

Lyrics

No Lyrics

The last part of 1978 saw the release of Alice Cooper’s new record, “From The Inside.” The rock superstar wrote that concept album about his three months experience in a mental hospital fighting his problems with alcohol and drugs.David Foster produced the project that presented a number of effective rockers and dark ballads. All the songs were co-written by the singer with famous lyricist Bernie Taupin of Elton John’s fame. Foster recently stated that those Alice Cooper sessions were some of the best moments he ever spent in the studio. The first single was “How You Gonna See Me Now,” a power ballad based on a letter that Cooper wrote to his wife who never saw him sober before. “How You Gonna See Me Now” with its lyrical honesty and musical value is one of the best ballads of Cooper’s entire career and became a hit single reaching #12 on Billboard’s Hot 100.
That single’s b-side was entitled “No Tricks.” It’s an up-tempo rock ballad that wasn’t part of “From The Inside.” It’s a very interesting duet with back singer Betty Wright who gives the song a strong r&b flavour. Both songs benefit from Foster’s elegant yet powerful arrangements and pristine production.

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[audio:https://www.fozfan.com/archives/clips/how_you_gonna_see_me_now.mp3|titles=HOW YOU GONNA SEE ME NOW|artists=Alice Cooper]

Lead Vocals: Alice Cooper
Keyboards: David Foster
Drums: Rick Shlosser
Bass: David Hungate
Guitars: Dick Wagner, Steve Lukather, Davey Johnstone & Jay Graydon

Produced & Arranged by David Foster

Lyrics

Dear darlin’ surprised to hear from me?
Bet you’re sittin’ drinkin’ coffee, yawnin’ sleepily
Just to let you know
I’m gonna be home soon
I’m kinda awkward and afraid
Time has changed your point of view

How you gonna see me now
Please don’t see me ugly babe
‘Cause I know I let you down
In oh so many ways
How you gonna see me now
Since we’ve been on our own
Are you gonna love the man
When the man gets home

Listen darlin’ now I’m heading for the west
Straightened out my head but my old heart is still a mess
Yes I’m worried honey
Guess that’s natural though
It’s like I’m waiting for a welcome sign
Like a hobo in the snow

How you gonna see me now
Please don’t see me ugly babe
‘Cause I know I let you down
In oh so many ways
How you gonna see me now
Since we’ve been on our own
Are you gonna love the man
When the man gets home

And just like the first time
We’re just strangers again
I might have grown out of style
In the place I’ve been
And just like the first time
I’ll be shakin’ inside
When I walk in the door
There’ll be no place to hide

How you gonna see me now 
please dont see me ugly, babe
’cause i feel like i let you down 
in oh so many ways
How you gonna see me now
Please don’t see me ugly babe
‘Cause I know I let you down
In oh so many ways

How you gonna see me now
Since we’ve been on our own
Are you gonna love the man
When the man gets home

Through the years David Foster has written various instrumentals that have become real classics. In 1985, the sweet melody of “Love Theme From St. Elmo’s Fire” gave Foster a top 20 hit as a recording artist. “Winter Games,” the intense theme of the Calgary Winter Olympics, followed, in 1988, giving the super-producer another entry on Billboard’s Hot 100.In the nineties, another famous instrumental was the amazing rendition of the holiday classic, “Carol Of The Bells” that was featured in the famous Barbra Streisand movie, “The Mirror Has Two Faces” as well as on Foster’s own “Christmas Album.” There’s another track that deserves a mention, the haunting and magical “Water Fountain.” This evocative instrumental was originally recorded by Foster, in 1987, for the soundtrack of the movie, “The Secret Of My Success.” This first version was based on various keyboards and synthesizers. One year later, when Foster released his classical inspired project, “The Symphony Sessions,” he remade the tune on piano backed up by a full orchestra. Finally, in 1997, new age label, Windham Hill released a special record, “Songs Without Words,” that featured piano solo performances by many famous music makers. Foster was among those appearing on the album and he presented a fantastic piano solo version of “Water Fountain.” It is an absolute pleasure to be caressed by Foster’s piano performance and a treat to witness how he reworks his own classic. Among the other artists on “Songs Without Words” are Desmond Child, Walter Afanasieff, Brian Wilson, Carole King, Stephen Sondheim and Jeremy Lubbock who paints a gorgeous version of “Not Like This,” a gorgeous song he originally wrote for Al Jarreau.

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[audio:https://www.fozfan.com/archives/clips/water_fountain.mp3|titles=Songs WIithout Words|artists=David Foster]

Piano: David Foster

Produced & Arranged by David Foster

Lyrics

No Lyrics