The examples and perspective in this article may not include all significant viewpoints. Please improve the article or discuss the issue. (January 2011)

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Record producer (music producer)

A Danish recording session
Occupation
Names	Record Producer
Activity sectors	Music Industry Music
Description
Competencies	Instrumental Skills, Keyboard Knowledge

A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording (i.e. "production") of an artist's music. A producer has many roles that may include, but are not limited to, gathering ideas for the project, selecting songs and/or musicians, coaching the artist and musicians in the studio, controlling the recording sessions, and supervising the entire process through mixing and mastering. Producers also often take on a wider entrepreneurial role, with responsibility for the budget, schedules, and negotiations.

Today, the recording industry has two kinds of producers: executive producer and music producer; they have different roles. While an executive producer oversees a project's finances, a music producer oversees the creation of the music.

A music producer can, in some cases, be compared to a film director, with noted practitioner Phil Ek himself describing his role as "the person who creatively guides or directs the process of making a record, like a director would a movie. The engineer would be more the cameraman of the movie."^[1] The music producer's job is to create, shape, and mold a piece of music. The scope of responsibility may be one or two songs or an artist's entire album – in which case the producer will typically develop an overall vision for the album and how the various songs may interrelate.

In the US, before the rise of the record producer, someone from A&R would oversee the recording session(s), assuming responsibility for creative decisions relating to the recording.

With today's relatively easy access to technology, an alternative to the record producer just mentioned, is the so called 'bedroom producer'. With today's technological advances, it is very easy for a producer to achieve high quality tracks without the use of a single instrument. Many established artists take this approach.

In most cases the music producer is also a competent arranger, composer or songwriter who can bring fresh ideas to a project. As well as making any songwriting and arrangement adjustments, the producer is also in charge of the creative mix. He or she will liase with the sound engineer who concentrates on the technical aspects of recording, whereas the music producer keeps an eye on the overall projects marketability.

History[link]

Early record producers[link]

During the 1890s, Fred Gaisberg ran the first recording studio and provided the closest approximation of production by guiding an opera singer closer or further away from a gramophone's horn to match the dynamics in the score. (Citation: Gronow and Saunio 1998, p. 8; Moorefield 2005, p. 1).

However in the first part of the 20th century the record producer's role was similar to the role of a film producer in that the record producer organized and supervised recording sessions, paid technicians, musicians and arrangers, and sometimes chose material for the artist. In the mid-1950s a new category emerged, that of the independent record producer. Among the most famous early independent producers are the famed songwriting-production duo Leiber & Stoller, "Wall of Sound" creator Phil Spector and British studio pioneer Joe Meek.

Magnetic tape enabled the establishment of independent recording studios in major recording centres such as London, Los Angeles and New York. Unlike the old record company studios, which were effectively a "closed shop", these new studios could be hired by the hour by anyone who could afford to do so.

The biggest and best commercial studios were typically established and operated by leading recording engineers. They were carefully constructed to create optimum recording conditions, and were equipped with the latest and best recording equipment and top-quality microphones, as well as electronic amplification gear and musical instruments.

Top-line studios such as Olympic Studios in London, Fine Recording in New York City, United Western Recorders, and Musart in Los Angeles quickly became among the most sought-after recording facilities in the world, and both these studios became veritable "hit factories" that produced many of the most successful pop recordings of the latter 20th century.

Evolution of the role of the producer[link]

Prior to the 1950s, the various stages of the recording and marketing process had been carried out by different professionals within the industry – A&R managers found potential new artists and signed them to their labels; professional songwriters created new material; publishing agents sold these songs to the A&R people; staff engineers carried out the task of making the recordings in company-owned studios.

Freed from this traditional system by the advent of independent commercial studios, the new generation of entrepreneurial producers – many of whom were former record company employees themselves – were able to create and occupy a new stratum in the industry, taking on a more direct and complex role in the musical process. This development in music was mirrored in the TV industry by the concurrent development of videotape recording and the consequent emergence of independent TV production companies like Desilu.

These producers now typically carried out most or all of these various tasks themselves, including selecting and arranging songs, overseeing sessions (and often engineering the recordings) and even writing the material.^[2] Independent music production companies rapidly gained a significant foothold in popular music and soon became the main intermediary between artist and record label, signing new artists to production contracts, producing the recordings and then licensing the finished product to record labels for pressing, promotion and sale. (This was a novel innovation in the popular music field, although a broadly similar system had long been in place in many countries for the production of content for broadcast radio.) The classic example of this transition is renowned British producer George Martin, who worked as a staff producer and A&R manager at EMI for many years, before branching out on his own and becoming a highly successful independent producer.

As a result of these changes, record producers began to exert a strong influence, not only on individual careers, but on the course of popular music. A key example of this is Phil Spector, who defined the gap between early rock and roll and the Beatles (1959–1964) with such acts as the Ronettes, the Crystals, Darlene Love, the Righteous Brothers and the Paris Sisters. Spector's Wall of Sound production technique also persisted after that time with his select recordings of the Beatles, the Ramones, Leonard Cohen, George Harrison, Dion and Ike and Tina Turner.

Some producers also became ipso facto recording artists, often creating records themselves or with anonymous studio musicians and releasing them under a pseudonym. Examples of this phenomenon include the records by fictional groups the Archies and Josie & the Pussycats, produced by Don Kirshner and Danny Jansen respectively, who were contracted by TV production companies to produce these records to promote the animated children's TV series of the same name. Similarly, Jeff Barry and Andy Kim recorded as the Archies. The same producer-as-artist phenomenon can be found with many modern-day pop-oriented street- and electronic-music artists.

Another change that occurred for the role of producers occurred progressively over the 50’s and 60’s. Popularization of new technology such as synthesizers, electric guitars, amplifiers, and better microphones led to a fundamental switch. The goal of recording no longer was simply accurately capturing and documenting live performance. Instead producers could manipulate sounds. Producers became creative figures in the studio and were no longer reserved to the role of functional engineer. Examples of such engineers includes George Martin, Joe Meek, Teo Macero, Phil Spector, Brian Wilson, and Biddu. These producers became known as creative producers who turned the studio into a creative space.

Equipment and technology[link]

Mixing Console

There are numerous different technologies utilized by the producer. In modern day recordings, recording and mixing tasks are centralized within computers. However, there is also the main mixer, outboard effects gear, and the recording device itself.

See also[link]

• Music executive
• Musician
• Audio engineering

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Gibson, David and Maestro Curtis. "The Art of Producing". 1st. Ed. USA. ArtistPro Publishing, 2004. ISBN 1-931140-44-8
• Burgess, Richard James. The Art of Music Production. 3rd Ed. UK. Music Sales, 2005. ISBN 1-84449-432-4
• Hewitt, Michael. Music Theory for Computer Musicians. 1st Ed. USA. Cengage Learning, 2008. ISBN 139781598635034
• Gronow, Pekka and Ilpo Saunio (1998). An International History of the Recording Industry. ISBN-X. Cited in Moorefield (2005).
• Moorefield, Virgil (2005). The Producer as Composer: Shaping the Sounds of Popular Music. ISBN. 123
• Olsen, Eric et al. (1999). The Encyclopedia of Record Producers. ISBN 0-8230-7607-5 9780823076079
• Zak, Albin. The Poetics of Rock: Cutting Tracks, Making Records. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2001.
• List of the Producers of the Current Top 100 Songs, Top 100 – Album Credits

External links[link]

• Record Producer Video Interviews
• Music Producers Directory

v t e Music industry Sectors and roles Album cover design · Artists and repertoire (A&R) · Distribution · Entertainment law · Music education · Music executive · Music journalism · Music publisher · Music venue · Musical instruments · Promotion · Radio promotion · Record label · Record shop · Road crew · Talent manager · Tour promoter Production Arrangement · Record producer · Recording artist · Session musician · Songwriter · Sound engineer Record labels Major: EMI · Sony Music Entertainment · Universal Music Group · Warner Music Group · Independent (Independent UK record labels) Genres Avant-garde · Blues · Contemporary R&B · Country · Crossover · Dance · Drum and bass · Easy listening · Electronica · Experimental · Folk · Funk · Gospel · Hip hop · Instrumental · Jazz · Latin · Motown · New age · Operatic pop · Pop · Reggae · Rock · Soul · Soundtrack · World Release formats Album · Extended play (EP)/Mini album · Single Awards American Music Award · ARIA Music Awards · Billboard Music Awards · Brit Awards · Choice Music Prize · Classic Brit Awards · Diapason d'Or · Echo Award · Golden Disk Awards · Grammy Award · Grand Prix du Disque · Juno Award · Latin Grammy Awards · Meteor Music Awards · MTV Europe Music Awards · MTV Video Music Awards · MuchMusic Video Awards · Music of Black Origin Awards · New Zealand Music Awards · NRJ Music Award · TEC Awards · World Music Awards Charts ARIA Charts · Billboard Hot 100 · Canadian Hot 100 · RIANZ Singles Chart · Irish Singles Chart · UK Singles Chart Sales certifications ARIA (Gold · Platinum) · BPI (Silver · Gold · Platinum) · CRIA (Gold · Platinum · Multi-Platinum · Diamond) · PROMUSICAE (Gold · Platinum) · RIAA (Gold · Platinum · Multi-Platinum · Diamond) Publications Billboard · HitQuarters · Hot Press · Kerrang! · Mojo · NME · Q · Rolling Stone · Smash Hits · Top of the Pops Retailers Amazon.com · Best Buy · Fnac · HMV Group · Online music stores (iTunes Store) · Trans World Entertainment · Virgin Megastores Television Black Entertainment Television · Country Music Television · Fuse TV · Juice TV · MTV · MuchMusic · The Music Factory · Viva Other A-side and B-side · Christian music industry  · Hidden track  · Grammy Museum  · Racist music  · White label Category

This article relies on references to primary sources or sources affiliated with the subject, rather than references from independent authors and third-party publications. Please add citations from reliable sources. (October 2011)

Harvey Mason in Singapore, 2004

Harvey William Mason (born February 22, 1947 in Atlantic City, New Jersey) is an American jazz drummer. He has worked with many jazz and fusion artists such as Bob James, The Brecker Brothers, Lee Ritenour, Herbie Hancock's Headhunters and almost all the Mizell Brothers productions with Donald Byrd, Johnny Hammond, Bobbi Humphrey and Gary Bartz. He is featured on George Benson's 1976 album, Breezin'. Harvey is also the Percussionist for the Contemporary Jazz group Fourplay, which includes keyboardist Bob James, Guitarist Chuck Loeb Bassist Nathan East.

Mason's son, Harvey Mason, Jr., is one-half of the production team The Underdogs with Damon Thomas. The Underdogs have produced tracks for artists including Fantasia Barrino, Justin Timberlake, Mariah Carey and Luther Vandross. Harvey Sr.'s work is featured on one of the The Underdogs' major works, the soundtrack of the 2006 film adaptation of Dreamgirls.

In 1979 Mason Sr, released the hit single "Groovin' You", a disco-stomping tune, from the album with the same name. This music was then, sampled by House producer Gusto, in his 1995 hit-single "Disco's Revenge".

Discography[link]

As leader[link]

This section requires expansion.

As sideman[link]

This section requires expansion.

With Fourplay:

With Herb Alpert

• Midnight Sun (A & M, 1992)

With Chet Atkins

• Street Dreams (Columbia, 1986)

With Beck

• The Information (Interscope, 2006)

With George Benson

• Breezin' (Warner Bros., 1976)
• Weekend in L.A. (Warner Bros., 1978)

With Donald Byrd

• Street Lady (Blue Note, 1973)
• Stepping into Tomorrow (Blue Note, 1974)
• Places and Spaces (Blue Note, 1975)
• Caricatures (Blue Note, 1976)

With Casiopea

• 4x4 (Alpha, 1982)
• Light and Shadows (Pony Canyon, 1997)

With Chick Corea

• The Mad Hatter (Polydor, 1978)

With Miles Davis & Michel Legrand

• Dingo (Warner Bros., 1991)

Wit Joe Farrell

• Night Dancing (Warner Bros., 1978)

With The Headhunters

• Survival of the Fittest (Arista, 1975)

With Herbie Hancock

• Head Hunters (Columbia, 1973)
• Man-Child (Columbia, 1975)
• Mr. Hands (Columbia, 1978)

With Gene Harris

• In a Special Way (Blue Note, 1976)
• Tone Tantrum (Blue Note, 1977)

With Eddie Henderson

• Sunburst (Blue Note, 1975)

With Freddie Hubbard

• High Energy (Columbia, 1974)

With Bobbi Humphrey

• Blacks and Blues (Blue Note, 1973)
• Satin Doll (Blue Note, 1974)
• Fancy Dancer (Blue Note, 1975)

With Bobby Hutcherson

• Montara (Blue Note, 1975)

With Yosui Inoue

• Nishoku no Koma (Polydor, 1974)

With Carole King

• Rhymes and Reasons (Ode, 1972)
• Fantasy (Epic, 1973)

With Hubert Laws

• The San Francisco Concert (CTI, 1975)

With Kenny Loggins

• Celebrate Me Home (Columbia, 1977)

With Wade Marcus

• Metamorphosis (ABC, 1976)

With Joe Pass

• Whitestone (Pablo, 1985)

With Lee Ritenour

• Gentle Thoughts (JVC, 1977)
• Captain Fingers (Epic, 1977)
• Sugar Loaf Express (JVC, 1977)
• Earth Run (GRP, 1986)

With Rufus

• Numbers (ABC, 1979)

With Patrice Rushen

• Now (Elektra, 1984)

With Moacir Santos

• Saudade (Blue Note, 1974)
• Carnival of the Spirits (Blue Note, 1975)

With Diane Schuur

• Midnight (Concord, 2003)

With Marlena Shaw

• Who Is This Bitch, Anyway? (Blue Note, 1974)

With Donna Summer

• Donna Summer (Geffen, 1982)

With Gábor Szabó

• Macho (Salvation, 1975)

With Stanley Turrentine

• Have You Ever Seen the Rain (Fantasy, 1975)
• Wonderland (Blue Note, 1984)

With Kazumi Watanabe

• Mermaid Boulevard (Alfa, 1978)

With Grover Washington, Jr.

• A Secret Place (Kudu, 1976)

With Jimmy Webb

• El Mirage (Atlantic, 1977)

With Gary Wright

• Headin' Home (Warner Bros., 1979)

With Véronique Sanson

• Le Maudit (Warner Bros., 1974)

External links[link]

• Official site

David Foster
Foster speaking during a ceremony for Andrea Bocelli at the Hollywood Walk of Fame, in 2010.
Background information
Birth name	David Walter Foster
Born	(1949-11-01) November 1, 1949 (age 62) Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Genres	Pop, pop rock, Classical, Gospel, R&B
Occupations	Music executive, Record producer, musician, composer, songwriter, arranger
Instruments	Piano, keyboards, French horn, synthesizer
Years active	1971–present
Labels	Verve Records Reprise, 143, Atlantic
Associated acts	Skylark, Attitudes, Airplay, Ronnie Hawkins & The Hawks
Website	Official website

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (March 2012)

David Walter Foster, OC, OBC (born November 1, 1949), is a Canadian musician, record producer, composer, singer, songwriter, and arranger,^[1] noted for discovering singers such as Michael Bublé, Josh Groban, and Charice Pempengco; and for producing some of the most successful artists in the world, such as Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, Céline Dion, Andrea Bocelli, Toni Braxton, Madonna, Air Supply and Michael Jackson. Foster has won 16 Grammy Awards from 47 nominations. David Foster is the current Chairman of Verve Music Group. ^[2]

Career[link]

Throughout his career, he has produced recordings for a wide range of musical artists, including Bryan Adams, Tamia, Christina Aguilera, The Bee Gees, Andrea Bocelli, Boz Scaggs, Mariah Carey, Toni Braxton, Chicago, Destiny's Child, Neil Diamond, Céline Dion, Earth Wind and Fire, Gloria Estefan, Whitney Houston, Janet Jackson, Michael Jackson, Chaka Khan, Beyonce Knowles, Kenny Loggins, Madonna, Olivia Newton-John, Nsync, All-4-One, Plus One, Charice Pempengco, Prince, LeAnn Rimes, Kenny Rogers, Barbra Streisand, Donna Summer, Shania Twain, Hall & Oates, Tim Feehan, The Tubes, and Jackie Evancho.

Foster was a keyboardist for the pop group Skylark, discovered by Eirik Wangberg. The band's song, "Wildflower", was a top ten hit in 1973. Together with Jay Graydon he formed the band Airplay, whose album of the same name is often labeled the most important within the Westcoast AOR genre. He produced debut albums for The Corrs,^[3] Michael Bublé,^[4] Renee Olstead and Josh Groban, which were released under his own record label, 143 Records, and distributed through Warner Music.

In 1985, Rolling Stone magazine named Foster the "master of ... bombastic pop kitsch."^[5] That year, Foster composed the score for the film St. Elmo's Fire,^[6] including the instrumental "Love Theme from St. Elmo's Fire", which hit No. 15 on the US pop charts. Another song from the film, "St. Elmo's Fire (Man in Motion)", recorded by John Parr hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 on September 7, 1985. The following years, Foster continued turning out occasional film scores, including the Michael J. Fox comedy The Secret of My Success and the Jodie Foster-Mark Harmon film Stealing Home, both of which spawned soundtrack albums with prominent Foster-penned contributions. He collaborated with then-wife Linda Thompson on the song "I Have Nothing", sung by Whitney Houston in the 1992 film The Bodyguard; the couple also appeared in the film's Oscars scene as the Oscar conductor and an Academy member. They were nominated for a Grammy Award and an Academy Award for Best Song for the song.^{[citation needed]}

In 1995 Foster signed a deal with Warner Brothers that enabled him to set up his own boutique label, 143 Records, as a joint venture with Warner.^[7] Foster gave the responsibility for running the label to then manager Brian Avnet.^[7] One of the label's first signing was a then-little known Irish folk-rock band, The Corrs, for whom he produced their debut album.^[7] By 1997, Foster had come to the realisation that, in the American market at least, "logo labels" like 143 were in a "bad spot" and as a result Foster sold the label back to Warner and became senior vice-president at the corporation.^[7]

Foster, along with Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, composed "The Power of the Dream" as the official song of the 1996 Summer Olympics, with then-wife Thompson providing the lyrics (sung by Céline Dion). He also composed "Winter Games", the theme song for 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Alberta. "Winter Games" is the soundtrack for a fountain show at the Bellagio resort in Las Vegas as well as a fountain show at Sea World Orlando. Also in 2001, he collaborated with Lara Fabian and the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra to record the Canadian national anthem, "O Canada", for an English language version, a French version, and a bilingual (French/English) version, for a promotion of the Canadian government. Foster, with his then-wife Thompson, composed "Light the Fire Within", which was sung by LeAnn Rimes for the 2002 Winter Olympics. In 2003, Foster won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Music and Lyrics for The Concert for World Children's Day. His song, "I Will Be There With You" (sung with Katharine McPhee), is being used by Japan Airlines to promote the introduction of new aircraft to its US flights.

The 2001 movie, The Score, starring Robert De Niro and Marlon Brando has a Diana Krall recording, "I'll Make It Up As I Go". This song accompanies the film's ending Credits (Chapter 12) and was composed by David Foster (together with his daughter Amy Foster-Gilles), and was used in the film courtesy of the Verve Music Group.^[8] In 2005, Foster, his daughter Amy Foster-Gillies, and Knowles wrote "Stand Up For Love" as the anthem to the World Children's Day, an annual worldwide event to raise awareness and funds for children causes. Over the past three years, more than $50 million has been raised to benefit Ronald McDonald House Charities and other children's organizations. Destiny's Child lent their voices and support as global ambassadors for the 2005 program.^{[citation needed]}

In 2009 it was revealed that Foster had worked with songwriter Diane Warren to produce records for Whitney Houston's upcoming album. It was then announced that her comeback single would be the Foster-produced "I Didn't Know My Own Strength".^[9]

On December 15, 2011 it was confirmed that Foster would become the Chairman of Verve Music Group.^{[citation needed]}

Television appearances[link]

In early 1992, the national television station RCTI, Foster came to Indonesia for the TV show David Foster's Twilight Orchestra. In early 2001, Foster was in Popstars, a reality series that aired on WB. The series aimed at coming up with the next girl group and eventually became Eden's Crush (featuring Nicole Scherzinger). Foster and Linda Thompson wrote and produced several songs on their album. His home life was featured in a Fox staged^[10] reality TV show, The Princes of Malibu, in which he attempted to force his spoiled stepsons, Brandon and Brody Jenner (the children of Thompson and Olympian Bruce Jenner), to straighten their lives up and earn their own way.^{[citation needed]}

In late April 2005, he appeared as a special guest on both American Idol (as a mentor) and Nashville Star (as a judge) two weeks apart. He was also a judge on Celebrity Duets, a FOX TV show, and appeared on Star Tomorrow, where auditions were held in Los Angeles and New York for undiscovered talent. It aired only one (July 31, 2006) episode on NBC.^{[citation needed]}

In July 2006, Foster made a brief appearance on The View as Star Jones's vocal coach. In August 2006, he was the musical director for JCPenney Jam's "The Concert For American Kids", which aired on CBS and was later released in CD/DVD format. In November 2007, Foster appeared in Oprah's annual "Favourite Things" episode, performing with Josh Groban. In September 2008, singer Charice joined Foster on The Oprah Winfrey Show with Celine Dion via satellite; and later on October 31, he and Andrea Bocelli appeared on Oprah again together, where he stated that Bocelli was his "favourite singer on the planet".^[11]

In December 2008, Foster was featured in a PBS special titled Hit Man: David Foster & Friends, a concert featuring live performances by Foster and numerous other performers.^[12] Foster was also featured in Under the Desert Sky in 2006, Vivere Live in Tuscany in 2007, the My Christmas Special, in 2009, and Live In Central Park, in 2011, Andrea Bocelli's four latest PBS Specials. Bocelli also performed during Foster's Hit Man special.

In late 2009, he also appeared on a number of TV shows to promote Bocelli's My Christmas album, which he produced, including The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Dr. Phil, The Early Show and Fox & Friends. He also made a number of appearances in 2010 with Filipino singer Charice, to promote her album.^{[citation needed]}

Foster also has appeared in Nederlandse Hollywood Vrouwen. (Season 1 & 2 (2011/2011)Aired by NET 5 The Netherlands) The Netherlands reality series follows his wife Yolanda and three other woman.^{[citation needed]}

In April 2012 rumors about his wife becoming a cast of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills appeared on E News. ^[13]

Personal life[link]

Foster has been married four times, has five biological daughters and six grandchildren. His first marriage was to singer/writer B.J. Cook, who already had a daughter, Tamre Winger, whom he raised. Cook and Foster had one daughter together, Amy Foster (b. July 29, 1973), a songwriter.

Foster's second wife was model Rebecca Dyer; they had three daughters: Sara Foster (b. August 24, 1981), Erin Foster (b. August 24, 1983), and Jordan Foster (b. September 1986).^[14]

He married his third wife, Linda Thompson, on June 27, 1991. The two became a songwriting team, collaborating on several songs including "I Have Nothing" performed by Whitney Houston in The Bodyguard, and "Grown-Up Christmas List". Thompson filed for divorce on July 11, 2005, the day after her short-lived reality series, The Princes of Malibu, premiered.^[14]

Foster married model Yolanda Hadid in Beverly Hills on November 11, 2011 in a star-studded 11/11/11-themed ceremony.^[15]

Foster's sister, producer Jaymes Foster, is the mother of Clay Aiken's son Parker Foster Aiken.^[16] A cousin, Billy Foster, died in a race car accident in 1967.

In 1992, Foster was driving on the Pacific Coast Highway when his car struck actor/dancer Ben Vereen, who had crashed his car and was in a daze. Despite being thrown 90 feet, Vereen survived. Vereen went on the record to state that it probably saved his life as he had had a serious drinking problem caused by the death of his daughter.^[17]

Discography[link]

In addition to the numerous albums he has produced, the following are Foster's own solo or band works:^{[citation needed]}

• 1972: Skylark (self-titled)
• 1974: 2 Skylark
• 1976: Attitudes (self-titled)
• 1977: Good News Attitudes
• 1980: Airplay (self-titled)
• 1983: The Best of Me
• 1986: David Foster (self-titled)
• 1988: The Symphony Sessions
• 1989: Time Passing
• 1990: River of Love
• 1991: Rechordings
• 1993: The Christmas Album
• 1994: Love Lights The World
• 2008: Hit Man: David Foster & Friends
• 2011: Hit Man Returns: David Foster & Friends

Singles[link]

• 1985: "Love Theme From St. Elmo's Fire (For Just a Moment)" (US #15)
• 1986: "The Best of Me" (Duet with Olivia Newton-John) (US #80)
• 1988: "Winter Games (Can't You Feel It)" - Official theme song for the Calgary 1988 Winter Olympics (US #85)
• 2001: O Canada (with Lara Fabian)
• 2003: Teko’s Theme - with Nita Whitaker

Compilations[link]

• 1992: A Touch Of David Foster
• 2000: The Best Of Me: A Collection of David Foster’s Greatest Works
• 2002: Love Stories
• 2010: The Magic of David Foster & Friends

Awards and Honours[link]

In 1995, Foster received the Order of British Columbia, the highest honour awarded in his native province of British Columbia. Foster became an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2006.^[18]

Foster has won 16 Grammy Awards, including three Producer of the Year award and has been nominated a total of 47 times.^[19]

He has been nominated three times for an Academy Award for Best Original Song and won the 1999 Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song for the song "The Prayer" (sung by Andrea Bocelli and Celine Dion) from the film Quest for Camelot. He has been named BMI's "Songwriter of the Year".^[20]

In June 2010, he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.^[21]

See also[link]

• List of songs by David Foster
• Music of Canada
• Canadian Music Hall of Fame
• List of Canadian composers

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• David Foster; Pablo F. Fenjves (6 October 2009). Hitman: Forty Years Making Music, Topping the Charts, and Winning Grammys. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1-4391-4950-8. http://books.google.com/books?id=6vJQwZCIVbkC&pg=PP1. 

External links[link]

• Official website
• David Foster at Yahoo! Movies
• David Foster on The Hour

Mark Ronson
Mark Ronson, 2008 at the North Sea Jazz Festival
Background information
Birth name	Mark Daniel Ronson
Born	(1975-09-04) 4 September 1975 (age 36) Notting Hill, London, England[1]
Occupations	Musician, DJ, producer
Years active	1993–present
Labels	Allido/Columbia/RCA/J Roc Nation
Associated acts	Duran Duran, Amy Winehouse, Daniel Merriweather, Jordan Galland, Wale, The Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger, the Business International, Samantha Ronson
Website	markronson.co.uk

Mark Daniel Ronson (born 4 September 1975)^[2] is an English DJ, musician, music producer, artist and co-founder of Allido Records. He currently works with his band under the music alias of Mark Ronson & The Business Intl.

While his debut album Here Comes the Fuzz failed to make an impact on the charts, his second album, Version included three top ten hits and won Ronson a BRIT Award for Best Male Artist 2008. His third studio album, Record Collection, was released on 27 September 2010.

Early life[link]

Ronson was born at the Wellington Hospital, St John's Wood, to writer/socialite Ann Dexter-Jones and one-time band manager and real estate entrepreneur Laurence Ronson.^[3] His parents are of Ashkenazi Jewish descent, with ancestors from Austria, Russia, and Lithuania, and Ronson was brought up in Conservative Judaism.^[4][5] Ronson's family name was originally Aaronson, but his grandfather Henry Ronson changed it to Ronson.^[6] Ronson is the nephew of property tycoon Gerald Ronson. Ronson is related to British Conservative politicians Sir Malcolm Rifkind and Leon Brittan,^[3] as well as Odeon Cinemas founder Oscar Deutsch.^[7] Ronson has twin sisters who are two years younger than him, Charlotte Ronson, a fashion designer, and Samantha Ronson, a singer and DJ. Ronson also has five younger half-siblings. Alexander and Annabelle, through his mother's remarriage to Mick Jones as well as David, Henrietta, and Joshua, through his father's remarriage to model Michele First. After his parents broke up, his mother married Foreigner guitarist Mick Jones, which contributed to a childhood surrounded by music.^[8]

Career[link]

Ronson went to high school at the private Collegiate School in New York.^[9] Attending Vassar College and then New York University (NYU), Ronson became a regular at downtown hip hop spots and made his name as a DJ on the New York club scene in 1993, charging $50 per job. Though a novice with little experience, he became known for his diverse, genre-spanning selection. Influenced by funk, the hip hop scene of New York and the more rock influence of the UK (all of which he incorporated in his sets) he attracted a wider audience. He was soon one of the most respected DJs and was being called on for celebrities' private parties. In 1999, Ronson was featured in an ad wearing Tommy Hilfiger denim in the recording studio for an ad campaign for the company.^[10]

He provided the score for the 2011 film Arthur.

[edit] Here Comes the Fuzz and initial producing

He moved on, however, to producing music after Nikka Costa's manager heard one of his gigs and introduced the musicians. He produced her song "Everybody Got Their Something", and soon Ronson signed a record contract with Elektra Records. Mark had produced tracks for Hilfiger ads, and in 2001 used the connection to have Costa's single "Like a Feather" used in an ad.^[11]

Ronson's first album, Here Comes the Fuzz, was released in 2003 and was critically acclaimed and a financial success, despite initially poor sales. On the album, he wrote the songs, made the beats and played guitar, keyboards, and bass. The album featured artists from diverse genres, including Mos Def, Jack White, Sean Paul, Nikka Costa, Nappy Roots and Rivers Cuomo.^[12] The best known song from the album, "Ooh Wee", samples "Sunny" by Boney M and features Nate Dogg, Ghostface Killah, Trife Da God, and Saigon. It was featured that year in the movie Honey and its soundtrack. The song was later used in the movies Hitch and Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay.^[12] Two weeks after releasing Here Comes the Fuzz, Elektra Records dropped him.^[13] Ronson has since produced multiple songs on the albums of singers Lamya,^[14] Macy Gray,^[15] Christina Aguilera, Amy Winehouse, Lily Allen, and Robbie Williams.

Ronson became one of the regular DJs at Justin Timberlake's New York club, Suede, when it opened in 2003.^[16]

In 2004, Ronson formed his own record label, Allido Records, a subsidiary of Sony BMG's J Records, along with his longtime manager Rich Kleiman. The first artist he signed to Allido was rapper Saigon, who later left to sign with Just Blaze's Fort Knox Entertainment. He has signed Rhymefest, most well known for winning the Grammy for co-writing Kanye West's "Jesus Walks".

[edit] Version

Ronson released a cover of The Smiths' track "Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before" under the title "Stop Me" on 2 April 2007, featuring singer Daniel Merriweather, which reached number 2 in the UK singles charts, the biggest hit for Ronson to date. Ronson remixed the Bob Dylan song "Most Likely You'll Go Your Way (And I'll Go Mine)" in promotion for the three disc Bob Dylan set titled Dylan released October 2007. Ronson has also produced Candie Payne's "One More Chance (Ronson mix)" in 2007.

The album has been well received by critics. In May 2007 it was awarded the title Album of the Month by the British dance music magazine, Mixmag. On 23 June, the DJ made the cover of the Guardian newspaper's Guide magazine, alongside singer Lily Allen.

In June 2007, Ronson signed DC hip hop artist Wale to Allido Records. In late 2007, he focused on production, working with Daniel Merriweather on his debut album, and recording again with Amy Winehouse and Robbie Williams.^[17]

On 24 October 2007 Ronson performed a one-off set at The Roundhouse in Camden, London as part of the BBC Electric Proms 2007. The performance featured the BBC Concert Orchestra and included special guests Terry Hall, Sean Lennon, Tim Burgess, Alex Greenwald, Ricky Wilson, Charlie Waller, Adele and Kyle Falconer.^[18]

Ronson received a Grammy Award nomination in early December 2007 for 'Producer of the Year, Non Classical', along with Timbaland and Mike Elizondo. Ronson's work with Amy Winehouse also received substantial praise, gaining 6 nominations. Back to Black, an album mostly produced by Ronson was nominated for 'Album of the Year' and 'Best Pop Vocal Album'. "Rehab" received nods for 'Best Female Pop Vocal Performance', 'Song of the Year' and 'Record of the Year'. Ronson would go on to win three Grammys for 'Producer of the Year' as well as 'Best Pop Vocal Album' and 'Record of the Year' (which he shared with Amy Winehouse) in early February 2008.^[19]

Ronson is credited as producer on a mixtape album called Man in the Mirror, released in January 2008 by the rapper Rhymefest which is a tribute to the pop star Michael Jackson. The album features Rhymefest appearing to speak to Michael Jackson using archive audio from interviews with the pop star.

Later in January 2008, Ronson received three nominations for the Brit Awards, including 'Best Male Solo Artist', 'Best Album' (Version) and 'Song of the Year' ("Valerie"). Ronson won his first Brit for 'Best Male Solo Artist' in mid February 2008 over favourite Mika. He also performed a medley of "God Put a Smile upon Your Face" with Adele, "Stop Me" with Daniel Merriweather and "Valerie" with Amy Winehouse.

The performance allowed for a large boost in sales in the iTunes UK Top 100. "Valerie" would jump almost 30 spots in the days after the event, while "Just", "Stop Me" and "Oh My God" all appeared in the chart as well. That same week, Ronson appeared twice in the UK Top 40, with "Valerie" rebounding to number 13 and "Just" at number 31, his fourth Top 40 hit from "Version". The Brits performance also allowed for "Version" to climb 18 spots to number 4.

Around this time, Ronson received his first number one on an international chart (Dutch Top 40) for "Valerie", which has spent four consecutive weeks at the top of the chart. He collaborated with Kaiser Chiefs on their third album.^[20]

Ronson has toured the album "Version" vigorously through both the UK and Europe during 2008. Notable sold out performances at The Hammersmith Apollo and Brixton Academy. Ronson is known to champion new upcoming artists on the road with him, such as Sam Sparro and Julian Perretta. Ronson's string backing was provided by the all-female string quartet Demon Strings. In May 2008, Ronson played at the largest private party in the world, the Trinty Ball in Trinity College Dublin.

Ronson in 2007

On 2 July 2008 in Paris, Mark Ronson performed live with Duran Duran for an invited audience. They played new arrangements by Ronson of some Duran Duran songs, along with tracks from the band's new album, Red Carpet Massacre. Ronson & the Version Players also performed songs from his album Version. Simon LeBon sang. As of March 2009 Ronson was working with the group on their upcoming 13th album.^[21] The Album, titled All You Need Is Now was released digitally exclusively via Apple's iTunes on 21 December 2010.

[edit] Record Collection

At the launch of his most recent Gucci pop-up store in London, Ronson confirmed the name of his new album Record Collection, and said that he hoped to have it out by September 2010. Additionally, Ronson announced the name of his new band, "The Business Intl.'", which is the alias adopted by Ronson on the third studio album. The first single "Bang Bang Bang". which featured rapper Q-Tip and singer MNDR^[22] was released on 12 July 2010, where it peaked at number 6 on the UK Singles Chart, giving Ronson his fourth Top 10 hit. The single also saw success on the Irish Singles Chart, where it peaked at number 18. The second single from the album, "The Bike Song", was 19 September 2010^[23] and features Kyle Falconer from The View and Spank Rock. The album was released on 27 September 2010. This is the first of Ronson's albums that he has sung on.^[24]

In 2010, Ronson was given a vocal track to a song titled "Lovely Way", sung by Michael Jackson, to produce for Jackson's posthumous album Michael, although he never physically met Jackson. He submitted the track, but it did not make the track listing for Michael. Ronson said about the rumors surrounding the vocals on the track (due to the controversy surrounding the Cascio tracks on that same album), "It was definitely him singing. I was given a vocal track to work with but I never actually met Michael. [...] It's in the vein of Elton John's 'Goodbye Yellow Brick Road' and John Lennon's 'Imagine'."^[25]

Videos[link]

• Ronson created a video, along with Directors Gary Breslin and Jordan Galland: Circuit Breaker, which is a Homage to video game The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past.^[26]

Personal life[link]

Ronson spends his time between London and New York. His stepfather is Mick Jones from Foreigner, who raised him from the age of seven.^[27]

In 2002, he began dating Quincy Jones's daughter, actress/singer Rashida Jones^[28] They became engaged in March 2003, with Ronson proposing by creating a crossword puzzle with the message "Will you marry me".^[29] They later broke up. In the beginning of 2008, Ronson briefly dated English model/socialite Daisy Lowe.^[30] Ronson went on to date Tennessee Thomas,^[31] the English drummer of American indie girl band The Like, but they split in early 2009.

He lived next door to and was friends with Sean Lennon.

In March 2009, Ronson was pictured with French actress and singer Joséphine de La Baume.^[32] She was featured in his 2010 video for "The Bike Song." The couple got engaged in February 2011. They married in Aix-en-Provence, in the South of France on 3 September 2011.^[33] Ronson wore a white three piece Edward Sexton bespoke suit, La Baume wore a white Zac Posen dress.^[34]

In 2009 he participated in PETA's "Please Don't Wear Any Fur" campaign.^[35] He was also voted the most stylish man in UK by GQ magazine.^[36]

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

Singles[link]

Other charted songs

Notes:

• ^A – As Mark Ronson & The Business Intl.

Production discography[link]

Albums[link]

Singles[link]

Awards[link]

Winner[link]

• Grammy Award 2008 Producer of the Year – Non-Classical, Record of the Year (with Amy Winehouse), Best Pop Vocal Album (also with Winehouse)
• The BRIT Awards 2008 Best British Male Solo Artist
• Vodafone Live Music Awards – Best Live Male – Winner 2008
• Glamour Women of the Year – Men of the Year – Winner 2008

Nominations[link]

• BRIT Awards 2008 Best Album – Version, Best Single Valerie (feat. Amy Winehouse)
• MOBO Awards 2010 Best Video – Bang Bang Bang (feat. Q-Tip & MNDR), Best Song – Bang Bang Bang (feat. Q-Tip & MNDR)

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Mark Ronson

• Official website
• Mark Ronson on Twitter
• Mark Ronson's channel on YouTube
• Mark Ronson on Myspace
• Mark Ronson at the Internet Movie Database
• Mark Ronson and Boy George

Wendy "Lady B" Clark is an American rapper from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She is one of the earliest female rappers in hip hop history, and one of the first to record a studio album. She began her career with the WHAT radio station in 1979, and recorded her first single later that year, "To the Beat Y'all".

Music & radio career[link]

In 1984, Lady B moved to Philadelphia's Power 99 FM and started the legendary program, "The Street Beat," the program ran until 1989.

She is now broadcasting for the premiere satellite radio entity – Sirius Satellite Radio in New York City, and WRNB 107.9. in Philadelphia.

References[link]

• Rap Hip-Hop Timeline
• Philadelphia Hip-Hop Timeline

External links[link]

• Lady B. and Chuck Chillout on STREET BEAT (video clip)
• Lady B dj info on WRNB 107.9 radio Philadelphia.

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