Fred Foster is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 songwriter

Songwriter

A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...

, record producer

Record producer

A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...

, and founder of Monument Records

Monument Records

Monument Records was an American record label, Washington, D.C. named for the Washington Monument, founded in 1958, by Fred Foster and Buddy Deane . Buddy Deane soon left the company, and in the early 60's bought KOTN in Pine Bluff, Arkansas where he retired to until his death...

.

Biography

Born in North Carolina, Foster struggled to support his mother after the death of his father. At the age of seventeen, Foster left the farm and moved to Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

, where he would eventually work for Mercury Records

Mercury Records

Mercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal...

 and ABC-Paramount Records (1955).

In March 1958, Foster used his life savings and formed the Monument Records with minority partner, Buddy Dean (a disc jockey

Disc jockey

A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...

 at WTTG

WTTG

WTTG, channel 5, is an owned-and-operated television station of the Fox Broadcasting Company, located in the American capital city of Washington, D.C...

). In 1959, Dean sold his stock back to Foster, and Foster re-located the label to Nashville, Tennessee

Nashville, Tennessee

Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...

 in 1960. Foster remained active with the label until 1983. Foster is credited with the development of Roy Orbison

Roy Orbison

Roy Kelton Orbison was an American singer-songwriter, well known for his distinctive, powerful voice, complex compositions, and dark emotional ballads. Orbison grew up in Texas and began singing in a rockabilly/country & western band in high school until he was signed by Sun Records in Memphis...

's career, producing many of Orbison's major hits, including: "Oh, Pretty Woman

Oh, Pretty Woman

"Oh, Pretty Woman" is a song, released in August 1964, which was a worldwide success for Roy Orbison. Recorded on the Monument Records label in Nashville, Tennessee, it was written by Roy Orbison and Bill Dees. The song spent three weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100...

", "Only the Lonely

Only the Lonely

"Only the Lonely " is a 1960 song written by Roy Orbison and Joe Melson. Recorded by Orbison, it became his first major hit. As an operatic rock ballad, it was a sound unheard of at the time, described by the New York Times as expressing "a clenched, driven urgency". It is seen as a seminal event...

", "Running Scared

Running Scared (song)

"Running Scared" is a 1961 American pop song written by Roy Orbison and Joe Melson and sung by Orbison. An operatic rock ballad, the song was released as a 45rpm single by Monument Records in March 1961 and went to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. "Running Scared" also reached #9 in the...

", "In Dreams

In Dreams (song)

Recorded in Monument's Nashville studios in early 1963, "In Dreams" peaked at number 7 on Billboards Hot 100 and spent 13 weeks on the charts in the U.S. During the five months the song was on the charts, Orbison replaced guitarist Duane Eddy on a tour of England. He was immensely popular in...

", and "Crying", "It's Over", "Mean Woman Blues

Mean Woman Blues

"Mean Woman Blues" is a 12-bar blues song written by Claude Demetrius. It was recorded by Elvis Presley as part of the soundtrack for his 1957 motion picture, Loving You. Presley also released the song on Side 2 of a four-song EP record...

", "Candy Man", and "Blue Bayou

Blue Bayou

"Blue Bayou" is the title of a song written by Roy Orbison and Joe Melson and sung by Orbison.-Roy Orbison version:A plaintive ballad, it was originally released by Orbison as a 45rpm single on the Monument Records label in August 1963 ."Blue Bayou" also appears on Orbison's 1963 album, In Dreams...

". Foster also played a significant role in Dolly Parton

Dolly Parton

Dolly Rebecca Parton is an American singer-songwriter, author, multi-instrumentalist, actress and philanthropist, best known for her work in country music. Dolly Parton has appeared in movies like 9 to 5, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Steel Magnolias and Straight Talk...

's early career, signing her to Monument in 1964, shortly after her arrival in Nashville, and overseeing her recordings, culminating with her first top 40 country hit "Dumb Blonde

Hello, I'm Dolly

-The World of Dolly Parton and Other Re-Releases:In 1972, it was re-released with As Long As I Love, as "The World of Dolly Parton", discs 1 and 2...

" in 1967. Foster also produced Billy Grammer

Billy Grammer

Billy Wayne Grammer was an American country music singer and noted guitar player. He was known for the million-selling "Gotta Travel On", which made it onto both the country and pop music charts in 1959.-Biography:...

, Ray Stevens

Ray Stevens

Ray Stevens is an American country music, pop singer-songwriter who has become known for his novelty songs.-Early career:...

, Kris Kristofferson

Kris Kristofferson

Kristoffer "Kris" Kristofferson is an American musician, actor, and writer. He is known for hits such as "Me and Bobby McGee", "For the Good Times", "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down", and "Help Me Make It Through the Night"...

, Tony Joe White

Tony Joe White

Tony Joe White is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist, best known for his 1969 hit "Polk Salad Annie"; "Rainy Night in Georgia", which he wrote but was first made popular by Brook Benton in 1970; and "Steamy Windows", a hit for Tina Turner in 1989...

, Larry Gatlin

Larry Gatlin

Larry Wayne Gatlin is an American country music singer/songwriter. He is perhaps best known for teaming up with his brothers Steve and Rudy in the late 1970s, becoming one of country music's most successful acts of the 1970s and 1980s. Gatlin has had a total of 33 Top 40 singles...

, Charlie McCoy

Charlie McCoy

Charles "Charlie" Ray McCoy is an American musician noted for his harmonica playing. In his career, McCoy has backed several notable musicians including Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Tom Astor, Elvis Presley and Ween. He has also recorded thirty-seven studio albums, including fourteen for Monument Records...

, Al Hirt

Al Hirt

Al Hirt was an American trumpeter and bandleader. He is best remembered for his million selling recordings of "Java", and the accompanying album, Honey in the Horn . His nicknames included 'Jumbo' and 'The Round Mound of Sound'...

, Boots Randolph

Boots Randolph

Homer Louis "Boots" Randolph III was an American musician best known for his 1963 saxophone hit, "Yakety Sax"...

, Jerry Byrd

Jerry Byrd

Gerald Lester "Jerry" Byrd was an American musician who played Lap steel guitar in country and Hawaiian music.-Career:...

, Billy Joe Shaver

Billy Joe Shaver

Billy Joe Shaver is a Texas country music singer and songwriter. Shaver's 1973 album Old Five and Dimers Like Me is a classic in the outlaw country genre.-Biography:...

, Grandpa Jones

Grandpa Jones

Louis Marshall Jones , known professionally as Grandpa Jones, was an American banjo player and "old time" country and gospel music singer...

, The Velvets

The Velvets

The Velvets were an American doo wop group from Odessa in Ector County in west Texas. The African American quintet was formed in 1959 by Virgil Johnson, a high school English teacher, with four of his students. Roy Orbison heard the group and signed them to Monument Records in 1960. Their first...

 and Robert Mitchum

Robert Mitchum

Robert Charles Durman Mitchum was an American film actor, author, composer and singer and is #23 on the American Film Institute's list of the greatest male American screen legends of all time...

.

In 1963, Foster expanded his label, forming the soul

Soul music

Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...

 and R&B

Rhythm and blues

Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...

 imprint called Sound Stage 7

Sound Stage 7

Sound Stage 7 was an American, Nashville, Tennessee based record label of the 1960s and 1970s, noted mainly for its soul music releases. The label's biggest star was Joe Simon, who placed numerous singles on the U.S...

. Its roster of artists included Joe Simon

Joe Simon (musician)

Joe Simon is an American chart-topping, Grammy Award winning, soul and R&B musician. Amongst other chart singles, Simon secured three number one hits on the US Billboard R&B chart between 1969 and 1975.-Career:...

, The Dixie Belles, Arthur Alexander

Arthur Alexander

Arthur Alexander was an American country soul singer. Jason Ankeny, music critic for Allmusic, said Alexander was a "country-soul pioneer" and though largely unknown, "his music is the stuff of genius, a poignant and deeply intimate body of work on par with the best of his...

, and Ivory Joe Hunter

Ivory Joe Hunter

Ivory Joe Hunter was an American rhythm and blues singer, songwriter, and pianist. After a series of hits on the US R&B chart starting in the mid 1940s, he became more widely known for his hit recording, "Since I Met You Baby" . He was billed as The Baron of the Boogie, and also known as The...

. Foster co-wrote (with Kris Kristofferson

Kris Kristofferson

Kristoffer "Kris" Kristofferson is an American musician, actor, and writer. He is known for hits such as "Me and Bobby McGee", "For the Good Times", "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down", and "Help Me Make It Through the Night"...

) "Me and Bobby McGee

Me and Bobby McGee

"Me and Bobby McGee" is a song written by Kris Kristofferson and Fred Foster, originally performed by Roger Miller. Others performed the song later, including Kristofferson himself, and Janis Joplin who topped the U.S. singles chart with the song in 1971 after her death, making the song the second...

", which was a hit for Kristofferson, plus Bobbie Gentry

Bobbie Gentry

Roberta Lee Streeter , professionally known as Bobbie Gentry, is a former American singer-songwriter notable as one of the first female country artists to compose and produce her own material...

 and Janis Joplin

Janis Joplin

Janis Lyn Joplin was an American singer, songwriter, painter, dancer and music arranger. She rose to prominence in the late 1960s as the lead singer of Big Brother and the Holding Company and later as a solo artist with her backing groups, The Kozmic Blues Band and The Full Tilt Boogie Band...

.

More recently, Foster produced Willie Nelson

Willie Nelson

Willie Hugh Nelson is an American country music singer-songwriter, as well as an author, poet, actor, and activist. The critical success of the album Shotgun Willie , combined with the critical and commercial success of Red Headed Stranger and Stardust , made Nelson one of the most recognized...

's 2006 Grammy Award

Grammy Award

A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...

 nominated You Don't Know Me: The Songs of Cindy Walker

You Don't Know Me: The Songs of Cindy Walker

You Don't Know Me: The Songs of Cindy Walker is an album by American country and western musician Willie Nelson. It was released on March 16, 2006, by the Lost Highway label. All tracks on the album were written by the late Cindy Walker...

, and Nelson's collaboration with Merle Haggard

Merle Haggard

Merle Ronald Haggard is an American country music singer, guitarist, fiddler, instrumentalist, and songwriter. Along with Buck Owens, Haggard and his band The Strangers helped create the Bakersfield sound, which is characterized by the unique twang of Fender Telecaster guitars, vocal harmonies,...

 and Ray Price

Ray Price (musician)

Ray Price is an American country music singer, songwriter and guitarist. His wide-ranging baritone has often been praised as among the best male voices of country music...

, Last of the Breed

Last of the Breed (album)

Last of the Breed is a two-disc album by American country music artists Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard and Ray Price. This album was released on March 20, 2007 on the Lost Highway Records label. It debuted at number 64 on the U.S. Billboard 200, selling about 13,000 copies in its first week...

(2007). The latter was the winner of 2008 Grammy for Best Country Collaboration for the track, "Lost Highway".

Foster was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame on October 12, 2009.