Customer Reviews

Hitman: Forty Years Making Music, Topping the Charts, and Winning Grammys

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I have always known little about David Foster except that he is "that Canadian guy who worked with Celine Dion et al" I truly enjoyed and appreciated that this man wrote such a revealing but balanced personal history of his years in show business from the humble beginnnings in dreary 60's london to the glitzy over the top L.A. scene in a heyday never to be repeated- Marvin and Barbara Davis' circle. This book is not about parties or excess though. David clues us in early on about his large wholesome Canadian family, he is the only boy in a brood of seven children and he keeps his values throughout his life.He said he knew from the beginning that he would never get involved in the drug scene- and aren't we grateful that he didnt become a casualty like so many?
The only disclosure that he rues is his complicated family life as he has several marriages and many gorgeous girls and stepchildren he must manage ; he is very upfront that this has been a checkered path.
Most of the book is the meat- his hitmaking ability and his interactions and collaborations with the celebrities he has worked with ,from the gracious and sublimely talented to the rude and dismissive. I found David to be extremely modest and grounded and generous when describing most of his professional relationships. He also explains total unsnobbery as regards those who diss his work, explaining "popular" music is named as such because it is - POPULAR .Just because one may have Miles Davis on the turntable doesn't mean they cannot find something to appreciate about a singer selling millions of records. I found Mr. Foster very refreshing and rational, and lets face it , he is an uber star himself, dong what he does brilliantly.

I have always been fascinated by Foster's work with Chicago. I believe his work with Peter Cetera was unbelievable.

The book hits the ground running. Don't expect long drawn out stories. He has many experiences to share and recounts them. When an artist was difficult to work with, he shares it. Foster likes to explain in the book that he was great at helping existing artists reach for something higher. He also found new talent and tells of the story of discovering Celine Dion and Josh Groban. He enjoys producing. His experience with playing a variety of instruments and early experience doing session work led to this.

One of the memorable stories for me early on the book came when he told of being left in London after his band abandoned him. He stayed there without any contacts or friends, surviving on one main meal per day. The day he left to come back home, Cat Stevens offered him a job but he was home sick and left. He later regretted that, but still had a great career after.

Foster believes in his gifts and one never forgets this while reading. He doesn't have much humility, but his enthusiam for his projects is infectious and probably one of the hallmarks of a great producer. I also enjoyed learning about his charity work. The book was a great read.

Excellent book. Well worth reading and very entertaining. Also contains some good advice if you want to learn from the best- and David Foster is without a doubt one of the top music producers in the history of the record business.

A very good read. Highly recommend.

For over forty years, David Foster has been making great music. When I read this book, I passed it on to other members of my MainStar entertainment staff and our artists. I am beyond enthusiastic! At MainStar we write music with the aim of enriching the lives of all who hear our music as we rise to the top of the charts. As Founder and CEO of MainStar, it wasn't enough to just pass a copy of David Foster's book around. I ordered copies for everyone of our artists: Arthur King and Ashley Goode being the first among our musical artists to finish the book. The entire staff found the book to be inspiring. I am recommending this book to everyone I know and will make it required reading for all new staff as we build our multi-million dollar entertainment firm. Mainstar is turbocharged from this book.
Anyone reading this book will be engrossed with David Fosters description of his early life and his parents' recognition and encouragement of his musical talents (his mother noticed that David has perfect pitch and his father was a pianist), his introduction to the music business, his failures and how he dealt with and learned from them, the people who gave him a chance and how he created his own "breaks" resulting in his ultimate and continuing success in writing for and producing an amazing array of musical talent over the previous forty years (the list is vast; read the book and get the companion album). He deserves more than the 15 Grammy awards he has gotten so far. And the man is still going strong!
After reading this book you will be impressed, as the entire staff of MainStar music entertainment is impressed with the many astonishing musical, business and human insights provided by David Foster. He has been writing the soundtrack for our lives. Get this book! You will love and cherish "Hitman"!

David Foster has been one of the most interesting music minds over the past 30 plus years and it is good to read this book on his career. he talks about who he has worked with and the creative process and the many people he has worked with, etc... he trips me out with some of his takes on different folks. he shares alot of interesting stories in the studio and beyond. a good read.

David Foster's "Hit Man" is a book for all those who never knew what makes a "HIT". This man is the ULTIMATE producer, musician, and songwriter of our century. In his book, he is transparent about his life and family background. THAT TAKES GUTS. The music world seemed to change him into a different person from being instilled with high morals to having to change his ways to maintain his success. I bought it because I saw my favorite artist, Kenny Loggins preforming in Vegas in a show called "David Foster and Friends", also my favorite violinist, Drew Tretick's FB page he listed David Foster as the only thing he liked. Who is this guy? I remember his name being all over the credits on my albums, but I didn't know what he did. I liked how David brings out experiences and insecurities that I can relate to. If David Foster went through those feelings with all that success it is very encouraging to us that are not famous. However, towards the end he used more cuss words, and I just am not totally comfortable. I'm glad I read this compelling book, it opens my eyes to how hard the producers work and they deserve so much credit. I thank him for all the songs, and artists, he gave to this world!

When this book first came out I was very interested in reading it but did not have the time. Recently I picked it up at a local library and just finished reading it. It's an ok read, but I'm glad I didn't spend the money to buy it. Considering Mr. Fosters lenghy career I expected more excitement than I got. A good library book but not a keeper.

Foster and his co-author have written a breezy book filled with name-dropping stories about the music business. It's all very interesting and the 209 pages fly by so quickly that the book's main fault is that it isn't long enough.

The musician writes briefly about major things that deserve many more pages, such as when the Beatles showed up to cheer when his group backed up Chuck Berry or getting his girlfriend pregnant, then the baby suddenly being "taken" from him (what does that mean?).

He dropped out of high school and never explains how he completed his education. He turns down a job with Cat Stevens, claiming that it was important to learn how to say "no," but then he ends up wallowing for years after that which negates the supposed lesson. His late-in-life spin is that it all worked out for good, but he could use some introspection and put much more of his feelings into his memoir.

There are other fun revelations, such as Kevin Costner being the one who picked "I Will Always Love You" for Whitney Houston. Or that Barbra Streisand heard him tinkering on the piano and chose his interpretation of "All in Love is Fair" over the one from the producer. Or that his estranged first daughter wrote the Michael Buble hit "Home," and David had nothing to do with it (Foster was Buble's original producer).

He also comes across as a bit of a sleazeball who tries to sugar-coat his huge failings and his inability to be in a committed relationship. He relates his story of cheating on his first wife without actually saying he was cheating, excusing it away as that he was too committed to his work. The fact that his wife went berserk when confronting the girlfriend (the police were involved) is brushed aside as no big deal. He then admits to cheating on his other wives. He continually makes excuses for ignoring his children, claiming he felt "guilt," but never being man enough to do anything about it. And in his version of the infamous story when he hit Ben Vereen with his car, Foster claims he should be praised for injuring the dancer (yes--he actually thinks he saved Vereen's life by hitting him with a car!).

He does tell us, however, that he never did drugs. He states that so often, and relates so many drug offers, than it raises questions about his sincerity. He did smoke a lot. He quotes many in the music business who worked with him and call him names like egomaniac. And he has a weird phobia of elevators--he literally never uses one.

He admits to lying over and over, so it makes the reader wonder if some of his stories are totally accurate. He also uses a lot of profanity throughout the book to the point where it's distracting.

Foster writes a bit about his TV show "Princes of Malibu," which was one of the biggest reality flops in history. Yet he claims it was a hit, saying "The show was getting great ratings." It got a 3.7 rating and a 6 share in the target demographics--an absolute disaster that placed fourth out of the major four network shows in that time slot. Then David claims it was on three weeks before getting pulled due to his pending divorce! Wrong, buddy. It aired twice before Fox cancelled it. Foster says he decided to file for divorce after watching the first episode--but that is revisionist history as well. When the news broke of the divorce filing by Linda, it was revealed that the divorce had already been in the works before the show aired.

So, again, don't believe what he writes here.

His attitude appears to be a mixture of braggadocio and forced humility. For example, Berry Gordy asked him if he had a song that combined pop and R&B. He lied and said he did, then sat down and come up on the spot with "After the Love Has Gone," claiming it was "a gift from heaven." Then, telling the story in the book, he uses a profanity and says "The best stuff comes through you, not from you."

That encapsulates the whole book. It's certainly worth reading, but you need a healthy dose of skepticism to believe David Foster is everything he thinks he is.

Nice to learn something behind the man who has written, produced, arranged ---done it all for so many! Look forward to many more years of David Foster sharing his amazing talents with all of us!

I first came to know DAVID FOSTER when he produced CHICAGO 16 & 17 for the rock group. I really believed he turned that group around from their
sub par previous albums. I enjoyed reading his candid observations
of the different acts he has worked with in his career. I also give him credit for admitting the work he has produced and did not "hit".
Great reading...