Ruthie Foster

Ruthie Foster

Foster performing at The Living Room in New York City; January 24, 2007
Background information
Born (1964-02-10)February 10, 1964
Gause, Texas, United States
Genres Blues, folk, gospel blues
Occupation(s) Musician, songwriter
Instruments Vocals, guitar
Years active 1997–present
Labels Blue Corn Music, M.O.D. Records
Associated acts The Blind Boys of Alabama, Warren Haynes Band
Website Ruthie Foster.com

Ruthie Cecelia Foster (born February 10, 1964)[1] is an American singer-songwriter of blues and folk music. She mixes a wide palette of American song forms, from gospel and blues to jazz, folk and soul, and her live performances are powerfully transfiguring.[2] (www.allmusic.com) She has often been compared to Bonnie Raitt and Aretha Franklin.[3]

Biography

Foster is from Gause, Texas and comes from a family of gospel singers. At the age of fourteen, Ruthie was a soloist in her hometown choir, and was certain that her future would revolve around music. After high school, Ruthie moved to Waco, Texas to attend community college, where her studies concentrated in music and audio engineering. She began fronting a blues band, learning how to command a stage in the bars of Texas.[2]

Hoping to travel and gain a wider world perspective, Foster joined the Navy, and soon her musical talents soon had her singing in the naval band Pride, that played pop and funk hits at recruitment drives in the southeastern United States. Following her tour of duty, Ruthie headed to New York City where she became a regular performer at various local folk venues. Atlantic Records got wind of Foster's talent and offered her a recording deal, with the intent of cultivating her as a budding pop star, but Foster wasn't interested in a pop career, preferring instead to explore the various strains of American roots music that had informed her childhood. When her mother fell ill in 1993, Foster left New York and her recording deal and returned to Texas to be with her family. She began working as a camera operator and production assistant at a television station in College Station, Texas while she cared for her mother, who passed in 1996. A year later in 1997, Foster self-released the album Full Circle, the success of which paved the way to a long relationship with the record label Blue Corn Music.[2]

Blue Corn released the follow up album Crossover in 1999, Runaway Soul in 2002, and Stages (featuring a series of live tracks) in 2004. Stages marked a turning point in Foster's career, as the experience of a Ruthie Foster live show was able to be experienced by a wide audience. Foster's next release was Heal Yourself in 2006, followed by the studio album The Phenomenal Ruthie Foster in 2008 (produced by Papa Mali), and The Truth According to Ruthie Foster (produced by Grammy-winning producer Chris Goldsmith), recorded at Ardent Studios in Memphis, in 2009, all released by Blue Corn Music.[2] The Truth According to Ruthie Foster earned Ruthie a Grammy Award Nomination for Best Contemporary Blues Album. A second album of Foster's live performances, Live At Antone's (CD and DVD), was released in 2011. In 2012, Ruthie and Blue Corn released the studio album Let It Burn, which featured special guests The Blind Boys of Alabama, William Bell and the rhythm section of The Funky Meters, and was produced by Grammy-award winner John Chelew. Let It Burn earned Foster a second Grammy Nomination, this time for Best Blues Album, and was the vehicle for numerous Blues Music Awards won by Foster. Her most recent album, Promise of a Brand New Day, was released by Blue Corn Music in 2014.

Ruthie Foster's awards list has grown in the last few years. These awards include three Grammy nominations (Let It Burn for Best Blues Album, The Truth According to Ruthie Foster for Best Contemporary Blues Album, and Promise of a Brand New Day for Best Blues Album[4]), her numerous wins at the Blues Music Awards, including three awards for Best Female Vocalist and one for DVD of the Year for Live At Antone's, and Foster's recent crown for Best Female Vocalist at the 2013 Austin Music Awards.[2] In 2016, she was nominated for two Living Blues Awards and won the Koko Taylor Award for Best Traditional Female Blues Artist. [5]

A frequent and sought-after guest artist, Foster performed with the Allman Brothers Band in 2012 at their annual Beacon Theatre run in New York City. She sang on four songs, including a cover version of "The Weight"," on which she traded verses with Susan Tedeschi. She has toured with the Blind Boys of Alabama as well as Warren Haynes and also appears on Haynes' album Man In Motion. She was recently featured as a special guest on House of Blues and Elwood Blue's radio show, The BluesMobile, as well as Austin Live: Tick Tock, a video short produced by the City of Austin.[2] Ruthie continues to tour extensively all over the world. In 2016, her shows have spanned across the U.S., Italy, Germany, Spain, and Cuba.[6] Ruthie's shows are quite spectacular as proven by the hundreds of videos and photos posted by her fans across social media. [7] Further, her list of honors include a nomination from the Living Blues Awards for Best Live Performer. [8]

Awards and honors

Career

Discography

References

  1. ↑ Eagle, Bob; LeBlanc, Eric S. (2013). Blues - A Regional Experience. Santa Barbara: Praeger Publishers. p. 297. ISBN 978-0313344237.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Ruthie Foster : Biography". AllMusic.com. Retrieved August 8, 2016.
  3. ↑ "The Many Lives of Jazz Musician Ruthie Foster". The Charleston Gazette. Retrieved June 13, 2013. In her 48 years, blues singer Ruthie Foster has lived a couple of different lives.
  4. ↑ Blue Corn Music http://bluecornmusic.com/ruthie-foster-picks-up-third-consecutive-grammy-nomination-for-promise-of-a-brand-new-day/. Retrieved 14 October 2016. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  5. ↑ Ruthie Foster http://www.ruthiefoster.com/news/. Retrieved 14 October 2016. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  6. ↑ Ruthie Foster http://www.ruthiefoster.com/news/. Retrieved 14 October 2016. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  7. ↑ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/ruthiefosterfamilyband/?fref=ts&ref=br_tf. Retrieved 14 October 2016. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  8. ↑ Ruthie Foster http://www.ruthiefoster.com/news/. Retrieved 14 October 2016. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 "Rosebud Agency: Ruthie Foster".
  10. ↑ Ruthie Foster http://www.ruthiefoster.com/about/. Retrieved 14 October 2016. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  11. ↑ Marshall, Matt (May 6, 2011). "2011 Blues Music Awards Winners". American Blues Scene.
  12. ↑ White, Jim (May 11, 2012). "2012 Blues Music Award winners". Community Voices. Retrieved January 30, 2013.
  13. ↑ Gaynor Crawford Presents http://www.gaynorcrawford.com/ruthie-foster-picks-up-third-consecutive-grammy-nomination/. Retrieved 14 October 2016. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  14. ↑ Marshall, Matt (March 9, 2013). "2013 Blues Music Awards Winners". American Blues Scene. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
  15. ↑ "2015 Blues Music Awards Winners". Americanbluesscene.com. Retrieved 2015-05-18.
  16. ↑ Blue Corn Music http://bluecornmusic.com/ruthie-foster-picks-up-third-consecutive-grammy-nomination-for-promise-of-a-brand-new-day/. Retrieved 14 October 2016. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  17. ↑ Ruthie Foster http://www.ruthiefoster.com/news/. Retrieved 14 October 2016. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  18. ↑ "2016 Blues Music Awards Winner List". Blues411.com. Retrieved 2016-05-23.
  19. ↑ "Ruthie Foster : The Phenomenal Ruthie Foster : CD Baby Music Store". CD Baby. Retrieved 2013-05-24.
  20. ↑ "Ruthie Foster" (PDF). Rosebudus.com. Retrieved 2013-05-24.
  21. ↑ Hildebrand, Lee (May 5, 2013). "Ruthie Foster performs in Bay Area – San Francisco". San Francisco Chronicle.
  22. ↑ Budnik, Dean (June 22, 2012). "Warren Haynes: Papa's Got a Brand New Bag". Relix.
  23. ↑ Skanse, Richard. "Fire in the Soul: Ruthie Foster continues her artistic hot streak with Let it Burn". Lone Star Music.
  24. ↑ "Austin Live: Tick Tock". Austintexas.org. Retrieved 2013-05-24.
  25. ↑ "The Weight – The Allman Brothers Feat. Ruthie Foster and Susan Tedeschi". YouTube. March 26, 2013.
  26. ↑ "Ruthie Foster Aim For the Hear". Soundcloud.com. Retrieved 2013-05-24.
  27. ↑ "Austin Music Awards". Austinchronicle.com. Retrieved 2013-05-24.
  28. ↑ "Official BTB Program" (PDF). Blacktieandbootsball.com. Retrieved 2013-05-24.
  29. ↑ "Ruthie Foster – Full Circle". CD Baby. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
  30. ↑ "Ruthie Foster – Crossover". CD Baby. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
  31. ↑ Barr, Greg (August 22, 2002). "Ruthie Foster: Runaway Soul (Blue Corn Music)". Houston Press Music. Village Voice Media. Retrieved 2009-06-17.
  32. ↑ Caligiuri, Jim (July 23, 2004). "Ruthie Foster: Stages (Blue Corn)". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved 2009-06-17.
  33. ↑ "Ruthie Foster Aims for 'Phenomenal'-ness". NPR. April 25, 2007. Retrieved 2009-06-17.
  34. ↑ Himes, Geoffrey (March 30, 2007). "Ruthie Foster "The Phenomenal Ruthie Foster" Blue Corn". The Washington Post. pp. WE09. Retrieved 2009-06-17.
  35. ↑ Silver, Marc (May 28, 2009). "Ruthie Foster (Quietly) Tells The Truth". NPR. Retrieved 2009-06-17.
  36. ↑ Capobianco, Ken (February 23, 2009). "Ruthie Foster, 'The Truth According to Ruthie Foster'". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2009-06-17.
  37. ↑ Bman (2011-11-15). "Bman's Blues Report: Blue Corn Music artist Ruthie Foster New Release – Let It Burn – Review". Bmansbluesreport.com. Retrieved 2012-11-21.
  38. ↑ Horowitz, Hal (2014-08-21). "Ruthie Foster: Promise Of A Brand New Day". americansongwriter.com. Retrieved 2014-08-22.

External links


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