{"id":1304087,"date":"2019-02-21T11:55:20","date_gmt":"2019-02-21T18:55:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cmt.com\/news\/?p=1803228"},"modified":"2019-02-21T11:55:20","modified_gmt":"2019-02-21T18:55:20","slug":"fred-foster-founder-of-monument-records-and-combine-music-dead-at-87","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/music-news\/fred-foster-founder-of-monument-records-and-combine-music-dead-at-87\/","title":{"rendered":"Fred Foster, Founder of Monument Records and Combine Music, Dead at 87"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Edward Morris<\/a><\/span> 3h ago<\/span><\/span> <\/p>\n

Country Music Hall of Fame member Fred Foster \u2014 an early champion of such rising talents as Kris Kristofferson, Dolly Parton and Roy Orbison \u2014 died Wednesday (Feb. 20) in Nashville following a brief illness. He was 87.<\/p>\n

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pic.twitter.com\/NC8s2TAdVl<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Dolly Parton (@DollyParton) February 21, 2019<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Best known for founding Monument Records and Combine Music, Fred Luther Foster was born in Rutherford County, N.C., on July 26, 1931. He was working in the food services industry in Washington, DC in the 1950s when he began writing songs. Foster subsequently held positions with Mercury and ABC Paramount Records.<\/p>\n

In early 1958, the formed Monument Records (which he named for the Washington Monument). That same year, the new label had its first hit, \u201cGotta Travel On,\u201d by Billy Grammer, who would later become a longtime member of the Grand Ole Opry. Riding the crest of the nascent folk music craze, \u201cGotta Travel On\u201d soared to No. 4 on Billboard<\/em>\u2019s pop chart and to No. 5 on the country rankings.<\/p>\n

Concurrent with establishing Monument, Foster also set up the Combine Music publishing company. Both were initially located in Baltimore, but Foster moved them to Nashville in 1960. Roy Orbison signed to Monument in late 1959, and Foster became his producer. Over the next six years, Orbison charted 17 singles for the label. Among these, Foster produced such classics as \u201cOnly the Lonely (Know How I Feel),\u201d \u201cCrying,\u201d \u201cDream Baby (How Long Must I Dream)\u201d and \u201cOh, Pretty Woman.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fred Foster with Roy Orbison<\/strong><\/p>\n

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