David Foster | Club Random with Bill Maher

Legendary hitmaker David Foster joins Bill Maher on Club Random with the stories behind some of music’s biggest hits—and a few well-kept secrets. Foster explains why even the greatest artists only bat “50 out of 1,000,” reveals how a fake rough mix helped turn Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You” into an iconic recording, and recounts the terrifying night he accidentally struck actor Ben Vereen while driving home from a session with Michael Bolton. Foster weighs in on Barbra Streisand’s Guilty, puts The Beatles in a league of their own, and shares a hilarious story about trying hash as a teenager in Canada. He and Maher also tackle AI’s growing influence on music, age-gap relationships, education, dream dinner guests, and whether Bill changed—or the Democratic Party did.During a lively round of rapid-fire questions about the Beatles versus the Stones and dream dinner guests, Foster and Maher tackle AI’s growing influence on music, age-gap relationships, education, and whether Bill changed—or the Democratic Party did. Subscribe to the Club Random YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/clubrandomp... Watch episodes ad-free – subscribe to Bill Maher’s Substack: https://billmaher.substack.com Subscribe to the podcast for free wherever you listen: ⁠https://bit.ly/ClubRandom Support our Advertisers: Find your next fall favorites at Quince. Download the Quince app for app-exclusive offers or go to Quince dot com slash RANDOM. Go to One Two Zero L-I-F-E dot com and use the code RANDOM to save twenty percent. Ready to have an AI that can tackle real work? Try Claude Cowork today on any paid plan at Claude.ai slash random. Dose: New customers can save 35% on your first month of subscription by going to dosedaily.co/RANDOM or entering RANDOM at checkout. Buy Club Random Merch: https://clubrandom.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices ABOUT CLUB RANDOM In Club Random, Bill Maher unleashes his comedic wit on an unpredictable lineup – from Bill Burr and Jerry Seinfeld to Quentin Tarantino and Neil deGrasse Tyson – digging into everything but politics. It’s Maher in his familiar element: one-on-one vibes, unfiltered laughs, and the kind of freewheeling banter only he can deliver. ABOUT BILL MAHER Bill Maher was the host of “Politically Incorrect” (Comedy Central, ABC) from 1993-2002, and for the last 23 years on HBO’s “Real Time,” Maher’s combination of unflinching honesty and big laughs have garnered him 41 Emmy nominations. Maher won his first Emmy in 2014 as executive producer for the HBO series, “VICE.” In October of 2008, this same combination was on display in Maher’s uproarious and unprecedented swipe at organized religion, “Religulous.” Maher has written six bestsellers: “True Story,” “Does Anybody Have a Problem with That? Politically Incorrect’s Greatest Hits,” “When You Ride Alone, You Ride with Bin Laden,” “New Rules: Polite Musings from a Timid Observer,” “The New New Rules: A Funny Look at How Everybody But Me Has Their Head Up Their Ass", and most recently "What This Comedian Said Will Shock You". 00:00 – Cold Open / Intro 04:56 – David Foster’s Worst Night With Ben Vereen 09:20 – David Foster, Quincy Jones and Clive Davis 14:11 – Beatles, Stones and Streisand’s Guilty 18:22 – Dream Dinner Guests and Greta Thunberg 23:06 – What Happened to Education? 27:10 – When “Woke” Became an Eye Roll 33:19 – Lincoln, the Holocaust and Israel 39:37 – The Rough Mix That Made Whitney History 43:10 – McCartney, Phil Spector and Flowers in the Dirt 47:28 – The Case for Age-Gap Relationships 53:28 – Bill and David Talk Family 58:02 – Burt Bacharach’s Ridiculous Catalog 1:01:18 – From Session Player to Hit Producer 1:04:15 – Earth, Wind & Fire to We Are the World 1:07:14 – Is “MacArthur Park” the Best Song Ever? 1:10:36 – Does Communism Work in China? 1:15:50 – Why David Foster Loves AI Music 1:19:59 – Max Martin, Rick Rubin and Great Producers 1:22:58 – Can AI Music Have a Soul? 1:26:56 – Fatherhood in the Age of AI 1:30:43 – David Foster’s Family, Linda Thompson and Elvis FOLLOW CLUB RANDOM https://www.clubrandom.com Facebook: Club-Random-101776489118185 Twitter: clubrandom_ Instagram: clubrandompodcast TikTok: clubrandompodcast FOLLOW BILL MAHER https://www.billmaher.com Twitter: billmaher Instagram: billmaher