As a record producer he was most closely associated with Roy Orbison, and was also involved in the early careers of Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson.
He started recording local acts, and supervised Jimmy Dean's debut hit, "Bumming Around".
[5] In 1953 he started to work for Mercury Records, but clashed with the company's executives over his endorsement of rockabilly acts.
Foster then briefly joined ABC-Paramount, where he acquired the rights to George Hamilton IV's recording, "A Rose and a Baby Ruth", which became the company's first million-seller,[5] and also signed Lloyd Price to the label.
[8] For the label's first release, Foster took Billy Grammer to RCA's Nashville studio to record "Gotta Travel On" with Chet Atkins.
As Orbison began recording for the label, his signature sound was realized, leading to a string of 18 hit singles and five best-selling LPs, beginning with the 1960 release "Only the Lonely.
"[4] Foster is credited for his part in the development of Roy Orbison's career and for producing Orbison's early hits, including "Only the Lonely" – his breakthrough hit – "Oh, Pretty Woman", "Running Scared", "In Dreams", "Crying", "It's Over", "Mean Woman Blues", "Pretty Paper", and "Blue Bayou".
Writer Richie Unterberger has compared Foster to more widely known producers such as Phil Spector and Leiber and Stoller, for the way in which he expanded the range of instrumentation used on pop and rock'n'roll records, using orchestration and choirs of vocalists, as well as making extensive use of Nashville A-Team session musicians such as Charlie McCoy and Jerry Kennedy.
He played a significant role in Dolly Parton'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", in 1967.
Foster also produced recordings by Willie Nelson, Ray Stevens, Kris Kristofferson, Tony Joe White, Larry Gatlin, Charlie McCoy, Al Hirt, Boots Randolph, Jeannie Seely, Jerry Byrd, Billy Joe Shaver, Grandpa Jones, the Velvets, and Robert Mitchum.
He married Carol Jean Wallace on December 17, 1955.They had one son, Vance, and two daughters, Micki and Leah.