Foster began his solo career in 1992 and his album Del Rio, TX 1959 produced four consecutive Top 40 hits.
However, his commercial success waned with the release subsequent albums such as Labor of Love (1995), See What You Want to See (1999), Are You Ready for the Big Show?, Another Way to Go (2002) and This World We Live In (2006).
His songs have been recorded by Gary Allan, Sara Evans, Keith Urban, Hootie and the Blowfish, and Jack Ingram.
He dropped out in 1979 and at the advice of veteran songwriter Randy Goodrum,[3] moved to Nashville to pursue a music career.
There he met Bill Lloyd and they co-wrote the song "Since I Found You" which became a Top Ten hit for the Sweethearts of the Rodeo.
[5] After the lead single "Labor of Love" failed to make the Top 40, Arista delayed the album's release so that it would not compete with the compilation album Mama's Hungry Eyes: A Tribute to Merle Haggard, to which Foster had contributed the track "The Running Kind".
[5] Steve Ripley, who recorded on Arista as lead singer of The Tractors at the time, remixed the following single "Willin' to Walk" and the album was released under the title Labor of Love in April 1995.
[6] Foster's third album was 1999's See What You Want to See, featuring a more pop-oriented sound and backing vocals from Darius Rucker of Hootie & the Blowfish.
The album produced a charting single in "Godspeed (Sweet Dreams)", a duet with Emmylou Harris which peaked at No.
Two of the album's cuts were later covered by Keith Urban, who released his renditions as singles: "Raining on Sunday" from Golden Road, and "I'm In" from Defying Gravity.
In early 2017, Foster starred in Troubadour, a country musical by Sugarland member Kristian Bush and playwright Janece Shaffer.
Long-time Tennessean journalist Peter Cooper commented, “Radney Foster writes with uncommon depth of emotion, humor, empathy, and clarity.
Until then, it’s best that we read, wonder, and revel.” A native of Del Rio, Texas, Foster moved to Tennessee to attend the University of the South at Sewanee.