Paul Foster

Paul Foster was born on July 12, 1920 in Shreveport, Louisiana. Here he sang in a family group ('The Fosters'). When he was 16 he joined the 'Hurricane Bluff Spiritual Gospel Singers'.

During the Second World War he served in the army at Ford Ord, California. and afterwards moved to Oakland, California. Here he joined and recorded with the 'Rising Stars'. He also sang with the 'The Paramounts' and the 'Golden Harps'. After the death of his father in 1949 he joined 'Golden Echoes'. With this group he recorded for Specialty Recordings, for which he would later record with the Soul Stirrers. After only a few months he joined the 'Houston All-Stars'.

When he performed with the Houstonaires (or Houston All-stars, the sources are different) in late 1949 he was spotted by the Soul Stirrers who also sang during that show. A few weeks later he was asked to replace James Medlock and Foster joined the Soul Stirres, just after his father had died. When RH Harris left the group Foster did all the leads for two months but that was too much, up to the point of him getting migraines. That's when Sam Cook stepped in to lighten the load. He again was the only lead singer for a few months when Johnnie Taylor left the group. Foster would stay with the Soul Stirrers until 1963.

He then moved to Los Angeles to start a barbecue restaurant and sang with groups like the 'Sims Brothers' and the 'Los Angeles Golden Crowns'. But not for long.

In 1965 he would become Reverend Foster, which was in line with his great religiosity. He became the pastor of the Union Baptist Church in Vallejo where he stayed until he retired. It was here that he died on August 20, 1995. 

Some sources also say that in the 1980s he delivered vegetables in Las Vegas. 

His son Paul Jr. followed in his father's footsteps and is now singing with gospel group 'Consonance'.