Friday Five: Radney Foster

One of our favorite Texans, Radney Foster, turns 53 today. Numerous country artists, including Sara Evans, The Mavericks, and Brooks & Dunn have recorded songs that Foster has written or co-written over the years. Here are five of my favorites.

5. The Kinleys – “I’m In”

Whether it’s Foster’s 1998 original with Abra Moore or The Kinleys’s 2000 recording, this giddy and infectious song puts a smile on my face. Keith Urban’s version is arguably the weakest of the three, but his take on “I’m In,” as well as his fine cover of “Raining on Sunday,” have certainly earned Foster a decent amount of mailbox money over the past decade.

 

4. Dixie Chicks – “Godspeed (Sweet Dreams)”

This song, which Foster wrote for his young son to listen to when the two were separated, beats any other lullaby out there. Put it on “repeat” in your kid’s room and maybe you’ll be able to avoid reading Goodnight Moon five times a night.

 

3. Rosie Flores – “Bring It On”

Foster and the Rockabilly Filly make a great songwriting pair; and they sound good together too on this duet from Flores’ 1999 record Dance Hall Dreams.

 

2. New Grass Revival – “Love Someone Like Me”

Foster and Holly Dunn wrote this one, which appears on Dunn’s 1987 album, Cornerstone, but you can’t beat this version from John Cowan and crew, released in 1986.

 

1. Pam Tillis – “I’ve Seen Enough to Know”

This Foster/Tillis cut can be found on Tillis’ Put Yourself in My Place, a fantastic album featuring songwriters like Harlan Howard and modern classics like “Maybe It Was Memphis.” Over 20 years later, it remains one of my favorite Tillis songs, as it tells the story of a pair, awkward as “a couple of left-footed dancers,” who are slowly becoming something more as “signs of a real love” start to appear between them.