Remembering Richard Foster, Phonogram Founder

by Dennis Davis | April 26, 2018

ongtime audio and music writer Richard S. Foster passed away on April 25, 2018. Richard wrote countless record reviews for Ultimate Audio, Listener, Hi-Fi+ and The Audio Beat. In the early days of the Internet, Richard became dissatisfied with the audiophile chat groups, and in the late 1990s started the group Phonogram, which was dedicated to all aspects of vinyl playback. Phonogram continues to this day as both an e-mail and Facebook group.

Richard had an encyclopedic knowledge of classical and blues recordings. His record collection was a treasure trove of the most sought-after titles in those two genres. While the Internet is now filled with “experts” on pressing information, Richard was extremely knowledgeable about label variations and the secrets engraved in LP dead wax long before there was an Internet, and he generously shared his knowledge with anyone who was interested. Many in the audio industry owe their knowledge of music and vinyl lore to Richard’s wisdom and selfless sharing. We’ll miss his humor, warmth and great shock of white hair.

Richard’s other great passion was baseball, and the Toronto Blue Jays have lost one of their greatest fans.