Stephen Collins Foster (July 4, 1826 – January 13, 1864), known as the "father of American music", was the pre-eminent
songwriterA songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
of the 19th century. His songs — such as "
Oh! Susanna"Oh! Susanna" is a minstrel song by Stephen Foster . It was published by W. C. Peters & Co. in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1848. The song was introduced by a local quintette at a concert in Andrews' Eagle Ice Cream Saloon in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on September 11, 1847. Foster was said to have written...
", "
Camptown RacesGwine to Run All Night, or De Camptown Races is a minstrel song by Stephen Foster . It was probably composed in Cincinnati in 1849, according to Richard Jackson, and published by F. D. Benteen of Baltimore, Maryland, in February 1850...
", "
Old Folks at Home"Old Folks at Home" is a minstrel song written by Stephen Foster in 1851. It was intended to be performed by the New York blackface troupe Christy's Minstrels. E. P. Christy, the troupe's leader, appears on early printings of the sheet music as the song's creator...
" ("Swanee River"), "
Hard Times Come Again No More"Hard Times Come Again No More," is a parlor song by Stephen Foster. It was published in New York by Firth, Pond & Co. in 1854 as Foster's Melodies No. 28...
", "
My Old Kentucky Home"My Old Kentucky Home" is a minstrel song by Stephen Foster , probably composed in 1852. It was published as "My Old Kentucky Home, Good Night" in January 1853 by Firth, Pond, & Co. of New York...
", "
Old Black Joe"Old Black Joe" is a parlor song by Stephen Foster . It was published by Firth, Pond & Co. of New York in 1853. Ken Emerson, author of Doo-Dah!, indicates that Foster's fictional Joe was inspired by a servant in the home of his father-in-law, Dr. McDowell of Pittsburgh...
", "
Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair"Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair" is a parlor song by Stephen Foster . It was published by Firth, Pond & Co. of New York in 1854. Foster wrote the song with his wife Jane McDowell in mind. "Jeanie" was a notorious beneficiary of the ASCAP boycott of 1941...
", and "
Beautiful Dreamer"Beautiful Dreamer" is a parlor song by Stephen Foster . It was published posthumously in March 1864 by Wm. A. Pond & Co. of New York. The first edition declares on the title page that "Beautiful Dreamer" is "the last song ever written by Stephen C. Foster. Composed but a few days prior to his...
" — remain popular over 150 years after their composition.
Early life
Foster attended private academies in
AlleghenyAllegheny City was a Pennsylvania municipality located on the north side of the junction of the Allegheny and Ohio rivers, across from downtown Pittsburgh. It was annexed by Pittsburgh in 1907...
,
AthensAthens is a borough in Bradford County, Pennsylvania, two miles south of the N. Y. State line on the Susquehanna and Chemung rivers. Population in 1900, 3,749; and in 1910, 3,796. The population was 3,415 at the 2000 census...
, and
Towanda, PennsylvaniaTowanda is a borough in and the county seat of Bradford County, Pennsylvania, United States, northwest of Wilkes Barre, on the Susquehanna River. The name means "burial ground" in the Algonquian language...
. He received an education in English grammar, diction, the classics, penmanship,
LatinLatin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
and
GreekGreek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
, and mathematics. In 1839, his elder brother William was serving his apprenticeship as an engineer at nearby Towanda and thought Stephen would benefit from being under his supervision. The site of the
Camptown RacesGwine to Run All Night, or De Camptown Races is a minstrel song by Stephen Foster . It was probably composed in Cincinnati in 1849, according to Richard Jackson, and published by F. D. Benteen of Baltimore, Maryland, in February 1850...
is 30 miles from Athens, and 15 miles from Towanda. Stephen attended Athens Academy from 1839 to 1841. He wrote his first composition,
Tioga Waltz, while attending Athens Academy, and performed it during the 1839 commencement exercises; he was 14. It was not published during the composer's lifetime, but it is included in the collection of published works by Morrison Foster. In 1842, Athens Academy was destroyed in a fire.
His education included a brief period at Jefferson College in
Canonsburg, PennsylvaniaCanonsburg is a borough in Washington County, Pennsylvania, southwest of Pittsburgh. Canonsburg was laid out by Colonel John Canon in 1789 and incorporated in 1802....
(now
Washington & Jefferson CollegeWashington & Jefferson College, also known as W & J College or W&J, is a private liberal arts college in Washington, Pennsylvania, in the United States, which is south of Pittsburgh...
). His tuition was paid, but Foster had little spending money. Sources conflict on whether he left willingly or was dismissed; but, either way, he left Canonsburg to visit Pittsburgh with another student and didn't return.
During his teenage years, Foster was influenced greatly by two men. Henry Kleber (1816–1897), one of Stephen’s few formal music instructors, was a classically trained musician who emigrated from
DarmstadtDarmstadt is a city in the Bundesland of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Rhine Main Area.The sandy soils in the Darmstadt area, ill-suited for agriculture in times before industrial fertilisation, prevented any larger settlement from developing, until the city became the seat...
,
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, to Pittsburgh and opened a music store.
Dan RiceDan Rice , was an American entertainer of many talents, most famously as a clown, who was pre-eminent before the American Civil War. During the height of his career, Rice was a household name...
was an entertainer, a clown and
blackfaceBlackface is a form of theatrical makeup used in minstrel shows, and later vaudeville, in which performers create a stereotyped caricature of a black person. The practice gained popularity during the 19th century and contributed to the proliferation of stereotypes such as the "happy-go-lucky darky...
singer, making his living in traveling circuses. Although respectful of the more civilized parlor songs of the day, he and his friends would often sit at a piano, writing and singing minstrel songs through the night. Eventually, Foster would learn to blend the two genres to write some of his best-known work.
A Career in Music
In 1846, Foster moved to
Cincinnati, OhioCincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
, and became a bookkeeper with his brother's steamship company. While in Cincinnati, Foster penned his first successful songs, among them "Oh! Susanna" which would prove to be the anthem of the
California Gold RushThe California Gold Rush began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The first to hear confirmed information of the gold rush were the people in Oregon, the Sandwich Islands , and Latin America, who were the first to start flocking to...
in 1848–1849. In 1849, he published
Foster's Ethiopian Melodies, which included the successful song "Nelly Was a Lady", made famous by the Christy Minstrels. A plaque marks the site of Foster's residence in Cincinnati, where the
Guilford School buildingGuilford School on the eastside of downtown Cincinnati was designed by Frederick W. Garber. The building is on the site of Fort Washington and was also once a place of residence for Stephen Foster...
is now located.
Then he returned to Pennsylvania and signed a contract with the Christy Minstrels. It was during this period that Foster would write most of his best-known songs: "
Camptown RacesGwine to Run All Night, or De Camptown Races is a minstrel song by Stephen Foster . It was probably composed in Cincinnati in 1849, according to Richard Jackson, and published by F. D. Benteen of Baltimore, Maryland, in February 1850...
" (1850), "Nelly Bly" (1850), "
Old Folks at Home"Old Folks at Home" is a minstrel song written by Stephen Foster in 1851. It was intended to be performed by the New York blackface troupe Christy's Minstrels. E. P. Christy, the troupe's leader, appears on early printings of the sheet music as the song's creator...
" (known also as "Swanee River", 1851), "
My Old Kentucky Home"My Old Kentucky Home" is a minstrel song by Stephen Foster , probably composed in 1852. It was published as "My Old Kentucky Home, Good Night" in January 1853 by Firth, Pond, & Co. of New York...
" (1853), "Old Dog Tray" (1853), and "
Jeanie With the Light Brown Hair"Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair" is a parlor song by Stephen Foster . It was published by Firth, Pond & Co. of New York in 1854. Foster wrote the song with his wife Jane McDowell in mind. "Jeanie" was a notorious beneficiary of the ASCAP boycott of 1941...
" (1854), written for his wife Jane Denny McDowell.
Many of Foster's songs were of the blackface
minstrel showThe minstrel show, or minstrelsy, was an American entertainment consisting of comic skits, variety acts, dancing, and music, performed by white people in blackface or, especially after the Civil War, black people in blackface....
tradition popular at the time. Foster sought, in his own words, to "build up taste ... among refined people by making words suitable to their taste, instead of the trashy and really offensive words which belong to some songs of that order."
Although many of his songs had Southern themes, Foster never lived in the South and visited it only once, by river-boat voyage (on his brother Dunning's steam boat, the
Millinger) down the Mississippi to New Orleans, during his honeymoon in 1852.
Foster attempted to make a living as a professional songwriter and may be considered innovative in this respect, since this field did not yet exist in the modern sense. Due in part to the limited scope of music
copyrightCopyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time...
and composer
royaltiesRoyalties are usage-based payments made by one party to another for the right to ongoing use of an asset, sometimes an intellectual property...
at the time, Foster realized very little of the profits which his works generated for
sheet musicSheet music is a hand-written or printed form of music notation that uses modern musical symbols; like its analogs—books, pamphlets, etc.—the medium of sheet music typically is paper , although the access to musical notation in recent years includes also presentation on computer screens...
printers. Multiple publishers often printed their own competing editions of Foster's tunes, not paying Foster anything. For "Oh, Susanna", he received $100.
Foster moved to
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in 1860. About a year later, his wife and daughter left him and returned to Pittsburgh. Beginning in 1862, his fortunes decreased, and as they did, so did the quality of his new songs. Early in 1863, he began working with George Cooper, whose lyrics were often humorous and designed to appeal to musical theater audiences. The
Civil WarThe American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
created a flurry of newly written music with patriotic war themes, but this did not benefit Foster.
Death
Stephen Foster had become impoverished while living at the North American Hotel at 30
BoweryBowery , commonly called "the Bowery," is a street and a small neighborhood in the southern portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan...
on the
Lower East SideThe Lower East Side, LES, is a neighborhood in the southeastern part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is roughly bounded by Allen Street, East Houston Street, Essex Street, Canal Street, Eldridge Street, East Broadway, and Grand Street....
of Manhattan, New York. He was reportedly confined to his bed for days by a persistent fever, Foster tried to call a chambermaid, but collapsed, falling against the washbasin next to his bed and shattering it, which gouged his head. It took three hours to get him to Bellevue Hospital. In an era before transfusions and antibiotics, he succumbed three days after his admittance, aged 37.
In his worn leather wallet, there was found a scrap of paper that simply said "Dear friends and gentle hearts" along with 38 cents in Civil War
scripScrip is an American term for any substitute for currency which is not legal tender and is often a form of credit. Scrips were created as company payment of employees and also as a means of payment in times where regular money is unavailable, such as remote coal towns, military bases, ships on long...
and three pennies. Foster was buried in the
Allegheny CemeteryAllegheny Cemetery is one of the largest and oldest burial grounds in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.It is a nonsectarian, wooded hillside park located at 4734 Butler Street in the Lawrenceville neighborhood and bounded by Bloomfield, Garfield, and Stanton Heights...
in Pittsburgh. One of his most beloved works, "
Beautiful Dreamer"Beautiful Dreamer" is a parlor song by Stephen Foster . It was published posthumously in March 1864 by Wm. A. Pond & Co. of New York. The first edition declares on the title page that "Beautiful Dreamer" is "the last song ever written by Stephen C. Foster. Composed but a few days prior to his...
", was published shortly after his death.
Music
Foster is acknowledged as "father of American music".
He was inducted into the
Songwriters Hall of FameThe Songwriters Hall of Fame is an arm of the National Academy of Popular Music. It was founded in 1969 by songwriter Johnny Mercer and music publishers Abe Olman and Howie Richmond. The goal is to create a museum but as of April, 2008, the means do not yet exist and so instead it is an online...
in 1970, and he was also inducted into the
Nashville Songwriters Hall of FameThe Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame was established by the Nashville Songwriters Foundation, Inc. in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. A non-profit organization, its objective is to honor and preserve the songwriting legacy that is uniquely associated with music community in the city of...
in 2010.
"My Old Kentucky Home" is the official state song of
KentuckyThe Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
, adopted by the General Assembly on March 19, 1928. "Old Folks at Home" is the official state song of
FloridaFlorida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, designated in 1935.
American Baritone
Nelson EddyNelson Ackerman Eddy was an American singer and actor who appeared in 19 musical films during the 1930s and 1940s, as well as in opera and on the concert stage, radio, television, and in nightclubs. A classically trained baritone, he is best remembered for the eight films in which he costarred...
recorded 35 Foster songs over three recording sessions in July, August and September 1947 on Columbia records, in 78 format, 2 songs per record. Columbia Records issued these recordings in 1948, "Nelson Eddy in Songs of Stephen Foster (Volume 1: A-745 and Volume 2: A-795)". In 2005 Jasmine Records compiled all 35 Foster songs in one CD, "Nelson Eddy Sings The Stephen Foster Songbook" JASCD 421. "In these performances, arranger/conducter
Robert ArmbrusterRobert Armbruster was a Philadelphia-born American composer, conductor, pianist and songwriter. After studying with Constantin von Sternberg he became a concert pianist, then branched out into conducting and a composing for radio, then television and film. He debuted as a pianist with the...
made every attempt to frame Nelson Eddy's voice with a simple, yet colorful, orchestral and choral background - the norm of Stephen Foster's time." (Liner notes by Robert Nickora July 2005).
American classical composer
Charles IvesCharles Edward Ives was an American modernist composer. He is one of the first American composers of international renown, though Ives' music was largely ignored during his life, and many of his works went unperformed for many years. Over time, Ives came to be regarded as an "American Original"...
freely quoted a wide variety of Foster's songs in many of his own works.
Poet and producer
Jimmy Spice CurryJimmy Curry is an entertainment producer, human rights activist and writer with credits in various ventures. Jimmy Spice Curry has worked with Grammy Award winning Rock artist Lenny Kravitz , H...
remade the Stephen Foster classic "
Beautiful Dreamer"Beautiful Dreamer" is a parlor song by Stephen Foster . It was published posthumously in March 1864 by Wm. A. Pond & Co. of New York. The first edition declares on the title page that "Beautiful Dreamer" is "the last song ever written by Stephen C. Foster. Composed but a few days prior to his...
".
Douglas JimersonDouglas Jimerson is an American singer known for his interpretation of Civil War songs. He was featured in 7 songs in the United States Academic Decathlon's Music of the Civil War Era. He is widely renowned for his large, burly appearance and impressive beard...
, a tenor from Baltimore who has released
CDsThe Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
of music from the Civil War era, released
Stephen Foster's America in 1998. Just before his death in 2004, singer-songwriter
Randy VanwarmerRandy VanWarmer was an American songwriter and guitarist. His biggest success was the pop hit, "Just When I Needed You Most". It reached #8 on the UK Singles Chart in September 1979 after peaking at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and #1 on the Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart...
completed an entire album of Stephen Foster songs. It was released posthumously as
Sings Stephen Foster.
Eighteen of Foster's compositions were recorded and released on the
Beautiful Dreamer: The Songs of Stephen FosterBeautiful Dreamer is a compilation album comprising 18 songs originally penned by Stephen Foster. Released in 2004 by American Roots Publishing/Emergent Music Marketing , the collection features many contemporary country music artists placing modern interpretations on Stephen Foster's music...
collection. Among the artists who are featured on the album are
John PrineJohn Prine is an American country/folk singer-songwriter. He has been active as a recording artist and live performer since the early 1970s.-Biography:...
,
Ron SexsmithRonald Eldon "Ron" Sexsmith is a Canadian singer-songwriter from St. Catharines, Ontario, currently based in Toronto. He started his own band when he was fourteen years old, and released the first recordings of his own material seven years later, in 1985...
,
Alison KraussAlison Maria Krauss is an American bluegrass-country singer, songwriter and fiddler. She entered the music industry at an early age, winning local contests by the age of ten and recording for the first time at fourteen. She signed with Rounder Records in 1985 and released her first solo album in...
, Yo Yo Ma,
Roger McGuinnJames Roger McGuinn is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He is best known for being the lead singer and lead guitarist on many of The Byrds' records...
,
Mavis StaplesMavis Staples is an American rhythm and blues and gospel singer, actress and civil rights activist who recorded with The Staple Singers, her family's band.-Biography:...
, and
Suzy BoggussSusan Kay "Suzy" Bogguss is an American country music singer. In the 1980s and 90s she released one platinum and three gold albums and charted six top ten singles, winning the Academy of Country Music's award for Top New Female Vocalist and the Country Music Association's Horizon Award.After...
. The album won the Grammy for Best Traditional Folk Album in 2005.
Singer/songwriter
Syd StrawSyd Straw is an American rock singer and songwriter. The daughter of actor Jack Straw , she began her career singing backup for Pat Benatar, then took her distinct voice to the indie/alternative scene and joined the Golden Palominos...
covered Hard Times Come Again No More on her 1989 album "Surprise."
A
Squirrel Nut ZippersThe Squirrel Nut Zippers are a band formed in 1993 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina by James "Jimbo" Mathus , Katharine Whalen , Chris Phillips on drums, Don Raleigh on bass and sideman Ken Mosher....
song titled "The Ghost of Stephen Foster" features references to his most famous works, including "Camptown Races".
Other honors
- Foster is honored on the University of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh, commonly referred to as Pitt, is a state-related research university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as Pittsburgh Academy in 1787 on what was then the American frontier, Pitt is one of the oldest continuously chartered institutions of...
campus with the Stephen Foster MemorialThe Stephen Collins Foster Memorial is a performing arts center, museum and archive at the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA....
, a landmark building that houses the Stephen Foster Memorial Museum, the Center for American Music, as well as two theaters: the Charity Randall Theatre and Henry Heymann Theatre, both performance spaces for Pitt's Department of Theater Arts. It is the largest repository for original Stephen Foster compositions, recordings, and other memorabilia his songs have inspired world-wide.
- A public sculpture
Stephen Foster is a landmark public sculpture in bronze by Giuseppe Moretti on Schenley Plaza in the Oakland section of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...
by Giuseppe MorettiGiuseppe Moretti was an Italian émigré sculptor who became known in America for his public monuments in bronze and marble. Most notable among his works is Vulcan in Birmingham, Alabama, which is the largest cast iron statue in the world...
honoring Stephen Foster and commemorating his song "Uncle Ned" sits in close proximity to the Stephen Foster Memorial.
- In My Old Kentucky Home State Park
My Old Kentucky Home State Park is a state park located in Bardstown, Kentucky. The park's centerpiece is Federal Hill, a former plantation built by United States Senator John Rowan in 1795. During Rowan's life, the mansion became a meeting place for local politicians and hosted several visiting...
in Bardstown, KentuckyAs of the census of 2010, there were 11,700 people, 4,712 households, and 2,949 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 5,113 housing units at an average density of...
, a musical, called Stephen Foster-The Musical has been performed since 1958. There is also a statue of him next to the Federal Hill mansion, where he visited relatives and is the inspiration for "My Old Kentucky Home".
- The Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park
Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park is a Florida State Park located in White Springs off U.S. 41, along the Suwannee River in north Florida.-Fauna:...
in White Springs, FloridaWhite Springs is a town in Hamilton County, Florida, on the Suwannee River. The population was 819 at the 2000 census. According to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2004 estimates, the town had a population of 828...
is a Florida State ParkThe Florida State Parks encompass the majority of the lands that fall under the authority of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. There are 160 such entities, including nature reserves, recreation areas, and historic sites, which can be found in every corner of the state...
named in his honor, as is Stephen C. Foster State ParkStephen C. Foster State Park is an state park located in the Okefenokee Swamp in Charlton County, Georgia. Situated on the banks of the Suwannee River, the park offers visitors several ways to explore the swamp's unique ecosystem.-Facilities:...
in Georgia. Both parks are on the Suwannee RiverThe Suwannee River is a major river of southern Georgia and northern Florida in the United States. It is a wild blackwater river, about long. The Suwannee River is the site of the prehistoric Suwannee Straits which separated peninsular Florida from the panhandle.-Geography:The river rises in the...
.
- Stephen Foster Lake at Mount Pisgah State Park in Pennsylvania is named in his honor.
- In Alms Park
The Frederick H. Alms Memorial Park is a Cincinnati park in the community of Mt. Lookout/Columbia-Tusculum, most often called "Alms Park" for short, owned and operated by the Cincinnati Park Board. The land was originally owned by Nicholas Longworth, once the wealthiest man in Cincinnati and...
in Cincinnati, overlooking the Ohio River, there is a seated statue of him.
- The Lawrenceville (Pittsburgh)
Lawrenceville is one of the largest neighborhoods in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is located northeast of downtown, and like many of Pittsburgh's riverfront neighborhoods, it has an industrial past. Lawrenceville is bordered by the Allegheny River, Polish Hill, Bloomfield, the Strip District and...
Historical Society, together with the Allegheny CemeteryAllegheny Cemetery is one of the largest and oldest burial grounds in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.It is a nonsectarian, wooded hillside park located at 4734 Butler Street in the Lawrenceville neighborhood and bounded by Bloomfield, Garfield, and Stanton Heights...
Historical Association, hosts the annual Stephen Foster Music and Heritage Festival (Doo Dah Days!). Held the first weekend of July, Doo Dah Days! celebrates the life and music of one the most influential songwriters in America's history. His home in the Lawrenceville Section of Pittsburgh, PennsylvaniaPittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
still remains on Penn Avenue nearby the Stephen Foster Community Center.
- 36 U.S.C. §140 designates January 13 as Stephen Foster Memorial Day
Stephen Foster Memorial Day is a United States Federal Observance Day observed on January 13. According to 36 U.S.C. § 140, Steven Foster Memorial Day celebrates the life of American songwriter Stephen Foster. The date commemorates date that Foster died....
, a United States National Observance. In 1936, Congress authorized the minting of a silver half dollar in honor of the Cincinnati Musical Center. Stephen Foster was featured on the obverse of the coin despite his tenuous links to the city.
Movies
Three Hollywood movies have been made of Foster's life:
Harmony LaneHarmony Lane is a 1935 American film directed by Joseph Santley, being based upon the life of Stephen Foster.- Cast :*Douglass Montgomery as Stephen Foster*Evelyn Venable as Susan Pentland*Adrienne Ames as Jane McDowell...
(1935) with
Douglass MontgomeryRobert Douglass Montgomery was an American film actor.-Career:Son of a jeweler, he used the stage name of Douglass Montgomery when he first acted on stage in New York. He appeared as a ruggedly handsome fair-haired man, often slightly naive. He started his career in Hollywood, often playing the...
,
Swanee RiverSwanee River is a biopic about Stephen Foster, a songwriter from Pittsburgh who falls in love with the South, marries a Southern girl, then is accused of sympathizing when the Civil War breaks out...
(1939) with
Don AmecheDon Ameche was an Academy Award winning American actor with a career spanning almost sixty years.-Personal life:...
, and
I Dream of Jeanie (1952), with
Bill ShirleyBill Shirley was an American actor, perhaps most famous for voicing Prince Phillip in Sleeping Beauty in 1959. Another famous voice role of his was an uncredited role as the singing voice of Freddy Einsford-Hill in My Fair Lady...
. The 1939 production was one of Twentieth Century Fox's more ambitious efforts, filmed in
TechnicolorTechnicolor is a color motion picture process invented in 1916 and improved over several decades.It was the second major process, after Britain's Kinemacolor, and the most widely used color process in Hollywood from 1922 to 1952...
; the other two were low-budget affairs made by
B-movieA B movie is a low-budget commercial motion picture that is not definitively an arthouse or pornographic film. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified a film intended for distribution as the less-publicized, bottom half of a double feature....
studios.
In popular culture
- Journalist Nellie Bly
Nellie Bly was the pen name of American pioneer female journalist Elizabeth Jane Cochran. She remains notable for two feats: a record-breaking trip around the world in emulation of Jules Verne's character Phileas Fogg, and an exposé in which she faked insanity to study a mental institution from...
took her pseudonym from the title character of Foster's song "Nelly Bly".
- "Stephen Foster Super Saturday" is a day of thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...
racing during the Spring/Summer meet at Churchill DownsChurchill Downs, located in Central Avenue in south Louisville, Kentucky, United States, is a Thoroughbred racetrack most famous for hosting the Kentucky Derby annually. It officially opened in 1875, and held the first Kentucky Derby and the first Kentucky Oaks in the same year. Churchill Downs...
in Louisville, KentuckyLouisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
. During the call to the post, selections of Stephen Foster songs are played by the track bugler, Steve Buttleman. The day is headlined by the Stephen Foster HandicapThe Stephen Foster Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race run in mid-June near the end of the Churchill Downs Spring Meet in Louisville, Kentucky...
a Grade I dirt race for older horses at 9 furlongs.
- Two television shows about the life of Stephen Foster and his childhood friend (and later wife) Jeanie MacDowell were produced in Japan, the first in 1979 with 13 episodes, and the second from 1992 to 1993 with 52 episodes, and both were called Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair
is an anime series produced by Nippon Animation which ran for 52 episodes on Japanese TV from 1992–1993. It is based on the 1854 song "Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair" by Stephen Foster.-Plot:...
after the song of the same name.
See also
- "The Glendy Burke
The Glendy Burken is an American folk song by Stephen Foster. It appears in James Buckley's New Banjo Book published in 1860. The Glendy Burke of the song is a paddle steamer plying the Mississippi River basin. The boat was named for Glendy Burke: the 29th mayor of New Orleans.-Lyrics:The Glendy...
", another of his songs
- Fletcher Hodges, Jr. An expert on his music
Sources
External links