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In 1851, Stephen Foster wrote a large number of tunes that still survive. One of the problems of Foster’s career was that during his lifetime, most of his songs were considered folk music, and few knew that he was the composer. This stemmed from the fact that Foster, unlike Louis Moreau Gottschalk, was not a performer and thus did not publicize his own music. Even today most people who hear a Foster tune have no idea that he wrote it.

The second problem was financial. Foster, like Irving Berlin a century later, counted every nickel and knew where it went. After having “Oh! Susanna” pirated out from under him, he took great care to make sure that the royalties from the sales of his sheet music went to his bank account, not somebody else’s. That of course assumed the honesty of his publishers in a rough business. He made nothing from performing rights. Foster insisted on his own handwritten contracts with his publishers, and they are the earliest known contracts between publishers and individual songwriters in America.

This tune is best known for Irish tenor John McCormack’s 1934 performance. As a student of Schubert’s songs, I can’t help but notice that the piano accompaniment sounds a lot like his classic song “Alinde”. That German music teacher was thorough!

Foster: “Sweetly She Sleeps, My Alice Fair”

Political correctness has kept this one under wraps in the modern era, which is why the melody is often heard, but not the lyrics. It’s a great toe-tapper.

”Ring, Ring de Banjo!”

Beautiful and contemplative. This is one from the heart.

”Laura Lee”

This is the song with its original, politically incorrect lyrics. It was not a hit during Foster’s lifetime, but became popular in the early 20th Century. It’s now his most popular tune and the Florida state song.

”Old Folks at Home”

A fine song, beautifully sung.

”In the Eye Abides the Heart”

This is another one of his plantation songs.

”Farewell My Lilly Dear”