Music |
Beautiful Dreamer
Stephen Foster
By
Published: Jan 01, 2006
Category:
Country
Beautiful Dreamer: The Songs of Stephen Foster
He was born on the 4th of July, 1826. John Adams died that day. So did Thomas Jefferson. It was the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Imagine being born in a country so young, so connected to the dreamers and fighters who made it…
He grew up with an interest in music, but no real training. As a teenager living near Pittsburgh, he joined an "all-male secret club" and sang at their meetings; it’s thought that he wrote "Oh Susanna" for this group.
His big idea as a songwriter was "the people’s music." That is to say, popular music, folk music. Minstrel music, as it turned out, for the most vibrant settings were in the black community — planting cotton, stoking the boilers of riverboats, working in plantation houses. Minstrel music, because in theaters that’s what audiences wanted to hear.
He gave them minstrel music — "Camptown Races" and "Old Folks at Home" and "Massa’s in de Cold Ground" and "My Old Kentucky Home" and "Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair" — but he changed it in fundamental ways. For one thing, he took it seriously; he labored long over his songs, worrying as much about commas as about lyrics. For another, he humanized his characters. Yes, "the darkies are gay," but as his gift matured, so did his appreciation of the people he wrote about. "Nelly Was a Lady," for example, is the first song a white man ever wrote that speaks intimately of a black marriage — and describes the woman as a lady.
He got away with it — made a career, even — because his songs were so singable. The melodies were simple and straightforward. They expressed the mood of the time. And his subjects were bulletproof: home and relationships. Small wonder that, 87 years after it was written and 77 years after the death of its composer, his "Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair" made the Hit Parade.
Much has been made of his death: alone, aged 37, with 38 cents in his pocket and a penciled scrap of paper that read, "dear friends and gentle hearts." His wife had left him, the hit-writing machinery had stopped producing. And, yes, it’s sad. But a lonely death in a New York hospital only burnished the image and brought him closer to immortality.
A recent CD honors him, with 18 of his best songs performed by an eclectic mix of musicians. Trust me, you have never heard anything like Alison Krauss singing "Slumber My Darling" with Yo-Yo Ma’s cello behind her. Or John Prine doing "My Old Kentucky Home." Or Mavis Staples — Mavis Staples! — delivering a wrenching "Hard Times Come Again No More."
In American classical music — that is, American roots music — there is Stephen Foster and then there is everyone else. If you are feeling the slightest impulse toward getting closer to the spirit of your country, this may well be a CD you’ll cherish.
To buy "Beautiful Dreamer" from Amazon.com, click here.
