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(More customer reviews)"Stephen Foster & Co" is a charming collection of the various lyrics penned by Stephen Foster and other 19th century American songwriters. Ken Emerson provides a solid introduction to the collection which is grouped into various topics including plantation songs, songs about the Civil War (most of which were not penned by Foster) and comical lyrics. It's a timely work. Bruce Springsteen sang Foster's "Hard Times Come Again No More" in 2009 and there are more than a few songs included in this collection about economic depressions--just as fitting today as they were in the 1850s. While this work is part of their "American Poets Project," the Library of America does not include the usual biographical sketches in this book which would have been helpful if you are trying to remember the other writers included besides Foster. However, the endnotes are excellent despite this. Recommended to any fan of Foster or 19th century Americana.
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Stephen Foster (1826-1864) is the trunk of the tree of American song. His blackface minstrel songs, including "Oh! Susanna," "Old Folks at Home" ("Way down upon the Swanee River..."), and "My Old Kentucky Home," and his parlor ballads, such as "Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair" and "Beautiful Dreamer," have inspired composers, songwriters, and performers from Charles Ives and George Gershwin to Ray Charles and James Taylor. Foster devoted as much care and craft to his lyrics as he did to his timeless melodies. In this comprehensive new selection, acclaimed music historian Ken Emerson introduces and annotates the lyrics to more than 30 of Foster's best and best-known songs. These masterpieces by America's first full-time professional songwriter have been so deeply absorbed into our culture that they are often assumed to be folk music. Alongside are 49 other 19th-century American popular songs that influenced Foster or that he in turn inspired, from "Home! Sweet Home!" in the 1820s to "Western Home" (the original "Home on the Range") in the 1870s. "With his usual taste and insight, Ken Emerson has given us a much-needed collection of the lyrics of Stephen Foster and the other trailblazing talents who first defined American popular songwriting." -Elijah Wald, author of How the Beatles Destroyed Rock 'N' Roll
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