The Stephen Foster Heritage Center Collection.

Guess who?

Don Henley on the most famous songwriter of the 19th century While Don Henley may be able to lay claim to being one of the most important 20th century songwriters, one of his greatest influences was from before his time.

Neil Sedaka passed away February 27, 2026.
Key Connections Between Neil Sedaka and Stephen Foster:
The Tribute Song "Stephen": Sedaka's song "Stephen" is a heartfelt ballad honoring Foster's influence. Lyrics explore a sense of connection, with lines like, "Stephen, have we travelled down this road together? Tell me, Stephen are we part of one another?".
Artistic Influence: Neil Sedaka has often acknowledged his admiration for Stephen Foster, who is considered one of the first major American songwriters known for classics like "Oh! Susanna" and "Beautiful Dreamer".
Musical Legacy: Both artists are celebrated for their ability to create lasting melodies. Sedaka often performed this tribute in concert, emphasizing the "lonely river" and emotional depth of songwriting.

Neil Sedaka - Stephen (In Concert: Neil Sedaka, April 26th, 1975) Neil Sedaka performing 'Stephen' live at 'In Concert: Neil Sedaka' on April 26th, 1975.Footage licensed from BBC Studios Distribution. All rights reservedSho...

One of the most popular collections of Foster’s music on LP and CD.

Stephen Foster Song Book by The Robert Shaw Chorale.
The LP album was originally released in 1958 RCA Victor Red Seal as part of their "Living Stereo" series. Due to the overwhelming popularity the album was re-released in 1959 and 1964.
It features arrangements of songs by American composer Stephen Foster.
The album was also re-released on CD in 1993. Both the LP and CD versions included a multi-page “Song Book” that features the list of recordings included and an introduction with a bit of history of Stephen Foster and his music by John Tasker Howard. Also included are notes related to Spitituals of the American South by Langston Hughes and a brief history of Robert Shaw and the Robert Shaw Chorale.

Robert Shaw Chorale's Stephen Foster Song Book is highly regarded as a classic, beautifully performed collection of American music, appreciated for its vocal artistry and historical charm.

Neil Sedaka’s 86th birthday is today. Although he’s not touring and performing now, he was up until just about two years ago.
Some of you younger folks may not know who Sedaka is, but dangggg…. What a career, not only as a songwriter but also as a performer.
Sedaka had 9 Top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, with 3 of those songs reaching number one.

Sedaka’s Top 10 include:
“Breaking Up Is Hard to Do," "Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen," "Little Devil," "Oh! Carol," "Stairway to Heaven," "You Mean Everything to Me," "Next Door to an Angel," "Calendar Girl," "Run, Samson, Run," and "The Diary.”

He has also written hit songs for Frank Sinatra: "The Hungry Years"
Elvis Presley: "Solitaire"
Connie Francis: "Stupid Cupid", "Where the Boys Are", "Fallin'"
Tom Jones: "Puppet Man"
The Monkees: "When Love Comes Knocking At Your Door"
The Fifth Dimension: "Workin' on a Groovy Thing"
Captain & Tennille: "Love Will Keep Us Together"
ABBA: “Ring Ring" lyrics.

Other Artists Sedaka has penned hits for include:
LaVern Baker, Clyde McPhatter, The Cardinals, The Clovers, Bobby Darin, Carole King, Jimmy Clanton, Wanda Jackson, Dee Dee Sharp, Mickey & Kitty, The Everly Brothers, Little Anthony & The Imperials, Dionne Warwick, Ben E King, Gene Pitney, Patti Drew, Nancy Wilson, The Globetrotters, The Tokens, Peggy Lee, and Lesley Gore.

Did you know?
Many times throughout his career Neil Sedaka has publicly stated that Stephen Foster, often called the "father of American music," was one of his greatest musical influences.
In 1975, Sedaka wrote and recorded the song "Stephen" as a tribute to Foster, releasing it on his album "The Hungry Years".
Sedaka has often described the song as an ode to Foster, acknowledging his significant impact on American music.
Now you do!

Today is Stephen Foster Memorial Day.
On January 13 in 1864 Foster died at Bellevue Hospital in New York City at the age of 37. At the time of his death Foster had composed over 200 songs, many of which remain very popular today. The music of Stephen Foster is still being recorded by top artists today, not only here in the U.S. but all over the world.

The following list of American artists is by no means a complete list but just a fraction, it encompasses artists of all genres and generations. It might have been just as easy to list - Who hasn’t recorded the music of Stephen Foster?

Al Jolson, Alison Krauss, Barbara Mandrell, Bing Crosby, Bob Dylan, Boxcar Willie, BR-549, Bruce Springsteen, Charlie Rich, Chet Atkins, Clint Walker, Dave Brubeck, David Ball, Don Gibson, Douglas Jimerson, Frankie Lane, George Morgan, Glen Miller, James Taylor, Joan Baez, John Prine, Johnny Cash, Kate & Anna McGarrigle, Kate Smith, Lawrence Welk, Liberace, Linkin Bridge, Local Honeys, Loretta Lynn, Louis Armstrong, Mandy Barnett, Marilyn Horne, Marty Robbins, John Denver, Mavis Staples, Maxine Sullivan, Merle Travis,Nelson Eddy, Osborne Brothers, Paul Robeson, Pete Seeger, Raul Malo, Richard Crooks, Roger McQuinn, Roseanne Cash, Roy Orbison, Sam Cooke, Sheb Wooley, Sheryl Crow, Slim Whitman, Sundy Best, Suzy Boggus, The Beach Boys, The Beatles, The Chieftans, The Country Gentlemen, The Duhks, The Irish Tenors, The Isaacs, The Mills Brothers, Thomas Hampson, Three Dog Night, Von Trapp Children and Yo-Yo Ma.

Did you know?

Stephen Foster moved to Cincinnati when he was 21 years old and lived here from about 1847 to 1850. During this time, he worked as a bookkeeper for his brother Dunning's steamship company, Irwin & Foster Steamboat Agency. While in Cincinnati, Foster wrote his first hugely successful song "Oh! Susanna".
There is a beautiful statue of Foster overlooking the Ohio River and Kentucky hills at Alms Park, a plaque on the former Guilford School building near where Foster lived on 4th St. downtown and a bronze bust of Foster in Cincinnati’s Music Hall.

Did you know?
There were 7 Stephen Foster songs featured in Gone With The Wind.

Katie Belle
(uncredited)
Written by Stephen Foster
In the score for Tara and Twelve Oaks scenes

Under the Willow She's Sleeping
(1860 (uncredited)
Written by Stephen Foster
In the score for Tara scenes
Lou'siana Belle
(1847) (uncredited)
Written by Stephen Foster
In the score for Twelve Oaks scenes

Dolly Day
(1850) (uncredited)
Written by Stephen Foster
In the score for Twelve Oaks scenes

Ring de Banjo
(1851) (uncredited)
Written by Stephen Foster
In the score for Twelve Oaks

Massa's in de Cold Ground
(1852) (uncredited)
Written by Stephen Foster
In the score for the death of Charles and Frank

The Old Folks at Home (Swanee River)
(1851) (uncredited)
Written by Stephen Foster
In the score at the train depot and during the intermission

My Old Kentucky Home
(1853) (uncredited)
Music and Lyrics by Stephen Foster
In the score in the birth of Melanie's baby sequence
Sung a ca****la by Butterfly McQueen

The last two songs listed here Beautiful Dreamer and Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair were not included in the score but were played during the intermission.

Beautiful Dreamer
(1862) (uncredited)
Music by Stephen Foster
Played during the intermission

Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair
(1854) (uncredited)
Music by Stephen Foster
Played during the intermission

Getting to know The Stephen Foster Story.

- YouTube Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

I was out riding around this evening and decided to stop in to check on an old friend.

Stephen Collins Foster (July 4, 1826 – January 13, 1864), known as the "father of American music", was the pre-eminent songwriter in the United States of the 19th century. His songs — such as "Oh! Susanna", "Camptown Races", "Old Folks at Home" ("Swanee River"), "Hard Times Come Again No More", "My Old Kentucky Home", "Old Black Joe", "Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair", and "Beautiful Dreamer" — remain popular over 150 years after their composition.

In 1846, Foster moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, 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 Rush 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 building is now located.

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.

The Frederick H. Alms Memorial Park lies on Mt. Tusculum with its magnificent vantage point overlooking the broad Ohio River, a point originally called "Bald" Hill because the Indians had cleared the trees from its summit to have an unobstructed view of the early settlers of "Columbia." This little community was situated along the river and directly below "Bald" Hill, on which now stands the Alms Park shelter building.

This hilltop park was given to the Park Board in 1916 as a memorial to Frederick H. Alms by his wife. The land was once owned by Nicholas Longworth, who produced his famous Catawba wine there before the Civil War. The entrance to his underground wine cellar can still be seen to the northeast of the park's pavilion.

Parcels of park property were purchased with funds provided by the Alms estate, until the park was composed of its present 93.7 acres. From its heights, one can see the juncture of the Little Miami River with the gigantic bend of the Ohio, the hills of Kentucky, Lunken Airport, and the panoramic valleys.

The Stephen Collins Foster Memorial Statue, donated by Josiah Kirby Lilly, an Indianapolis admirer of the works of the great folksong composer, looks to the Kentucky hills which inspired so many of the songs written by Foster during the period between 1845 and 1850 when he lived near the Cincinnati waterfront. It is an appropriate spot for a memorial to one who wrote "My Old Kentucky Home" and the number of other heartfelt songs of the South which have endeared him to all America.