Chapter 2: American Popular Music in the Nineteenth Century Pt.1
The professional relationship between Stephen Foster and E.P. Christy illustrates the complex and often competing interests that shaped the early American music industry. Foster, widely regarded as the first major composer of American popular song, wrote some of his most famous works for Christy’s Minstrels, including “De Camptown Races,” “O, Susanna!” and “Old Folks at Home” (commonly known as “Swanee River”). At the time, authorship and copyright protections were still in their infancy, and the world of music publishing often prioritized marketability over proper attribution. Foster, initially uneasy about being associated with the racial caricatures of blackface minstrelsy, allowed Christy to take credit for his songs. As a result, early sheet music editions listed Christy rather than Foster as the composer. However, Foster eventually reconsidered this decision. After “Old Folks at Home” became widely popular, he regretted relinquishing credit and wrote to Christy expressing his desire to reclaim authorship:
“I feel that by my efforts I have done a great deal to build up a taste for the Ethiopian songs among refined people. I have concluded to reinstate my name on my songs and to pursue the Ethiopian business without fear or shame and lend all my energies to making the business live.”
Christy, however, refused to revise the existing sheet music or public credit. His name continued to appear as the composer on official editions until 1879, when the copyright expired and Foster’s authorship was retroactively recognized.
Despite his entanglement with minstrel performance, Foster went on to compose around 200 songs in a variety of genres, including parlor songs, sentimental ballads, and melodic hymns. His work laid the groundwork for what would become the American popular song tradition, blending European melodic forms with African American rhythmic influence and vernacular storytelling.
Today, Foster is remembered both as a pioneer of American songwriting and as a composer whose success was deeply connected to a genre that perpetuated racial stereotypes. This dual legacy reflects broader tensions in American musical history, where creative innovation and commercial appeal have often been intertwined with the marginalization of the cultures that inspired them.