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American Roots Publishing Presents
BEAUTIFUL DREAMER: THE SONGS OF STEPHEN FOSTER
May 25, 2004
Although America's first notable
folk music composer, Stephen Collins Foster, died 140
years ago, his legacy lives on in the hundreds of songs
he left behind. To celebrate his enormous gift to our
culture, American Roots Publishing will release
Beautiful Dreamer: The Songs of Stephen Foster with
Emergent Music on August 24
"When many of
us were kids, we sang 'Oh Susanna,' 'Camptown Races,'
and 'Old Folks At Home' in music class," says
American Roots Publishing founder Tamara Saviano.
"Now, while some children may be familiar with
these songs, they probably are not singing them in
class. In all likelihood, most children never heard of
Stephen Foster."
"It's just one
example of why we formed American Roots
Publishing," adds board secretary Kathi Whitley.
"American oral histories are a dying art. It's sad
because those stories show respect for the lives and
experiences of those who have come before us. And, just
as importantly, they document memories for once those
lives are over, that knowledge is lost forever."
Beautiful Dreamer: The Songs Of Stephen Foster is a
collection of Foster's most beloved compositions--and
lesser-known exquisite parlor songs of his day--sung by
some of today's most respected musical artists. The
album includes:
1. Raul Malo - "Beautiful Dreamer"
2. Alison Krauss with Yo Yo Ma, Edgar Meyer, Mark O'Connor -
"Slumber My Darling"
3. BR-549 - "Don't Bet Money On The Shanghai"
4. Alvin Youngblood-Hart - "Nelly Was A Lady"
5. Judith Edelman - "No One To Love"
6. The Duhks - "Camptown Races"
7. John Prine - "My Old Kentucky Home, Goodnight"
8. Henry Kaiser - "Autumn Waltz"
9. Beth Nielson Chapman - "In The Eye Abides The Heart"
10. David Ball - "Old Folks At Home" (Swanee River)
11. Michelle Shocked & Pete Anderson - "Oh! Susanna"
12. Grey De Lisle - "Willie We Have Missed You"
13. Mavis Staples - "Hard Times Come Again No More"
14. Ollabelle - "Gentle Annie"
15. Roger McGuinn - "Jeannie With The Light Brown Hair"
16.
Suzy Bogguss - "Ah, May The Red Rose Live Always"
17. Will Barrow - "Holiday Schottisch"
18. Ron Sexsmith - "Comrades Fill No Glass For Me"
The compilation was produced by Steve Fishell and David Macias.
"In an extended April, 2004 interview with
LA Times music critic Robert Hilburn, Bob Dylan
reflected on how he learned to write songs: 'Anyone who
wants to be a songwriter should listen to as much folk
music as they can, study the form and structure of
stuff that has been around for 100 years. I go back to
Stephen Foster.'
Dylan's quote was our inspiration
for this project," says ARP Treasurer and producer
Steve Fishell. "We wanted to learn more about this
brilliant person who wrote over 200 popular songs
before the end of the Civil War. What we found was a
treasure trove of haunting melodies, lyrics that could
be achingly sad or hilariously funny, and dozens of
obscure Foster songs rarely heard today. The project
could easily have become a boxset. It seems a fitting
debut for American Roots Publishing."
Beautiful Dreamer: The Songs of Stephen Foster features
a diverse array of musicians and instruments from
around the world. Sessions took place in Los Angeles,
Austin, New York City, Memphis, Orlando, Nashville and
London. Recorded in Berkeley, California, Henry
Kaiser's instrumental, "Autumn Waltz,"
showcases Robin Petrie on the santour, a 17th century
instrument native to Turkey, Iran and Iraq. and similar
to the modern-day hammered dulcimer. Kaiser's track
also features percussionist Mark Bell on the davul, or
Turkish bass drum, the riqq, an Egyptian tambourine,
and the Persian toumbak, or wooden hand drum.
Beth Nielsen Chapman's haunting rendition of "In
The Eye Abides the Heart" features Gabe Rhodes on
the pump organ and the glass armonica, which was
invented by Benjamin Franklin in 1761. Steve Fishell
plays an acoustic Hawaiian guitar dating back to the
early 1920's on Mavis Staples' soulful reading of the
Foster standard "Hard Times Come Again No
More," and BR-549 use a Chinese gong at the
conclusion of "Don't Bet Money On The
Shanghai."
Some artists went to great
lengths to create a timeless setting: Grey De Lisle
recorded her vocals through vintage microphones and
recording gear, then mastered directly to vinyl and
finally, re-played the vinyl phonograph disc and
recorded it digitally. You can hear the needle drop at
the top of her track.
All of the proceeds from
Beautiful Dreamer: The Songs of Stephen Foster will
benefit American Roots Publishing, a nonprofit
organization dedicated to preserving American regional
culture through literature and art. Goals are
accomplished by supporting artists who honor regional
culture through their work and by linking them with
communities in focused educational programs.
America is more than Hollywood hype, DC politics and
the New York Stock Exchange. People are hungering for
authenticity in the way they live their lives, in the
books that they read, the music they listen to, and the
products they purchase. To bring the music of Stephen
Foster to children and communities across the country,
American Roots Publishing will partner with the Future
Farmers of America for the educational component of the
Stephen Foster program.
More information about the
program, including media materials for Beautiful
Dreamer, will be available May 31 at americanrootspublishing.org and stephencollinsfoster.com
Available August 24 on Emergent Music
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