''Stephen Foster'' is a compilation album of phonograph records by Bing Crosby of songs by

Stephen Foster Stephen Collins Foster (July 4, 1826January 13, 1864), known also as "the father of American music", was an American composer known primarily for his parlour and minstrel music during the Romantic period. He wrote more than 200 songs, inc ...

released in 1946.

Background

Bing Crosby had enjoyed unprecedented success during the 1940s with his

discography Discography is the study and cataloging of published sound recordings, often by specified artists or within identified music genres. The exact information included varies depending on the type and scope of the discography, but a discography entry ...

showing six No. 1 hits in 1944 alone. His films such as ''

Going My Way ''Going My Way'' is a 1944 American musical comedy drama film directed by Leo McCarey and starring Bing Crosby and Barry Fitzgerald. Written by Frank Butler and Frank Cavett based on a story by McCarey, the film is about a new young priest tak ...

'' and ''

The Bells of St. Mary's ''The Bells of St. Mary's'' (1945) is an American musical comedy-drama film, produced and directed by Leo McCarey and starring Bing Crosby and Ingrid Bergman. Written by Dudley Nichols and based on a story by McCarey, the film is about a priest ...

'' were huge successes as were the ''

Road A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of ...

'' films he made with

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in Bob Hope filmography, more than 70 short and ...

. On radio, his '' Kraft Music Hall'' and ''

Philco Radio Time ''Philco Radio Time'' was an old-time radio radio series starring entertainer Bing Crosby. The series ran over ABC Radio with episodes airing from October 16, 1946–June 1, 1949. The series also was syndicated for a period of time over th ...

'' shows were very popular. Decca Records built on this by issuing a number of

78rpm A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English), or simply a record, is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. The groove usually starts nea ...

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records co ...

sets, some featuring freshly recorded material and others utilizing Crosby's back catalogue. Ten of these sets were released in 1946, nine in 1947 and nine more in 1948. Most of these 78rpm albums were reissued as 10" vinyl LP's in subsequent years.

Reception

Billboard liked the album saying: "It was expected that sooner or later Bing Crosby would make an album of Stephen Foster tunes. Crosby does full justice to the popular composer's music."

Original track listing

The songs were featured on a 4-disc, 78 rpm album set, Decca Album No. A-440. Disc 1 (18801): " Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair" / "Nell and I"
Disc 2 (18802): " Beautiful Dreamer" / "Sweetly She Sleeps, My Alice Fair"
Disc 3 (18803): "

My Old Kentucky Home "My Old Kentucky Home, Good-Night!" is a sentimental ballad written by Stephen Foster, probably composed in 1852. It was published in January 1853 by Firth, Pond, & Co. of New York. Foster was likely inspired by Harriet Beecher Stowe's anti-sla ...

" / "

De Camptown Races "Gwine to Run All Night, or De Camptown Races" (popularly known simply as "Camptown Races") is a minstrel song by Stephen Foster (1826–1864). () It was published in February 1850 by F. D. Benteen of Baltimore, Maryland, and Benteen published ...

"
Disc 4 (18804): "

Old Folks at Home "Old Folks at Home" (also known as " Swanee River") is a minstrel song written by Stephen Foster in 1851. Since 1935, it has been the official state song of Florida, although in 2008 the original lyrics were revised. It is Roud Folk Song Ind ...

" / "

Old Black Joe "Old Black Joe" is a parlor song by Stephen Foster (1826–1864). It was published by Firth, Pond & Co. of New York in 1860. Ken Emerson, author of the book ''Doo-Dah!'' (1998), indicates that Foster's fictional Joe was inspired by a servant in th ...

Re-issue track listing

The same songs were issued on another 4-disc, 78 rpm album set, Decca Album No. A-482 later in 1946, although the actual discs had different numbers. Disc 1 (25127): " Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair" / "Nell and I"
Disc 2 (25128): " Beautiful Dreamer" / "Sweetly She Sleeps, My Alice Fair"
Disc 3 (25129): "

" / "

"
Disc 4 (25130): "

" / "

LP track listing

The same songs were issued on a Decca 10" album DL 5010 in 1949.

References

{{Bing Crosby Bing Crosby compilation albums 1946 compilation albums Decca Records compilation albums