Stephen Foster and His Little Dog Tray (Great Musicians Series)

Behind the gentle sadness of such songs as Old Black Joe, My Old Kentucky Home and Old Folks At Home, lies the dreaming, home-loving spirit of the man who wrote them-Stephen Collins Foster. Behind the rollicking tunes with which these were interspersed lies all the fun-loving gayety which so richly colored and warmed young Stephy's happy companionship with his devoted older brother, Mit, throughout their happy boyhood... Here in this story of a typical American boyhood are quick, intimate glimpses of young Stephen as he trotted off to the Negro church beside Lieve, the Negro bound girl; as he played with his beloved dog; and raced along beside a minstrel band. Here is the young boy, growing up with music in his heart and a warm, out-reaching friendliness for everyone with whom he came in contact, a boy who becomes vividly alive in the pages of a most delightful book... There is much more in this book than the engaging story of the young Stephen Foster, and his never-to-be-forgotten music. In this appealing, sensitive biography of the composer whose folk songs are our common heritage, is told one of the real stories of our own America.