Cassette Tapes
CDs
Cylinders
LPs
Music Box Discs
Roller Organ Cylinders
78 RPM Discs
Reel-to-Reel Tape Recordings
Cassette Tapes
The Collection currently contains over 100 tapes including Foster songs released on commercially available cassettes, as well as cassette copies of out-of-print commercial recordings, interviews, programs, lectures, and concerts.
CDs
One of the fastest growing components of FHC's Sound Recordings, the collection ranges from from movie soundtracks to entire albums of Foster songs, to collections of American composers. Not all compact discs are catalogued. A complete list is available upon request.
Cylinders
Cylinders bear patent dates from the 1890s up to about 1915. A dozen of the cylinders represent three Foster songs, while the remaining ones are song types of the: religious, camp, Hawaiian and jazz, performed by quartets and bands. A few, such as "I Love the Land of Old Black Joe," make reference to Foster's work. There is no machine to play the cylinders; however, some cassette transcriptions were made by George Creegan for his dissertation, A Discography of the Acoustic Recordings of Stephen C. Foster's Music (ML156.5, F67, C74, 1985).
LPs
The collection of uncatalogued LPs ranges from the 1940's to the 1980's. Most are in good condition and some contain songbooks or sheet music. The Foster Hall collection consists of several different types of recordings (not all inclusive):
Childrens--(4 recordings) includes "Disney Best-Loved Favorites," and a circus recording by Emmett Kelly
Civil War--(4 recordings) music from both the North and the South is represented.
Foreign language--(2 recordings) in French and Japanese.
Instrumental--(8 recordings) banjos, organs, chimes and bells, including "Music on the Mississippi" and "The Last of the Minstrel Men" (George Jessel).
Orchestras--(19 recordings) 101 Strings, Mantovani, and the Pittsburgh Symphony. "The Stephen Foster Social Orchestra" contains most of Foster's instrumental works, performed by Gregg Smith.
Vocals--(29 recordings) include: Jimmy Rodgers, Billy St. Clair, Robert White, Joan Baez, sing-alongs and quartets.
Waltzes--(3 recordings) contains Foster's "Beautiful Dreamer."
West--(4 recordings) "American Heritage History" and "Life History of the U.S." portray the American West and include Foster songs.
In addition to the Foster Hall Collection, the Center also houses the Charles Hamm LP collection, a vast and varied collection of Rock, Pop, Folk, and early American music.
Music Box Discs
Approximately 60 uncatalogued discs, mostly 15 1/2 inch, manufactured mainly by the Regina and Porter music box companies between the 1890's and the present. Popular opera, seasonal, marches, serenades and a representative sampling of "Foster favorites" make up the collection. Sample titles include: "Vienna march," "Moonlight Serenade," "The Star Spangled Banner," "Swanee River," and "My Old Kentucky Home."
Roller Organ Cylinders
There are 24 uncatalogued roller organ cylinders, patented in 1885, numbered and named. The majority are popular songs of the late nineteenth century, such as "Clementine" and "Home Sweet Home."
78 RPM Discs
The FHC contains thousands of recordings on 78 RPM discs, uncatalogued but completed indexed. A complete database of these recordings is available upon request. For purposes of this Guide the Foster Hall Collections 78s are summarized in the following categories, which are not all-inclusive:
Accoustic--(107 recordings) a wide variety of Foster favorites, both instrumentals and vocals. The majority are American made; two were made in England. For more information, see George Creegan's dissertation A Discography of the Acoustic Recordings of Stephen C. Foster's Music (ML156.5 F67 C74 1987).
Albums--(42 albums) Foster songs including those distributed by Decca and those performed by Al Jolson, Arcady Dubensky, Andre Kostelanetz and the Boston Pops. A Spike Jones album includes children's songs, polkas, and popular songs of the day such as "Glow Worm" and "You Always Hurt the One You Love."
Aluminum--(48 recordings) many without labels or dated 1/40, are of medleys or memorial programs from radio broadcasts.
Beautiful Dreamer--(20 recordings) performed by orchestras, organs, and vocalists.
Edison--(25 recordings) include Foster songs and blues, mostly performed by orchestras.
Foreign--(100 recordings) Australian include medleys of the American south, river and minstrel songs, waltzes, marches, and Foster favorites. English are the largest group and include Hawaiian, minstrel, solos (whistling and banjo), and American melodies including Foster favorites. French consist of a child's record and two Foster songs. (One title in French). Japanese labels are in English and Japanese. Some Foster favorites and other American songs (Hawaiian) are included. Other 78s are from the Soviet Union, Canada and Scotland.
Foster Hall Recordings--(294 recordings) produced in 1933 by Gennet Recording Laboratories for the FHC. There are three sets of nine albums (#96 is missing from each set) with two additional albums of Foster melodies.
Jeanie--(35 recordings) "I Dream of Jeanie With the Light Brown Hair" is performed by Gene Krupa, Bing Crosby and Lampert Murphy. There are two Vocal tone albums with sheet music.
Medleys--(60 recordings) are common in the Collection; one is a children's collection of American songs.
My Old Kentucky Home--(32 recordings) performed by vocals, trios, and quartets.
Non-Foster--(70 recordings) fox trots, lullabies, plantation songs, religious songs, and fiddle music. Artists include the Ozzie Nelson Orchestra, the Memimarimba Band and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.
Oh! Susanna--(23 recordings) one square dance version, others performed by choirs, banjos and the Boston Pops.
Old Black Joe--(39 recordings) performed by Kate Smith, the Mills Brothers, Tommy Dorsey, Gene Krupa and string or trombone quartets.
Other Foster Songs--(20 recordings) include "Uncle Ned," "Hard Times Come Again No More," "Gentle Annie," "Nellie Was a Lady," "Old Dog Tray," and several other songs that were not frequently recorded.
Swanee River--(90 recordings) include performances by the Les Paul Trio, the U.S. Marine Band, Louis Armstrong, the Mills Brothers, Bing Crosby, and Texas Jim Lewis and the Lone Star Cowboys.
These 78s were mostly acquired before 1937 by Mr. Lilly, and are indexed. A few are gifts acquired since 1982.
In addition to the Foster Hall 78s, we also have several other extensive collections of recordings on 78rpm disc, including:
The John and Susan Harvith Collection
The Rosemary Casey Collection
The Van Dusen Collection
The majority of the items in these collections are rare, early classical music recordings. A complete listing of these items is available upon request.
Reel-to-Reel Tape Recordings
One tape, the master of the 1984 Victorian Christmas Concert, is by the Dear Friends. A taped speech by Fletcher Hodges is on loan to WQED-FM, and a third tape is of "Old Folks at Home."
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