Musicians From Milwaukee and Beyond Consider America’s First Great Songwriter for ‘The Foster Project’

Stephen Foster penned some of the best-known songs of all time, including standards like “Oh! Susanna,” “Camptown Races” and “Beautiful Dreamer,” but that success didn’t translate to particular fortune. Foster died alone in 1864 in near poverty at age 37, having estranged himself from his family through his alcoholism. Nonetheless, his songbook outlived him. It was passed down from g...