On today's episode, Jason talks with Joanna Smolko about a Foster song entitled “Hard Times Come Again No More” that has enjoyed a unique afterlife. Joanna is an Instructor of Music at the University of Georgia and her areas of research include popular music, musical borrowing, American sacred music traditions like shape-note hymn singing, American folk music, and the intersections between American history and music. In our conversation we touch on Joanna’s previous research into the use of Foster’s music in twentieth century popular media as well as her current work that explores how covers of Foster’s songs by contemporary artists like Bruce Springsteen continue to shape our collective memory of him.
To learn more about the show and the book, visit our website at: www.StephenFosterAt200.com.