What does an amateur songwriter do in an era before copyright protection? He finds a straight job. In 1847, at age 21,
Stephen Foster went to work as a bookkeeper at his brother’s steamship company in Cincinnati, down the Ohio River from Pittsburgh. He put quill pen to hemp paper and turned out another hit. This is where Foster, who had not yet been very far south of the Ohio, turned to writing songs about the South. Tom Roush puts his touch to this classic.
Foster: “Lou’siana Belle”