Stephen Foster (1826—1864) was an American composer whose vast contribution to popular song, specifically the ballad genre, earned him an honorary place in the hall of fame of American music history.

He had no choice but to get side-tracked from his main ambitions to compose music for the mainstream market, such as minstrel and sentimental pop ballads which were in high demand at the time.

It is estimated that Foster authored around 200 songs, holding the credits for both lyrics and score for the most of them. However, in those days the copyright practice was virtually non-existent, so the profits from his works went largely to performers and publishers.

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