Here's a topic I know just a little about. But if some of the above comments get edited out, then my comments won't make much sense.

I think most people around here know me as an opera lover and a person who just happens to live in Bardstown, home of "The Stephen Foster Story." I've heard "the drama" as we refer to it many times...one of my friends played "Jeanie" back in the 60's. She has a beautiful voice and sang at my daughter's wedding. All this to say...I've always felt that "Beautiful Dreamer" and "I Dream of Jeanie With the Light Brown Hair" (and several other Foster songs) were IMO a bit irritating. Perhaps it's because of the vocal range required to sing them, perhaps because we hear them butchered by poor singers...but I've heard them in the context of a lot of Foster songs in a beautiful outdoor setting...and they still grate on my nerves. (and I love opera.) So I understand what Spaw said, even though I would not have phrased it quite that way. ;-)

Does it take a good tenor to sing these songs? Has anyone else heard IvanB (here at Mudcat) sing Hard Times or Gentle Annie? Or Jon Freeman singing Old Black Joe? I'd love to hear Uncle Jacque sing Beautiful Dreamer. Then, there's nothing quite like several hundred drunken fraternity guys singing "Weep No More My Lady..." ;-)