In the spirit of the holiday, a friend posted a link to a 2006 Atlantic Magazine article listing the top 100 influential Americans.
I went through the list and was glad to see that three musicians made the cut. The list, compiled by a panel of historians, identified Elvis Presley (#66), Louis Armstrong, (#79), and Stephen Foster (#97) as the most pivotal musicians.
It wasn’t an easy list to crack. Abraham Lincoln was named the single most influential American, followed by George Washington. James Madison could use a better press agent. The founding father and author of the Bill of Rights doesn’t show up in the list until #13, ahead of Mark Twain and Ronald Reagan.
Of the three, Foster was the least obvious choice, but a worthy one. He worked in the 19th century, but his music lives on, including “Old Susanna,” “My Old Kentucky Home,” “Old Folks at Home” and “Beautiful Dreamer.” The best tribute to his work in recent years was Beatufiul Dreamer: The Songs of Stephen Foster. The album featured John Prine, Roger McGuinn, Mavis Staples, Yo-Yo Ma, Edgar Meyer and Mark O’Connor, among others. It is a vibrant reminder of how influential Foster was and how his legacy lives on.