Stephen Foster is known for his songs associated with the American South, although he was born in the North and never lived in the South. Foster never gained financial reward from his body of work, because he normally accepted a flat sum from his publisher for each song. He was reluctant to have his name attached to songs written in a stage Negro dialect, popular at the time in minstrel shows. Most of Foster's more than 200 songs, however, were written to be performed at home. Among his best-known works are Camptown Races, My Old Kentucky Home, Swanee River, Old Black Joe, and Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair.