Hank Cramer PO Box 22 Winthrop, WA 98862-3528 (509) 996-3527 Email Hank

Hank Cramer is a traveling folksinger who lives in Washington State. He is best known for his booming bass voice, accompanied by vintage flat-top guitar and a wry sense of humor. His repertoire is a mix of original, traditional, and contemporary folk songs. Most of his songs tell the stories of cowboys, sailors, soldiers, miners, adventurers and just plain drifters. That fits with Hank's life story: he has been an underground miner, a professional soldier, shanty-man on a square-rigged sailing ship, wrangler for a high-country outfitter, and a world traveler. Those experiences make Hank's music ring with a special authenticity. Hank's touring circuit has spread wider and wider. He now has twelve CD's in print and two television sound-tracks to his credit. In addition to concert engagements, Hank is an avid historian and presents educational programs which weave together music, history, and cultural traditions.

Bound for the Northwest — Songs of Settlers and Sailors
In this program, Hank will give a historic overview of the settlement of the Pacific Northwest, illustrating the story with traditional songs which tell the settles' stories in their own words. He will explain how folk-songs, sung in the words of the people who lived through a historical event, often capture the emotions and experiences better than the official histories written later. Among the tales: the sea explorers who charted the coasts and hunted furs; the overland explorers such as David Thompson and Lewis & Clark, seeking to map the territory and claim it for their sponsors; the "emigrants" from the eastern states (often "immigrants") to America who sought a new life in a strange land; non-natives such as Aleuts and Hawaiians who were "imported" to do the work of Hudson Bay Company; and the relations of all these new people with the indigenous Native Americans. Each subjected will be addressed with a brief historical summary, and then reinforced by a song which amplifies the story.

Audience: All
Requirements: PA system if audience exceeds 100

Celtic to Cowboy — Roots Music of the American West Hank will examine the rich song traditions of American cowboys, and explore the origins of the music. The story is one migration, both of people and their culture. Hank will sing many of the popular songs of the American west (the audience is encouraged to sing along), and then show examples of where the song derived. Although "Celtic to Cowboy" makes a handy title, the origins are not Irish alone: many blues melodies and hollers came from black freedmen in the south; yodeling was contributed by German and Swiss immigrants; and many of the melodies, and much of the anglicized vocabulary, came from Mexican and Spanish origin. Audience: All Requirements: PA system if audience exceeds 100