Harry Griffith Cramer III (born 1953) is an American folk singer from the Pacific Northwest. He was born an

army brat A military brat (colloquial or military slang) is a child of serving or retired military personnel. Military brats are associated with a unique subcultureDavid C. Pollock, Ruth E. van Reken. ''Third Culture Kids: Growing Up Among Worlds'', Revis ...

Fort Bragg Fort Bragg is a military installation of the United States Army in North Carolina, and is one of the largest military installations in the world by population, with around 54,000 military personnel. The military reservation is located within Cum ...

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

where his father was one of the Army's original

Green Berets The United States Army Special Forces (SF), colloquially known as the "Green Berets" due to their distinctive service headgear, are a special operations force of the United States Army. The Green Berets are geared towards nine doctrinal m ...

. Hank's father,

Harry Griffith Cramer Jr. Captain Harry Griffith Cramer Jr. (May 24, 1926, Johnstown, Pennsylvania – October 21, 1957, near Nha Trang, South Vietnam) was an American soldier who served in Korea and Vietnam. He was the first U.S. Army soldier to be killed in the Viet ...

, was killed in Vietnam on October 21, 1957, the first Special Forces soldier to die in that conflict. Hank Cramer began singing professionally during his college days at the University of Arizona (1972-1976). After graduation he was commissioned as an officer in the United States Army, serving 14 years in the Regulars and 14 years in the Army Reserve. The highlight of his military career was a five-year tour with his father's Green Beret unit, the 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne). After 9/11, Hank served in Afghanistan as the Senior Signal Corps Advisor to the Afghan National Army. He retired as a lieutenant colonel in 2004. Hank began a full-time career as a traveling folksinger in 1999. He established a small, co-op music label known as Ferryboat Music, and has organized a number of music instruction camps and festivals. In 2006 Cramer revived the annual Pine Stump Symphony in the Methow Valley of

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

, a music event run by his late father-in-law Ron McLean from 1962 until his death in 1982.

Industry Awards

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voted "My Sweet Wyoming Home" in the Top Five Cowboy Songs of 2007 *

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"Random Routes" voted "Two of a Kind" and "Della & The Dealer" in Top Twenty Songs of 2007 *

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"Inland Folk" named "Songs From Maurie's Porch" one of the Top Ten Folk CDs of 2006 * Humanities Washington presented Hank their annual Performer's award in 2011

Discography

Cramer made dozens of recordings. A partial discography is available at:
www.HankCramer.com
Specific examples follow. *''The Captain & The Outlaw'' (1982) – Hank Cramer with Dakota – Front Range Records *''West By Northwest'' (1996) – Skookumchuck Music *''Live Aboard The Wawona'' (1998) – Hank Cramer with The Cutters – Skookumchuck Music *''Days Gone By'' (1999) – Ferryboat Music *''Sail Away'' (2000) – Hank Cramer with The Cutters – Skookumchuck Music *''Brave Boys!'' (2001) – Hank Cramer with The Rounders – Ferryboat Music *''The Road Rolls On'' (2003) – Ferryboat Music *''Songs from the USS Constellation'' (2003) – Hank Cramer & Constellation's Crew – Ferryboat Music *''If There's One More Song'' (2004) – Ferryboat Music *''A Soldier's Songs'' (2005) – Ferryboat Music *''Back to Sea'' (2006) – Hank Cramer & Constellation's Crew – Ferryboat Music *''Songs From Maurie's Porch'' (2006) – Ferryboat Music *''Miner's Songs'' (2007) – Ferryboat Music *''Way Out West'' (2007) – Ferryboat Music *''Caledonia'' (2007) – Ferryboat Music *''An Old Striped Shirt'' (2008) – Ferryboat Music *''Open Range'' (2008)- Ferryboat Music *''The Shantyman'' (2008) – Ferryboat Music *''Loosely Celtic'' (2008) – Ferryboat Music *''My Side of the Mountains'' (2011) – Ferryboat Music *''Make the Rafters Ring'' (2016) - Ferryboat Music *''Sing Until Morning'' (2019) with Dan Maher - Ferryboat Music

References

* Hank Cramer biography Inquiring Minds Alumn

* Captain Harry Cramer – First U. S. Casualties Vietnam War Vietnam War casualties#First and last US Casualties * 45 Years Apart – Seattle Times Friday January 11, 200

* Black Rose Acoustic review of Caledoni

* Acoustic Brew 2008 revie

* National Public Radio (NPR) Calling All Cowboys Sample Sho

External links

Official site
Much of the biographical and discographical information in this article comes from th

an

on that site, accessed April 27, 2010.

*

Biography on AllMusic A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or ...

Recordings on Amazon

Hank Cramer on SoundUnwound

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cramer, Hank 1953 births Living people Singers from North Carolina American male singers American folk singers Maritime music People from Fort Bragg, North Carolina