Hansens Lure Of The Lights CD

Lure of the Lights: Musical Tales of Great Lakes LighthousesBiographical Information on Joe Hansen and the HansensThe creators of Lure of the Lights: Musical Tales of Great Lakes Lighthouses are the Hansens. Greg, Joe and Steve are Ohio-born brothers who have played and sung together for many years. Grandparents on their mother’s side had a deep love for music, and played piano and fiddle together during the Depression and beyond, instilling in their family a dedication to excellence and a love for beautiful music.Greg’s giftedness is evidenced not only by strong vocals, but by excellence on both guitar and keyboard. He also writes music and arranges compositions. Joe is the primary lyricist, also singing, playing guitar and keyboard, and composing music. Steve is a talented vocalist, and is joined in that department by Joe’s wife Liz and daughter Emily. Greg’s son, Greg T., is the bassist. Steve’s wife, Donna, is the graphic designer responsible for all art work for the CD, which includes a full lyric sheet. Lure of the Lights is an all-in-the-family kind of production!!All of the Hansens have “regular jobs,” but feel privileged to be able to include music as an integral part of life. Joe and Liz’s fascination with lighthouses and their histories sparked the project in early 1999. The lighthouses of the Great Lakes represent a past time for the most part, but still offer an ideal of self-sacrificing service and an emblem of beauty and history for current and future generations.Lure of the Lights .... 15 songs and nearly an hour of pure enjoyment for the lovers of Great Lakes Lighthouses! Each Great Lake and Great Lake state is represented.Old Sodus Point, New York, Lake Ontario, "Ishmael's Petition" is about the formal request made by a War of 1812 Veteran to be appointed to the new light.Dunkirk, New York, Lake Erie, "Out to Dunkirk" is a short history of the 1800s at that light, including a story about slabs of chocolate washing up to shore following a shipwreck!Presque Isle, Pennsylvania, Lake Erie, "Little Lighthouse Girl" is about Nellie, the first child born at this isolated post, and the lonely work of her parents.Marblehead, Ohio, Lake Erie, "My Name is Rachel" recalls the Great Lake's first-ever female lighthouse keeper, and the story of her love of the light and her love of husband and keeper Benajah Wolcott, upon whose death she was appointed keeper.Round Island, Michigan, Lake Huron, "In View of the Round Island Light" parallels the restoration of that once-endangered lighthouse with a marriage in need of restoration.South Haven, Michigan, Lake Michigan, "Donahue Kept the Light On" is about the heroic James Donahue, who lost a leg in the Civil War but still managed to staff the light in all kinds of weather and in all sorts of circumstances.Michigan City, Indiana, Lake Michigan, "Michigan City" plays with Al Capone’s reported cruises past the light on his way to a nearby vacation home. This made the keeper’s family nervous! Grosse Point, Illinois, Lake Michigan, "Lap of Luxury" paints a picture of a lovely, much desired appointment, and reminds us that even in that beautiful place, "every now and then the lake was mean."Green Island, Wisconsin, Lake Michigan, "Child of the Keeper, Keeper of the Light" is the ballad of Frank Drew, who returned to his boyhood lighthouse home to be father to his three kids and keeper of the light following the death of his wife.Manitou Island, Michigan (UP), Lake Superior, "Manitou Moonshine" is a blue-grassy instrumental that conjures up the story of a keeper who operated a still out of the lighthouse until he was busted!Raspberry Island, Wisconsin, Apostle Islands, Lake Superior, "Raspberry Island, 1903" is about a new fog signal and the dedication of keeper Charles Hendrickson.Two Harbors, Minnesota, Lake Superior, "Two Harbors" is a two-guitar instrumental, very beautiful, hinting at the side by side bays, Burlington and Agate, that make two harb