by James Christopher MongerGerman political folk singer Hannes Wader was born in Bielefeld, North Rhine-Westphalia in 1942. Wader repertoire consists of traditional German folk songs (volksmusik), provocative social commentaries (Wader was a member of the German Communist Party from 1997-1991), blue-collar ballads and songs based around the works of poets and classical composers. He still tours regularly in Germany.