Petrus Antonius Laurentius "Pierre" Kartner (born 11 April 1935) is a Dutch musician who sings under the alias Father Abraham, and who has written around 1600 songs.
Kartner started his singing career at the age of eight, by winning a local festival. He lived with his family in Amsterdam and worked in a chocolate factory.
Kartner worked as a promoter and producer at record label Dureco with Annie de Reuver, who he played with in Duo X. Together with the band Corry & de Rekels he sold over 1 million records in the 1960s.
He created his well-known alter ego, Father Abraham, after writing a Dutch Carnival song, Father Abraham had seven sons. He at first used a fake beard, but a real beard replaced this and would remain his trademark along with his bowler hat.
With Wilma Landkroon he sang the Dutch 1971 number one hit single Zou het erg zijn, lieve opa.
In 1975, Kartner scored his second biggest hit, Het kleine café aan de haven ("The little café by the harbour"). This song has since been covered over 250 times in various languages.
English cover versions include The Little Cafe By The Harbour by Engelbert Humperdinck, My Favourite Cafe On The Harbour by Audrey Landers and The Red Rose Café, done by Demis Roussos as well as The Fureys. In French the song was recorded as Le café de la Rue d'Amérique by Mireille Mathieu and Le café des trois Colombes by Joe Dassin, and in German as Die kleine Kneipe by Peter Alexander.