Bert Sommer (February 7, 1949 – July 23, 1990) was an American folk singer and songwriter. He appeared in the musical Hair and at the Woodstock Festival, and he released several albums as a singer-songwriter.
Early life
Sommer was born in New York City
In 1967, Sommer was hired to join a "new" version of the Baroque pop band The Left Banke. They had been inactive shortly after the release of their song "Walk Away Renée", and their manager put together a band to tour as the band to profit from the single. Sommer also co-wrote the Left Banke single "And Suddenly" with member Michael Brown. He also sang lead on "Ivy Ivy", written by Tom Feher. The group (which included Michael McKean on bass) soon fell apart, following legal threats by original Left Banke singer Steve Martin's lawyers. In the same baroque vein as the Left Banke, Sommer wrote "Brink of Death", recorded by the band Childe Harold with an arrangement by Wendy Carlos.
Next, Sommer was recruited as a member of "the Tribe" for the musical Hair, and then promoted to the role of Woof. His "frizzed-out Afro" hair and eyes were featured on the Los Angeles Playbill for Hair in 1969.
Woodstock festival
Sommer had been signed by Capitol Records, and in June 1969 he released his first album, The Road to Travel. It was produced by Artie Kornfeld, who also produced his next two albums. Kornfeld's involvement with the Woodstock Festival led to Sommer being invited to perform there. He was the third act to perform on the opening Friday, August 15, 1969. He sang ten songs, including "Jennifer", a song inspired by his fellow Hair performer Jennifer Warnes, Sommer played with Ira Stone (guitar, Hammond organ, harmonica) and Charles Bilello (bass). According to some accounts, because he was signed to a rival record label, none of his audio performance was made publicly available until 2009. at, for, and about the Woodstock festival, about his experience there. The song reached number 48 on the Hot 100 in September 1970. Sommer continued to perform in and around New York, often opening the bill for major acts such as Ike and Tina Turner and the Byrds. A third album, Bert Sommer, was released on Buddah in 1971, but, like Sommer's other albums, was commercially unsuccessful.