Bert Sommer

Bert Sommer has long been characterized as Woodstock's forgotten standout. Viewers limited to the festival documentary or the pair of audio sets issued from the 1969 event can readily overlook his identity altogether. Among the few artists who appeared at the gathering yet failed to translate the exposure into lasting commercial traction, let alone widespread recognition or wealth, Sommer stands out. Born in 1949 and raised on Long Island, he gravitated toward folk alongside pop and rock, embedding himself in the suburban New York music community. A self-taught guitarist and pianist who also composed material, he formed an early bond in his mid-teens with Michael Brown, later of the Left Banke, and the two often shared stages. Sommer simultaneously moved within the orbit of Leslie West's harder-edged outfit the Vagrants, supplying several songs for the group. His initial brush with performer recognition occurred during the chaotic early phase of the Left Banke's success, when he stepped in for original vocalist Steve Martin on the single "And Suddenly." The classic lineup soon reunited, rendering that track—which never appeared on any of their albums owing to disputes and litigation surrounding the band's name and membership—more an oddity than a centerpiece of their catalog. Acting appealed to him as well, and in 1968 he assumed the part of "Woof" in the musical Hair, succeeding originator Steve Curry; with his frizzed-out Afro, broad facial features, and affable, upbeat presence, Sommer embodied the essence of counter-cultural optimism at its height.

A Capitol Records deal the same year placed him in the studio with Artie Kornfeld for the album The Road to Travel. Like numerous other folk-oriented singer-songwriter efforts issued by the label during that period, the record—including works by Jake Holmes and Hilton Valentine—failed to gain traction. Nevertheless, his ties to Kornfeld, who emerged as a central organizer of the Woodstock Festival, culminated on August 15, 1969, when Sommer performed before several hundred thousand attendees. The surviving recordings confirm that his ten-song set aligned with the caliber of much of the weekend's music and was warmly received by the crowd. Technical difficulties and label maneuvering, however, kept him absent from all commercial film and audio releases until 2009. Warner Bros. secured the Woodstock rights, and as a Capitol artist Sommer was excluded from both album collections, including Woodstock 2, which gathered remaining material; he was omitted from the film on technical grounds and, unlike fellow hippie-folk artist Melanie, had receded from view by the time Woodstock 2 surfaced, resulting in a double exclusion.

Kornfeld later recorded him again for the artist's own Eleuthera Records imprint, yet Inside Bert Sommer also failed commercially. Sommer accepted these setbacks with equanimity, returning to acting in the mid-'70s as a cast member of the Krofft Supershow. He resumed recording later in the decade, then relocated to upstate New York, where he continued writing and performing until his death from a chronic respiratory condition in 1990. Across subsequent decades he maintained a devoted following comparable to that of other singer-songwriters of his generation who died young, such as Tim Hardin and Tim Buckley. The six-CD set Woodstock: 40 Years On: Back to Yasgur's Farm, issued in 2009 for the festival's fortieth anniversary, finally presented his Woodstock performance in official form.