And When It's Over - Música

Bert William Sommer February 7 1949 – July 23 1990 Was An American Folk Singer Songwriter And Actor. He Appeared In The Musical Hair And At The Woodstock Festival And Released Several Albums As A Singer-Songwriter. Sommer Grew Up In Queens And Hartsdale New York And Was A Self-Taught Musician Piano And Guitar Who Began Writing Songs In His Teens. 2 He Attended Woodlands High School As Well As Quintano's School For Young Professionals In Manhattan. He Became Friendly With Other Young Musicians And Songwriters In The Area Including Peter Sabatino Leslie West Tom Feher And Michael Brown And Wrote Several Songs For West Then Known As Weinstein 's Band The Vagrants Including Their Single "Beside The Sea" Co-Written With Producer Felix Pappalardi And His Wife Gail Collins. 3 In 1967 Sommer Joined Michael Brown's Band The Left Banke As Lead Singer Replacing Steve Martin Caro And Co-Writing Their Single "And Suddenly" With 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 Martin's Lawyers. In The Same Baroque Vein As The Left Banke Sommer Wrote "Brink Of Death" Recorded By The Band Childe Harold. Next He 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. 2 3 4 Sommer Had Been Signed By Capitol Records And In June 1969 Released His First Album The Road To Travel Produced By Artie Kornfeld As Were 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 3 And Simon & Garfunkel's "America" After Which He Received The Festival's First Standing Ovation. 5 Bert Was Accompanied By Ira Stone Guitar Hammond Organ Harmonica And Charles Bilello On Bass. However Because He Was Signed To A Rival Record Label None Of His Performance Was Made Publicly Available Until 2009. 2 In 2019 The Entire Bert Sommer Set Became Part Of The Woodstock 50th Anniversary 38-CD Set Restored By Andy Zax. Sommer's Second Album Inside Bert Sommer Was Released In May 1970 On The Eleuthera Label A Subsidiary Of Buddah Records And Featured The Single "We're All Playing In The Same Band" Which He Wrote 6 At 7 For And About The Woodstock Festival 8 About His Experience There. 9 The Song Reached Number 48 On The Hot 100 In September 1970. 10 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. 11 A Third Album Bert Sommer Was Released On Buddah In 1971 But Like Sommer's Other Albums Was Commercially Unsuccessful. 3 Sommer Spent Some Time In A Rehabilitation Facility In The Early 1970s Then Formed A Trio In Brockport New York. Sommer Landis & Roberts With Gary Roberts Also Known As Johnny Rabb And Rob Landis 11 Played Local Clubs And Cafes In The College Town For A Couple Years. While Sommer Continued To Write Songs He Received Another Offer. After Being Encouraged To Audition By Music Producer Artie Ripp He Appeared As "Flatbush" Of Kaptain Kool And The Kongs On The Krofft Supershow In 1976 But Did Not Reprise The Role In The Second Season. In 1977 His Fourth Album Also Titled Bert Sommer Produced In Los Angeles By Ron Dante Was Released By Capitol Records. Again The Album Was Unsuccessful And He Was Dropped By The Label. 11 The Follow-Up Album That Never Happened To Have Been Produced By Trevor Lawrence Contained Songs Such As "You " Featured In The Films The Patriot 1986 And Stella 1990 . 11 Sommer Returned To Albany In August 1983 And Almost Immediately Began To Perform In Local Venues With Johnny Rabb And Carla And Kevin McKrell In The Fabulous Newports. He Also Teamed Up With Eddie Angel And Johnny Rabb In The Poor Boys. His Last Performance Was Again With Rabb At An Outdoor Concert In Troy New York On June 11 1990. Sommer Died In Troy New York On July 23 1990 After A Long Battle With A Respiratory Illness. He Is Buried In Valhalla NY. read less