BH | Sharon Watts presents The Rather Magnificent Bert Sommer: Friday, October 16th at 6pm

About the book

New York singer-songwriter Bert Sommer was just 20 years old when he played his first live gig—Woodstock. He received the first standing ovation and was introduced as “The Rather Magnificent Bert Sommers.” That slight inaccuracy was a harbinger of the bad luck to come. When Woodstock’s mud and dust settled, Bert Sommer was forgotten.

Why? Bert Sommer was left off the 1970 Woodstock documentary and its soundtrack. It wasn’t until missing footage of his song “Jennifer” turned up on YouTube that people took notice. How could this be an unknown Woodstock performer? Bert could have soared with Jimi and Janis. Instead, he got saddled with a Woodstock curse.

Woodstock’s Lost Treasure has been excavated by curious rabbit-hole diver and author Sharon Watts. Bert’s once-niche following has exploded with the internet and is eager to learn more. Watts has discovered nooks and crannies, collected the stories, and presents a captivating and impressionistic portrait of the entire life of a talented yet doomed missing puzzle piece in the history of Woodstock.

About the author

Sharon Watts is an artist and writer who collects and assembles artifacts and stories about people and topics that are sometimes overlooked and deserving of being discovered—or of not being forgotten.

sharonwattswrites.com
sharonwattscreative.com