The boutique, vinyl soul reissue labels continue to deliver. Witness the latest release from SOUL DIRECTION which features vintage harmony group THE SUMMITS with their in-demand ‘P’s And Q’s’.
The Summits were soul hopefuls hailing from Washington DC. The foursome got together at Francis Cardoza High School (Marvin Gaye’s old school, by the way!) and it seems they named themselves after a bus route! Two of the group regularly travelled on Washington’s number 16 bus, whose terminus was Summit Hill.. .so there you go!
The Summits soon came under the wing of local music biz hustler Joe Tate who also managed the Fuzz, the Choice Four, and the Blendells. Tate won them a deal but their first single ‘I Can’t Get Over Losing You’ (Dontee Records, 1970) meant little. Tate then paired the group with writer Joe Phillips and two singles followed on Stan Bethel’s D.C. International label. Again, the discs made a little local noise but nothing spectacular and the Summits called it a day – they’d failed to hit the heights! (Terrible pun!)
Earlier this year, the Numero Uno label issued an EP on the Summits and from that, Soul Direction has licensed two cuts from the Phillips/DC International session that were never issued. The A side of the new 7” is an incessant , harmony group workout , ‘P’s And Q’s’. It has considerable old school charm and easy to hear why it’s in demand. In best old school tradition the disc’s B side is the instrumental version which underlines the tune’s incessantness.
THE SUMMITS: ‘ ‘P’s And Q’s’ (vocal and instrumental) is released via SOUL DIRECTION on October 1st. Find out more @ www.soul-direction.co.uk
