Summer in the City – the 1966 anthem by The Lovin’ Spoonful – has inspired countless cover versions, from Quincy Jones to Joe Cocker.

But this one comes from a musician who rarely shows up on the radar: Jon Bartel. Born and raised in Pennsylvania, he played soul and R&B in the ’60s with his band Johnny Bartel & The Soul Masters before moving to California at the end of the decade. There, he signed with the Perception label and released the 1971 album The Jon Bartel Thing – a blend of soul, funk, and jazz rock.

A year later, he also released his version of Summer in the City as a single – a funky, earthy soul interpretation that came out in 1972 on America Records. Actually cheap but still not easy to find.