A jazz standard from the 1930s, performed by a Scientology ship band in the 1970s. These are exactly the kinds of stories vinyl diggers love to uncover.

The classic Summertime comes from the opera Porgy and Bess by George Gershwin. The song was composed in 1934 and premiered in 1935, later becoming one of the most frequently covered standards in music history. Famous versions were recorded by Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong, and Janis Joplin, among many others.

The version by The Apollo Stars appears on the 1974 LP Power Of Source. The record is quite a curiosity in vinyl history. The band consisted of members of the Scientology organization Sea Org, who at the time lived on the ship Apollo, then the flagship of Scientology.

The album was produced by L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology. What emerged is a fascinating mix of jazz, funk, soul, and psychedelia, recorded by a ship band right in the middle of a Scientology vessel.