First recorded by The Who (1969).
Hit version by The Assembled Multitude (US #16 1970).
From the wiki: “‘Overture’ was written by Pete Townshend and first recorded in 1969 by The Who. ‘Overture’ is one of three instrumental tracks Townshend wrote and the group recorded for their landmark rock opera LP Tommy. It was the lead track when the album was released in May 1969. More than year later, in October 1970, ‘Overture’ was released as the B-side of the promotional single ‘See Me, Feel Me’ – which did not chart – and retitled ‘Overture from Tommy‘.
“Three months before its release as a Who B-side single, the Assembled Multitude, an instrumental ensemble group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, scored with a reworking of ‘Overture’. Their promotional A-side single peaked at #16 in August, 1970 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.”
“Many of the musicians of the ensemble Assembled Multitude were session regulars at Sigma Sound Studios, in Philadelphia, PA, where the track was recorded. Those musicians later became, as MFSB, the backbone of Philly Soul, working with producers Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, and Thom Bell, and such artists as The O’Jays, Billy Paul, The Stylistics, and Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes.”
The Assembled Multitude, “Overture from Tommy” (1970):