2 Of Clubs

Cincinnati pop duo 2 of Clubs brought together vocalists Linda Parrish and Patti Valentine, who first united in early 1966 after Valentine had been appearing at the city’s Guys & Dolls club. Mick Patrick’s Spectropop feature recounts how the pair promptly booked time at the renowned King Records studios to cut a version of Petula Clark’s B-side “Heart.” Parrish’s husband Carl Edmondson handled production, and the track appeared on the regional Fraternity imprint in mid-1966, reaching the Top Ten in Chicago yet stopping short of the Billboard Hot 100. Their follow-up, “Walk Tall (Like a Man),” surfaced during the holiday period, landing on the Cashbox chart the week of Christmas and climbing to number 92 on Billboard. Momentum carried into 1967, when the duo released three further singles: the Barry Mann/Cynthia Weil composition “Let Me Walk with You,” a reading of the Ike & Tina Turner classic “River Deep - Mountain High,” and “Look Away.” None registered on the charts. Although the artists finished enough tracks for a full LP, the project was abandoned once Parrish and Edmondson divorced, ending 2 of Clubs. Parrish and Valentine later reunited for scattered performances over the years, including a 1999 Cincinnati oldies festival topped by Little Richard.