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The Hondells were an American surf rock band formed in 1964, that was actually the product of record producer Gary Usher.
Their first and only hit, "Little Honda", was written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love of The Beach Boys and given to Usher early in 1964.
Usher called in a group of studio musicians - including Glen Campbell and Hal Blaine - and hastily recorded the song that summer. It
leaked to local radio and spread like wildfire across U.S. pop radio.
As the song climbed the charts, Usher assembled a band which toured with The Beach Boys in support of "Little Honda", which eventually
peaked at #9 on the U.S. pop singles chart. An album Go Little Honda was put together, most of the songs on which were written
by Usher and KFWB disc jockey and lyricist Roger Christian and concerned Honda motorcycles ("Hon-da Beach Party", "Haulin' Honda", "Two
Wheel Show Stopper", "A Guy Without Wheels" ...). Its picture sleeve showed a four-member group and its liner notes contained an elaborate
back story, penned by Christian, which posited one Ritchie Burns as the founder and leader of the band. The album crept its way to the
lower reaches of the U.S. pop albums chart.
The band then released another full-length LP, but never scored another hit single. Later The Beach Boys covered the song they themselves
had written and scored a minor hit. The Hondells, such as they were, disbanded in 1965.
Discography
Albums
- Go Little Honda (1964) US: #119
- The Hondells (1964)
- Greatest Hits (1996)
Singles
- "Little Honda" (1964) US: #9
- "My Buddy Seat" (1965) US: #87
- "Younger Girl" (1966) US: #52
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Document License
It uses material from the Wikipedia article - The Hondells
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