The Hondells

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
The Hondells
Surf rock
Years active1964–1970
LabelsMercury, Repertoire
Past membersWayne Edwards
Mike Hufford
Randy Thomas
Chuck Girard
Gary Usher
Joe Kelly
Dick Burns
Al Ferguson

The Hondells were an

band. Their cover of the Beach Boys' "Little Honda" went to No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1964.[1]

History

The Hondells were a band manufactured by Gary Usher, originally consisting of session musicians.

Honda motor bikes in Southern California during the early 1960s: In contrast to the prevailing negative stereotypes of motorcyclists in America as tough, antisocial rebels, Honda's campaign suggested that their motorcycles were made for everyone. The campaign was successful; by the end of 1963 alone, Honda had sold 90,000 motorcycles.[2] The Beach Boys had recorded "Little Honda" for their 1964 album All Summer Long, and subsequently producer Gary Usher gave former Castells vocalist Chuck Girard
a copy of the All Summer Long LP and instructed him to learn "Little Honda."

Usher then recruited a group of

back story, penned by Christian, which posited one Ritchie Burns as the founder and leader of the band.[1] At the time the album was delivered, the name of the group had not been decided. Under consideration were two names: "The Rising Sons" and "The Hondells." Venet chose the latter and released "Little Honda" as a single under the new group name. As the song climbed the charts, Usher assembled a band to tour in support, and "Little Honda" eventually peaked at No. 9 on the U.S. pop singles chart.[1]

Contrary to popular belief, session musician drummer Hal Blaine (creator of the name "The Wrecking Crew") was not the drummer on The Hondells' version of "Little Honda". The drummer on The Hondells' "Little Honda" was Wayne Edwards who together with Richard Burns (who played bass on the session and was cited on the album's liner notes as the band's "founder") went out on the road as part of the touring Hondells.[1] Blaine played drums on The Super Stocks' "Little Honda" (produced by Gary Usher for Capitol) and on Pat Boone's version of the tune (produced by Terry Melcher as a single for Dot Records).

As soon as they saw The Hondells' version on the charts, Capitol Records released a single of their Beach Boys version and scored a minor hit as well.

The Hondells scored another modest hit single in 1966 with a cover of the Lovin' Spoonful song "Younger Girl" (Mercury 72562) before disbanding.[1] Randy Thomas sang the lead.

The Hondells also recorded commercials for Pepsi and Coty Cosmetics. Musicians on these recordings were Ritchie Burns, Glen Campbell, Wayne Edwards, Dennis McCarthy, Randy Thomas, who sang the lead on the Pepsi commercial and Al Ferguson who sang the lead on the Coty commercial.

Gary Usher & Co.

Gary Usher continued to mine this genre of music with numerous 'bands' made up of session musicians doing one-off recordings.

Beach Boys fan sites.[3]

Girard became a popular and pioneering CCM artist. Burns is the uncle of KCPR radio DJ and celebrity Biba Pickles.[4]

Go Little Honda

The first LP, Go Little Honda featured 11 tracks in addition to "Little Honda," all with a motorcycle theme.

You meet the nicest people on a Honda" campaign - wrote the track "Rip's Bike."[5] The remaining tracks, written by Gary Usher and Roger Christian, consist of "Mean Streak," "A Guy Without Wheels," "The Wild One," "Hot Rod High," "Death Valley Run," "Two Wheel Show Stopper," "Ridin' Trails" and "Hon-Da Beach Party."[6]

The Hondells

The group's second LP, titled simply The Hondells, was released only a few months after Go Little Honda.

Billboard 100
single, "My Buddy Seat," written by Brian Wilson and Gary Usher, backed with "You're Gonna Ride With Me," written by Usher and Roger Christian. Mike Curb wrote four songs that appear on the LP, "The Rebel (Without A Cause)," "The Lonely Rider," "Cycle Chase," and "The Sidewinder." The remaining tracks consisted of "Black Denim," "Night Rider," "My Little Bike," "Lay It Down," "He Wasn't Coming Back," and "Honda Holliday."

In film

The Hondells can be seen in three different feature-length films, all from 1965:

Beach Ball (shown performing "My Buddy Seat"). The band is also credited with performing the title track for Columbia
's 1965 film, Winter A-Go-Go.

Discography

Albums

  • Go Little Honda (1964) US: No. 119 Mercury Records SR 60940 (Stereo) / MG 20940 (Monaural)
  • The Hondells (1964) US: Mercury Records SR 60982 (Stereo) / MG 209820 (Monaural)
  • Greatest Hits (1996) Curb Records D2-77819

Singles

Year Single Chart Positions
US CAN AU
1964 "Little Honda" 9 21 21
1964 "My Buddy Seat" 87 19 –
1965 "Little Sidewalk Surfer Girl" – 24 –
1965 "Sea Of Love" - – -
1965 "Sea Cruise" 131 – -
1965 "Endless Sleep" - – -
1966 "Younger Girl" 52 11 18
1966 "Kissin' My Life Away" - – -
1966 "Cheryl's Going Home" - – -
1967 " Yes To You" - – -
1968 "Atlanta Georgia Stray" - – -
1969 "Follow The Bouncing Ball" - – -
1970 "Shine On Ruby Mountain" - – -

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 0-7535-0149-X
    .
  2. ISBN 978-0-7603-1077-9
    . Retrieved 3 January 2016.
  3. ^ Bret Wheadon. "The Complete Guide". BeachBoys.com. Retrieved 2020-04-19.
  4. ^ Pickles, Biba (2010-09-14). "Well...Here It Is...: My Uncle Was In The Hondells". Biba-pickles.blogspot.com. Retrieved 2020-04-19.
  5. ^ MikeCurb.com Official Site of Mike Curb: Songs Written by Mike Curb, Mikecurb.com
  6. ^ Discogs: Entry for The Hondells - Go Little Honda, Discogs.com

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Hondells&oldid=1213888828"