The Hondells
The Hondells were originally a studio group put together by Gary Usher
consisting of session musicians. Their song, "Little Honda," the groups's only
hit, was written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love of The Beach Boys. The song was inspired by
the popularity of Honda motor bikes in Southern California during the early 1960s:
| Members: Chuck Girard Gary Usher Joe Kelly Richard Burns Randy Burns |
Session Muscians: Glenn Campell - guitar Richie Polodor -guitar Al Delroy - keyboards Tommy Tedesco - guitar Wayne Edwars - drums Hal Blaine - drums |
Live performing members: Randy Thomas Chuck Girard Wayne Edwards Richard Burns |
"Little Honda." one of the best hot-rod tunes, it made the Top Ten in 1964. Like numerous Southern California groups in the mid-'60s, the Hondells, despite numerous picture sleeves, were not a bonafide group. They were a manufactured group put together by Gary Usher. Their recordings were put together by floating lineups of Los Angeles session men, overseen by producer Gary Usher. "Little Honda" itself featured ace guitarists Glen Campbell and Richie Podolor, as well as drummer Wayne Edwards. Hondells groups were put together for live performance in the wake of "Little Honda," but session musicians such as Podolor were always present on the recordings.
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The Hondells never had another hit on the level of "Little Honda," but recorded a surprising quantity of material, putting out two albums and thirteen singles before the string ended in 1970. Most of their early songs were written by the songwriting team of Gary Usher and Roger Christian, both of whom had helped write early Beach Boys tunes with Brian Wilson. Their song, "Little Honda," the group's only hit, was written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love of The Beach Boys. The song was inspired by the popularity of Honda motorcycles in Southern California during the early 1960s:
Performing Hondells
L-R: Chuck Girard, Wayne Edwards, Randy Thomas, Richard Burns
As "Little Honda" climbed the charts Usher recruited a group of studio musicians
– including Glen Campbell, Al DeLory, Tommy Tedesco, and Richie Podolor – to record an album of Honda-related songs for Mercury Records, with production credited to Nick Venet, though Usher was the brains behind the record. Aside from "Little Honda," most of the songs on The Hondells' Go Little Honda album were written by Usher and KFWB disc jockey and lyricist Roger Christian. The album's cover 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. 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.
The first LP, Go Little Honda featured 11 tracks in addition to "Little Honda," all with a motorcycle theme. Richie Podolor contributed two tracks, "Haulin' Honda" and "Black Boots and Bikes." Mike Curb - who also wrote the song for Honda's "You meet the nicest people on a Honda" campaign - wrote the track "Rip's Bike." 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."
The group's second LP, titled simply The Hondells, was released only a few months after Go Little Honda. The LP yielded a 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."
The Hondells scored another modest hit single in 1966 with a cover of the Lovin' Spoonful song "Younger Girl" before disbanding.
Beach Blanket Bingo
L-R: Randy Thomas, Jerry Lemire, Wayne Edwards, Richard Burns
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The Hondells also were in commercials for Pepsi and Coty Cosmetics and in three films, Beach Blanket Bingo, Ski Party and Beach Ball. In Beach Blanket they performed "Cycle Set" and "Freeway" an instrumental. In Ski Party they sing the opening track and appear in swinsuits playing the closing rack playing "The Gasser," on the Sorrenta Beah, in Santa Monica., California and performed "My Buddy Seat" in Beach Ball.
The Hondells never had another hit on the level of "Little Honda," but recorded a surprising quantity of material, putting out two albums and thirteen singles before the string ended in 1970. For all their manufactured personnel, the Hondells weren't bad. Indeed, they probably made the best hot rod music aside from the Beach Boys and Jan & Dean, and were cuts above the generic stuff.
