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Not a book but a 12-inch, 33-1/3 rpm stereo vinyl rock 'n roll record, Mercury SR-60940, vinyl "very good" to "very good-plus" (many light scratches which cannot be felt) in a near-mint glossy color cardboard jacket. The Hondells, Wikipedia informs us, were a band manufactured by producer Gary Usher, originally consisting of session musicians, to cover the Beach Boys' "Little Honda" (Brian Wilson-Mike Love.) The song, we're told, "was inspired by" the popularity of Honda motor bikes in Southern California during the early 1960s, abetted by a 1962 Honda advertising campaign stressing that well-dressed folk could ride the low-maintenance bikes, that motorcycles were no longer just for tough guys who didn't mind being constantly soaked in motor oil. (We have been unable to verify rumors, widespread at the time, that Soichiro Honda & Co. SUBSIDIZED the song or the Hondells.) The Beach Boys released "Little Honda" on their 1964 album "All Summer Long"; Gary Usher reportedly proceeded to hand former Castells' vocalist Chuck Girard a copy and instructed him to "learn 'Little Honda.'" Usher then recruited a group of studio musicians -- including Glen Campbell -- to record an album of Honda-related songs for Mercury. Aside from "Little Honda", most of the songs (including "The Wild One" and "Hot Rod High") were written by Usher and KFWB Hollywood disc jockey and lyricist Roger Christian (who also contributes the jacket notes, here), though Mike Curb -- who also wrote the song for Honda's "You meet the nicest people on a Honda" TV advertising campaign -- contributed "Rip's Bike." Album's cover shows a four-member group (no Glen Campbell, sorry), obviously shot at a Honda dealership, and the jacket notes contain an elaborate back story, penned by Christian, identifying Ritchie Burns (or possibly "Richie" Burns) as founder and leader of the band, which "worked fraternity and sorority parties at UCLA and USC and are one of the top groups in Southern California." (Richard B. Burns -- 1937 to 2010 -- was real enough. Other sources report he asked drummer Wayne Edwards and two other friends to pose with him as "band members" for the cover photos, here.) As the single climbed the charts (eventually reaching No. 9), Usher assembled a band to tour in support (evidently including Burns and Edwards.) Capitol Records responded by releasing the Beach Boys' version of "Go Little Honda" as a single (B side of "Wendy"), though it only reached No. 65. ("Wendy" reached No. 44.) The Hondells scored another modest hit in 1966 with a cover of John Sebastian's "Younger Girl" (though the essentially simultaneous Critters' cover fared much better) before disbanding. After appearing in "Beach Blanket Bingo," R. Burns reportedly changed careers and became a banker. Producer Gary Usher continued to mine the genre with numerous "bands" made up of session musicians doing one-offs, from the stable known as The Wrecking Crew, which had a rotating lineup including alternating drummers Hal Blaine and Earl Palmer, issuing singles as The Sunsets, The Four Speeds, Gary Usher and The Usherettes, The Honeys, The Competitors, The Go-Gos, The Devons, The Ghouls, The Super Stocks, The Indigos, The Revells, The Kickstands and The Knights. (Most of these have been re-issued on CD and are meticulously cataloged at Beach Boys fan sites.) The Hondells can be seen in three different feature-length films, all 1965: AIP's aforementioned "Beach Blanket Bingo" (shown performing "Cycle Set" and providing backup on "Fly Boy"); AIP's "Ski Party" (shown performing "The Gasser" and heard performing the title track); and Paramount's "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." We also list a mono copy, in even better condition. This disc now reduced from $19.
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