Little Honda Explained

Little Honda
Artist:	The Beach Boys
Album:	All Summer Long
Recorded:	April 2 / 10, 1964
Studio:	United Western Recorders, Hollywood
Genre:	Pop rock hot rod rock^[1] garage rock^[2] car song^[3]
Label:	Capitol
Producer:	Brian Wilson

"Little Honda" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1964 album All Summer Long. Written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love, it pays tribute to the small Honda motorcycle and its ease of operation, specifically the Honda 50.^[4]

Immediately following its appearance on All Summer Long, the song was covered by The Hondells, whose recording produced by Gary Usher peaked at No. 9 on the U.S. Billboard 100.

Recording

In a 1976 interview, Carl Wilson recounted an anecdote about "Little Honda",

Personnel

Per Craig Slowinski.^[5]

The Beach Boys

• Al Jardine – backing vocals, electric rhythm guitars, electric bass guitar
• Mike Love – lead vocal
• Brian Wilson – backing vocals, upright or grand piano, Hammond B3 organ
• Carl Wilson – backing vocals, electric lead guitars, electric rhythm guitars
• Dennis Wilson – opening voice, backing vocals, drums

Additional musicians and production staff

• Brian Wilson – arranger, producer
• Chuck Britz – engineer
• Ray Pohlman – 6-string electric bass guitars

Charts

Beach Boys

Covers

See also: List of cover versions of Beach Boys songs.

• 1964 – The Hondells, single "Little Honda"
• 1965 – Jan & Dean, Command Performance
• 1973 – Dove, single "Little Honda"
• 1974 – The Carpenters, ‘’Live In Japan’’ (Live concert recording)
• 1996 – The Queers, Bubblegum Dreams 7", Lookout!
• 1997 – Yo La Tengo, I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One
• 2003 – Travoltas, Party!

Notes and References

1. Web site: Guarisco. Donald A.. Song review. Allmusic. bot: unknown. https://web.archive.org/web/20110323045218/http://www.allmusic.com/song/little-honda-t908489. 2011-03-23.
2. Web site: Alexis. Petridis. The Beach Boys' 40 greatest songs – ranked!. The Guardian. January 27, 2022. August 3, 2024.
3. Book: Hoffmann. Frank W.. Bailey. William G.. Arts & Entertainment Fads, Volume 1. 1990. Haworth Press. Binghamton. 9780866568814. 61–62.
4. Book: Frank, Aaron . Honda Motorcycles . MotorBooks International . 2003 . 978-0-7603-1077-9 . 3 January 2016 .
5. Keep an Eye on Summer 1964 . The Beach Boys. 2014. Alan. Boyd. Mark. Linette. Craig. Slowinski. Alan Boyd. Mark Linett. Capitol Records. Digital Liner. (Mirror)