Little Honda


"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.
At 21 seconds into the song the definite sound of guitar feedback can be heard. The recording on April 2 & 10, 1964 of the song predates the Beatles' "I Feel Fine" by several months. While buried under vocals on the original release, with the 1968 instrumental track release on the Beach Boys LP "Stack-o-Tracks", this high-pitched feeback howl can be heard.
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",

Alternate version

In 2014, a compilation album of studio and live recordings of the Beach Boys was released entitled, Keep an Eye on Summer – The Beach Boys Sessions 1964. It was released exclusively through the iTunes Store. On that album, another version of the song was heard, with the major difference being that the background refrain was, "Go little Honda, faster little Honda" instead of, "Honda, Honda, go faster, faster." The third verse also had slightly different lyrics.

Personnel

Per Craig Slowinski.
;The Beach Boys
;Additional musicians and production staff
  • Brian Wilson – arranger, producer
  • Chuck Britz – engineer
  • Ray Pohlman – 6-string electric bass guitars

    Charts

;The Beach Boys
Chart Peak
position

Covers