Whats the deal with the Hondells?

[chewy]

Jan and Dean / Sidewalk surfin I get but what is up with the Hondells.  Did they have to ask Brian Wilson to cover that.  Why did they want to do that as their song so bad?

[Tom]

They were assembled and produced by Brian's writing partner Gary Usher. Gary probably heard Little Honda and thought there was hit potential there for a motorcycle themed group. Pretty dumb, but surf and cars had worked for others so I'm sure it seemed worth a try.

I doubt the plan was for the Hondells to be a group that would continue recording - Gary was probably just looking for a one-off novelty hit. He wouldn't have needed Brian and Mike's permission to produce a cover but I'm sure they were aware and doubt they took issue - just more potential income for them as songwriters.