The Knights

Gary Usher, functioning as both songwriter and producer, assembled the Knights as one additional fabricated studio ensemble designed to ride the wave of hot rod and surf enthusiasm that swept through the first half of the 1960s. The project drew on the pool of experienced Los Angeles session musicians informally called the Wrecking Crew and frequently spotlighted Chuck Girard on lead vocals, enabling Usher to generate numerous concept-driven LPs issued under an array of fictitious band identities. The Knights’ sole official release appeared as the 1964 Capitol Records album Hot Rod High; although several selections consisted of redundant reworkings of Beach Boys material such as “I Get Around,” selected originals credited to Usher—who commonly collaborated with Roger Christian—stand out as prime specimens of that distinctive strain of California Americana, most notably the tracks “Hot Rod High” and “Hot Rod U.S.A.”