The Knights were another of writer and producer Gary Usher's studio concoctions formed to take advantage of the hot rod and surf boom of the early to mid-'60s. Using the veteran L.A. session players loosely known as the Wrecking Crew, and often featuring the vocals of Chuck Girard, Usher churned out countless themed albums under different group names. Officially the Knights released one album, Hot Rod High, on Capitol Records in 1964, and while many of the tracks were needless covers of Beach Boys tunes like "I Get Around," a couple of the Usher originals (he often wrote in tandem with Roger Christian), particularly "Hot Rod High" and "Hot Rod U.S.A.," are wonderful examples of this particular sort of California Americana. ~ Steve Leggett