Kustom Kings (1964), The

Prior to becoming a full-time Beach Boy and well before he wrote the song that made the whole world sing, Bruce Johnston was a key member of the West Coast music scene. In 1959, while still in high school, Johnston played piano on friend Sandy Nelson?s hit single, ?Teenbeat.? This opportunity kicked off an incredibly prolific period for the young musician. Johnston recorded under his own name as well as many group names, playing with the cream of the California session personnel, The Wrecking Crew. He also made records with his friend Terry Melcher until Melcher moved on to pursue record producing full time. Johnston was producing as well but saw no reason to stop his musical pursuits. Songwriter, vocalist, producer, session musician- if the surf and hot rod scene had a renaissance man, surely it was Bruce Johnston.

By 1964, Johnston was already a proven veteran. Following up the success of The Rip Chords collaboration with Melcher and its hit single ?Hey Little Cobra,? Johnston revved up The Kustom Kings. With a mission statement ?to present the most authentic hot rod album on the market,? the Kustom City U.S.A. album brought together an all-star team. Bruce Johnston wrote and co-wrote much of the LP?s material, as did producer/arranger/saxophonist Steve Douglas. Rounding out the band were guitarists Tommy Tedesco and Glen Campbell, Ray Pohlmann on bass, Jay Migliori on second sax and Hal Blaine on drums - WOW!