William Raymond Amm is killed during the 1955 Nations Grand Prix in Italy.
Originally from Salisbury in Southern Rhodesia, Ray Amm started grass-track racing near Salisbury when he was 17 years old after purchasing an 500cc AJS motorcycle. Being a novice to both motorcycles and racing, he finished last in his first race. So, blaming the bike, a we all do, the AJS was quickly replaced with a Triumph. Soon he found himself finishing in the middle of the pack, then fifth, fourth, third...
The purchase of a brand new Norton motorcycle allowed Amm to enter the prestigious 1949 Port Elizabeth 200 Motor-Cycle Race in South Africa and despite breaking the lap-record he finished in 17th place when the clutch started to slip. Refusing to call it quits he entered the 1950 Port Elizabeth 200. Ray finished in 1st place for the 500cc race and set a new lap record of 95.86 mph. Another win followed in the 500cc class for the 1951 Port Elizabeth 2000 Race despite suffering carburation problems. After these successes the Salisbury Motor-Cycle Club helped with his passage to compete in Europe.
Amm finally moved from the works Norton motorcycles to the factory MV Agusta racing team. His debut race for MV Agusta was to be the 1955 Easter Monday race meeting at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari in Imola, Italy. Riding a 350cc four-cylinder MV Agusta in the Coppa d'Oro Shell Race, Amm lost control at the Rivazza Corner as he pursued Australian Ken Kavanagh and crashed in the slippery conditions.
William Raymond Amm died of his injuries on the way to hospital. He was 27.
"Little Honda" is recorded at the legendary Western Studios in Hollywood, California.
Written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love of the The Beach Boys and released on their 1964 album All Summer Long, and also featured on their EP, Four by The Beach Boys. It was covered by The Hondells, whose recording peaked at #9 on the U.S. pop singles chart, and later by Jan & Dean, Yo La Tengo, the Queers and the Demonics. The song pays tribute to the small Honda and its ease of operation, specifically the Honda Super Cub.
The Honda Super Cub, with it's four-stroke single-cylinder engine ranging in displacement from 49 to 109 cc has been in continuous manufacture since 1958. With production of the little bugger surpassing 60 million, the Super Cub is the most produced motor vehicle in history.
"Little Honda" peaked at #65 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the Beach Boys but became an international favorite, rising to #1 in Sweden and #8 in Norway in early 1965 and concurrently #44 in Germany.
In the US charts the Beach Boys' recording was particularly popular in Los Angeles, Washington DC and Minneapolis where it climbed to #2 in each city.
The Super Cub's 1960's US advertising campaign, "You meet the nicest people on a Honda", had a lasting impact on Honda's image and on American attitudes about motorcycling, and is considered a classic case study in marketing.
I remember that ad always made me want to puke.
