The Buddies

The Buddies were a studio creation of producers Mike Curb and Nick Venet, put together to catch the last gasp of the surf and hot rod boom in 1965. Officially the Buddies released two albums on Mercury Wing that year, Go Go With the Buddies and The Buddies & the Compacts. The Compacts were another Mercury group, and although they are given essentially equal billing on the album, they only contributed one song to it, a cover of "Leader of the Pack." Little distinguishes the Buddies from the dozens and dozens of groups that sprang up in the wake of the Beach Boys' early-'60s success. ~ Steve Leggett