Gary Lee Usher (December 14, 1938 – May 25, 1990)
was an American rock musician, songwriter, and record producer, who worked with numerous California acts in the 1960s, including
the Byrds
The Byrds () were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn (known as Jim McGuinn until mid-1967) remaining the sole cons ...
,
the Beach Boys
The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and frie ...
, and
Dick Dale
Richard Anthony Monsour (May 4, 1937 – March 16, 2019), known professionally as Dick Dale, was an American rock guitarist. He was a pioneer of surf music, drawing on Middle Eastern music scale (music), scales and experimenting with reverb eff ...
. Usher also produced fictitious surf groups or
hot rod
Hot rods are typically American cars that might be old, classic, or modern and that have been rebuilt or modified with large engines optimised for speed and acceleration. One definition is: "a car that's been stripped down, souped up and made ...
groups, mixing studio
session musician
Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...
s with his own troops (
Chuck Girard
Chuck Girard (born on August 27, 1943) is a pioneer of Contemporary Christian music. He moved to Santa Rosa, California in his young teens and was a member of the Castells and later the surf-rock band The Hondells. In 1970 he was a founding membe ...
, Dick Burns and others). These bands included the Super-Stocks, with the hot-rod song "Midnight Run", and the
Kickstand
A kickstand is a device on a bicycle or motorcycle that allows the bike to be kept upright without leaning against another object or the aid of a person. A kickstand is usually a piece of metal that flips down from the frame and makes contact ...
s.
Death
Usher died of
lung cancer
Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissue (biology), tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from tran ...
at his home in his hometown of
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
,
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
, on May 25, 1990 at the age of 51.
Selected discography
Production
*''Go Little Honda'' (1964,
The Hondells
The Hondells were an American surf rock band. Their cover of the Beach Boys' "Little Honda" went to No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1964.
History
The Hondells were a band manufactured by Gary Usher, originally consisting of session musician ...
)
*''Hondells'' (1964, The Hondells)
*''Hit City '65'' (1965,
The Surfaris
The Surfaris are an American surf rock band formed in Glendora, California, United States, in 1962. They are best known for two songs that hit the charts in the Los Angeles area, and nationally by May 1963: "Surfer Joe" and " Wipe Out", which ...
)
*''It Ain't Me, Babe'' (1965, The Surfaris)
*''In Action'' (1966, Keith Allison)
*''An Esoteric Qabalistic Service'' (1966, Rev.
Ann Davies with the
Builders of the Adytum
The Builders of the Adytum (BOTA, also spelled B.O.T.A., BotA, or B.o.t.A.) is a school of the Western mystery tradition based in Los Angeles which is registered as a non-profit tax-exempt religious organization. It was founded by Paul Foster Case ...
Choir)
*''
Gene Clark with the Gosdin Brothers
''Gene Clark with the Gosdin Brothers'' is the debut solo album of Gene Clark, released in February 1967 on Columbia Records, catalogue CS 9418. It was his first effort after his departure from folk-rock group the Byrds in 1966. The music is ...
'' (1967,
Gene Clark
Harold Eugene Clark (November 17, 1944 – May 24, 1991) was an American singer-songwriter and founding member of the folk rock band the Byrds. He was the Byrds' principal songwriter between 1964 and early 1966, writing most of the band's best ...
)
*''
Younger Than Yesterday
''Younger Than Yesterday'' is the fourth studio album by the American rock band the Byrds and was released on February 6, 1967 on Columbia Records. It saw the band continuing to integrate elements of psychedelia and jazz into their music, a proce ...
'' (1967,
The Byrds
The Byrds () were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn (known as Jim McGuinn until mid-1967) remaining the sole cons ...
)
*''
The Peanut Butter Conspiracy Is Spreading
''The Peanut Butter Conspiracy Is Spreading'' is the debut studio album by the Los Angeles psychedelic rock band, The Peanut Butter Conspiracy. It was released in March 1967 under the Columbia Records, Columbia label.
Backed by producer Gary U ...
'' (1967,
The Peanut Butter Conspiracy
The Peanut Butter Conspiracy was an American, Los Angeles-based, psychedelic pop/psychedelic rock, rock group from the 1960s. The band is known for lead singer Barbara Robison and for briefly having Spencer Dryden of Jefferson Airplane as a ban ...
)
*''Of Cabbages and Kings'' (1967,
Chad & Jeremy
Chad & Jeremy were a British musical duo consisting of Chad Stuart and Jeremy Clyde, who began working in 1962 and had their first hit song in the UK with " Yesterday's Gone" (1963). That song became a hit in the United States in the following ...
)
*''
The Great Conspiracy'' (1967, The Peanut Butter Conspiracy)
*''
Present Tense
The present tense (abbreviated or ) is a grammatical tense whose principal function is to locate a situation or event in the present time. The present tense is used for actions which are happening now. In order to explain and understand present ...
'' (1968,
Sagittarius)
*''The Ark'' (1968, Chad & Jeremy)
*''
The Notorious Byrd Brothers
''The Notorious Byrd Brothers'' is the fifth album by the American rock band the Byrds, and was released in January 1968, on Columbia Records. The album represents the pinnacle of the Byrds' late-‘60s musical experimentation, with the band blen ...
'' (1968, The Byrds)
*''
Waiting for the Electrician or Someone Like Him
''Waiting for the Electrician or Someone Like Him'' is the first comedy album recorded by the Firesign Theatre. It was originally released in January 1968 by Columbia Records.
Synopsis
The first side of the original LP presented a trilogy of thre ...
'' (1968,
The Firesign Theatre
The Firesign Theatre (also known as the Firesigns) was an American surreal humour, surreal comedy troupe who first appeared on November 17, 1966, in a live performance on the Los Angeles radio program ''Radio Free Oz'' on station KPFK FM broad ...
)
*''
Sweetheart of the Rodeo
''Sweetheart of the Rodeo'' is the sixth album by American rock band the Byrds and was released in August 1968 on Columbia Records. Recorded with the addition of country rock pioneer Gram Parsons, it became the first album widely recognized as c ...
'' (1968, The Byrds)
*''Wackering Heights'' (1972,
The Wackers
The Wackers was an American folk rock band formed in 1970, out of another band, Roxy. Though short-lived the band was moderately successful, releasing three studio albums.
Career
Singer/songwriter Bob Segarini and multi-instrumentalist Randy ...
)
*''
Going Public'' (1977,
Bruce Johnston
Bruce Arthur Johnston (born Benjamin Baldwin; June 27, 1942) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who is a member of the Beach Boys. Johnston also collaborated on many records with Terry Melcher (his bandmate in Bru ...
)
*"Sanctuary" (1984, Celestium)
Songwriting
*"
409" (1962, The Beach Boys)
*"Lonely Sea" (1962, The Beach Boys)
*"
Ten Little Indians
"Ten Little Indians" is a traditional American children's counting out rhyme. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 12976. The term "Indians" in this sense refers to Indigenous North American peoples.
In 1868, songwriter Septimus Winner adapt ...
" (1962, The Beach Boys)
*"
In My Room
"In My Room" is a song written by Brian Wilson and Gary Usher for the American rock band the Beach Boys. It was released on their 1963 album '' Surfer Girl''. It was also released as the B-side of the " Be True to Your School" single. The single ...
" (1963, The Beach Boys)
*"Malibu Sunset" (1963, The Beach Boys)
*"Beach Party" (1963,
Frankie Avalon
Francis Thomas Avallone (born September 18, 1940), better known as Frankie Avalon, is an American actor, singer, and former teen idol. He had 31 charting U.S. ''Billboard'' singles from 1958 to late 1962, including number one hits, "Venus" an ...
)
*"Mag Wheels" (1963, Dick Dale and the Del-Tones)
*"We'll Run Away" (1964, The Beach Boys)
*"Comin' On Too Strong" (1965,
Wayne Newton
Carson Wayne Newton (born April 3, 1942) is an American singer and actor. One of the most popular singers in the nation from the mid-to-late 20th-century, Newton remains one of the best-known entertainers in Las Vegas. He is known by the nicknam ...
)
*"The Truth Is Not Real" (1968, Sagittarius)
*"The Blue Marble" (1969, Sagittarius)
*"
Don't Give In to Him
"Don't Give In to Him" is a song written by Gary Usher, produced by Dick Glasser and recorded by Gary Puckett & The Union Gap for their 1969 album, ''The New Gary Puckett and the Union Gap Album''.
Chart performance
The song reached #15 in the Bi ...
" (1969,
Gary Puckett & The Union Gap
Gary Puckett & The Union Gap (initially credited as The Union Gap featuring Gary Puckett) was an American pop rock group active in the late 1960s. The group, formed by Gary Puckett, Gary "Mutha" Withem, Dwight Bement, Kerry Chater and Paul Wheat ...
)
*"(Friend)Ships" (1971, Gary Usher)
*"Sanctuary" (1983, Celestium and later
Laura Branigan
Laura Ann Branigan (July 3, 1952 – August 26, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Her signature song, the platinum-certified 1982 single " Gloria", stayed on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for 36 weeks, then a record for ...
and the J-Pop artist
Reimy
, better known by her stage name Reimy, is a Japanese singer-songwriter and composer. She has collaborated with Japanese movie producer Shunji Iwai on several soundtracks.
Discography Albums
* ''Reimy'' (1984)
* ''"R"'' (1984)
* ''Pansy'' (1985) ...
)
*"Let's Go To Heaven In My Car" (1986, Brian Wilson)
(Note - Gary Usher's son, Gary Usher Jr., played the guitar solo)
*"Christmas Time" (1986, Brian Wilson)
* "Let's Put the Fun Back in Rock'n Roll" (1986 co-written with Joseph Nicoletti Jr.) - Recorded by Frankie Avalon, Fabian & Bobby Rydell; "The Golden Boys of Rock"
References
Further reading
*
*
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Usher, Gary
1938 births
1990 deaths
People from Grafton, Massachusetts
Surf music record producers
Record producers from Los Angeles
American rock musicians
Songwriters from Massachusetts
The Forte' Four members
Deaths from lung cancer in California
20th-century American musicians
20th-century American businesspeople
California Sound