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'''Gary Lee Usher''' (December 14, 1938 – May 25, 1990)<ref name="AMG">{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/gary-usher-mn0000187123/biography|title=Gary Usher Biography, Songs, & Albums|website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=16 October 2021}}</ref> was an American rock musician, songwriter, and record producer, who worked with numerous California acts in the 1960s, including [[the Byrds]], [[the Beach Boys]], and [[Dick Dale]]. Usher also produced fictitious surf groups or [[hot rod]] groups, mixing studio [[session musician]]s with his own troops ([[Chuck Girard]], Dick Burns and others). These bands included [[the Super Stocks]] (with the hot-rod song "Midnight Run"); the Kickstands;<ref>David N. Howard, ''Sonic Alchemy: Visionary Music Producers and Their Maverick Recordings'', 2004, {{ISBN|147685209X}}: "Ever since Usher's early surf and hot rod days, he had been creating fictitious studio groups such as The Super Stocks and The Kickstands, imaginary bands to sate the hungry surf and hot rod record-buying audience."</ref> |
'''Gary Lee Usher''' (December 14, 1938 – May 25, 1990)<ref name="AMG">{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/gary-usher-mn0000187123/biography|title=Gary Usher Biography, Songs, & Albums|website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=16 October 2021}}</ref> was an American rock musician, songwriter, and record producer, who worked with numerous California acts in the 1960s, including [[the Byrds]], [[the Beach Boys]], and [[Dick Dale]]. Usher also produced fictitious surf groups or [[hot rod]] groups, mixing studio [[session musician]]s with his own troops ([[Chuck Girard]], Dick Burns and others). These bands included [[the Super Stocks]] (with the hot-rod song "Midnight Run"); the Kickstands;<ref>David N. Howard, ''Sonic Alchemy: Visionary Music Producers and Their Maverick Recordings'', 2004, {{ISBN|147685209X}}: "Ever since Usher's early surf and hot rod days, he had been creating fictitious studio groups such as The Super Stocks and The Kickstands, imaginary bands to sate the hungry surf and hot rod record-buying audience."</ref>; [[the Hondells]] with their No. 9 US pop single "[[Little Honda]]"; and others. |
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==Death== |
==Death== |
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Revision as of 21:27, 8 February 2024
Gary Usher | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Gary Lee Usher |
| Born | December 14, 1938 Los Angeles, California, United States |
| Died | May 25, 1990 (aged 51) Los Angeles, California, United States |
| Genres | Rock and roll, surf music |
| Occupation(s) | Songwriter, record producer |
| Years active | 1960s–1990 |
| Labels | Capitol, Columbia, Together, Lan-Cet |
| Website | www |
Gary Lee Usher (December 14, 1938 – May 25, 1990)[1] was an American rock musician, songwriter, and record producer, who worked with numerous California acts in the 1960s, including the Byrds, the Beach Boys, and Dick Dale. Usher also produced fictitious surf groups or hot rod groups, mixing studio session musicians with his own troops (Chuck Girard, Dick Burns and others). These bands included the Super Stocks (with the hot-rod song "Midnight Run"); the Kickstands;[2]; the Hondells with their No. 9 US pop single "Little Honda"; and others.
Death
Usher died of lung cancer at his home in his hometown of Los Angeles, California, on May 25, 1990, at the age of 51.[3]
Selected discography
Production
- Go Little Honda (1964, The Hondells)[4]
- Hondells (1964, The Hondells)[4]
- Hit City '65 (1965, The Surfaris)[4]
- It Ain't Me, Babe (1965, The Surfaris)[4]
- In Action (1966, Keith Allison)[5]
- An Esoteric Qabalistic Service (1966, Rev. Ann Davies with the Builders of the Adytum Choir)[6]
- Gene Clark with the Gosdin Brothers (1967, Gene Clark)[4]
- Younger Than Yesterday (1967, The Byrds)[1]
- The Peanut Butter Conspiracy Is Spreading (1967, The Peanut Butter Conspiracy)[4]
- Of Cabbages and Kings (1967, Chad & Jeremy)[4]
- The Great Conspiracy (1967, The Peanut Butter Conspiracy)[4]
- Present Tense (1968, Sagittarius)[4]
- The Ark (1968, Chad & Jeremy)[7]
- The Notorious Byrd Brothers (1968, The Byrds)[1]
- Waiting for the Electrician or Someone Like Him (1968, The Firesign Theatre)[4]
- Sweetheart of the Rodeo (1968, The Byrds)[4]
- Wackering Heights (1972, The Wackers)[8]
- Going Public (1977, Bruce Johnston)[9]
- "Sanctuary" (1984, Celestium)[10]
Songwriting
- "409" (1962, The Beach Boys)[1]
- "Lonely Sea" (1962, The Beach Boys)[11]
- "Ten Little Indians" (1962, The Beach Boys)[12]
- "In My Room" (1963, The Beach Boys)[1]
- "Malibu Sunset" (1963, The Beach Boys)
- "Beach Party" (1963, Frankie Avalon)[13]
- "Mag Wheels" (1963, Dick Dale and the Del-Tones)[14]
- "We'll Run Away" (1964, The Beach Boys)[15]
"Lets put the FunBack in Rock'n Roll" Co-written with Joseph NicolettiJr.(1986)GlobalVillageMusic(ascap)
- "Comin' On Too Strong" (1965, Wayne Newton)[16]
- "The Truth Is Not Real" (1968, Sagittarius)[17]
- "The Blue Marble" (1969, Sagittarius)[18]
- "Don't Give In to Him" (1969, Gary Puckett & The Union Gap)[19]
- "(Friend)Ships" (1971, Gary Usher)
- "Sanctuary" (1983, Celestium and later Laura Branigan and the J-Pop artist Reimy)[10]
- "Let's Go To Heaven In My Car" (1986, Brian Wilson)[20] (Note - Gary Usher's son, Gary Usher Jr., played the guitar solo)
- "Christmas Time" (1986, Brian Wilson)
References
- ^ a b c d e "Gary Usher Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
- ^ David N. Howard, Sonic Alchemy: Visionary Music Producers and Their Maverick Recordings, 2004, ISBN 147685209X: "Ever since Usher's early surf and hot rod days, he had been creating fictitious studio groups such as The Super Stocks and The Kickstands, imaginary bands to sate the hungry surf and hot rod record-buying audience."
- ^ "Gary Usher; Co-Writer of Beach Boys Hits". Los Angeles Times. 2 June 1990.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Colin Larkin, ed. (1992). The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 2565. ISBN 0-85112-939-0.
- ^ "Vinyl Album: Keith Allison - Keith Allison In Action (1967)". 45worlds.com. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
- ^ "Ann Davies – "An Esoteric Qabalistic Service" (1975, Gatefold, Vinyl)". Discogs.com. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
- ^ "The Ark - Chad & Jeremy | Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
- ^ "Wackering Heights - Wackers | Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
- ^ "Going Public - Bruce Johnston | Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
- ^ a b "Celestium - Sanctuary". 45cat.com. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
- ^ "Surfin' U.S.A. - The Beach Boys | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
- ^ "Surfin' Safari/Surfin' U.S.A. - The Beach Boys | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
- ^ "25 All-Time Greatest Hits - Frankie Avalon | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
- ^ "Mag Wheels - Dick Dale & His Del-Tones | Song Info". AllMusic. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
- ^ "All Summer Long - The Beach Boys | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
- ^ "Coming on Too Strong - Wayne Newton | Song Info". AllMusic. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
- ^ "Present Tense - Sagittarius | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
- ^ "The Blue Marble - Sagittarius | Song Info". AllMusic. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
- ^ "Greatest Hits [Deluxe] - Gary Puckett, Gary Puckett & the Union Gap | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
- ^ "Let's Go to Heaven in My Car - Brian Wilson | Song Info". AllMusic. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
Further reading
- McParland, Stephen J. (2000). The California Sound - An Insider's Story. The Musical Biography of Gary Lee Usher. CMusic Publishing. ASIN B006VXTC3Q.
- McParland, Stephen J. (2013). The Brian Wilson Project. Berlot. ISBN 978-2954483405.
External links
- Gary Usher at AllMusic
- Gary Usher at IMDb
| International | |
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| National | |
| Artists | |
| People | |
| Other | |
Categories:
- 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
- 20th-century American songwriters