Gary Usher

Gary Usher
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;
Occupation(s)	Songwriter, record producer
Years active	1960s–1990
Labels	Capitol; Columbia; Together; Lan-Cet;
Website	garyusher.com

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, etc.). 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 Sagittarius.

The Ghouls and Dracula’s Deuce

In 1964, Gary Usher, already known for his work in surf and hot rod music, ventured into the world of horror-themed novelty music with a studio project known as The Ghouls. Rather than being a formal band, The Ghouls were a studio ensemble under Usher's direction, primarily recorded as a one-off for the album Dracula's Deuce. The record blended surf rock with horror-comic themes and featured a mix of instrumental and vocal tracks. Each song leveraged macabre humor, with pun-filled titles like "The Little Old Lady from Transylvania" and "Be True to Your Ghoul," offering satirical nods to contemporaneous hits by Jan and Dean and the Beach Boys.^[3]

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.^[4] He was survived by his wife Sue, three sons and a daughter.

Selected discography

Production

Shut Down (1963, Various Artists)^[5]
Hits of the Street and Strip (1963, The Competitors)^[5]
Hot Rod City (1963, The Quads, The Grand Prix, The Customs)^[5]
The New Sounds of the Weird-Ohs (1964, The Weird-Ohs)^[5]
Hot Rod Hootenanny (1964, Mr. Gasser & the Weirdos)^[5]
Rods & Ratfinks (1964, Mr. Gasser & the Weirdos)^[5]
Surfink (1964, Mr. Gasser & the Weirdos)^[5]
Competition Coupe (1964, The Astronauts)^[5]
Thunder Road (1964, The Super Stocks)^[5]
Surf Route 101 (1964, The Super Stocks)^[5]
School Is A Drag (1964, The Super Stocks)^[5]
Go Little Honda (1964, The Hondells)^[5]
Hondells (1964, The Hondells)^[5]
The New Mustang and Other Hot Rod Hits (1964, The Road Runners)^[5]
The New Sounds of the Silly Surfers (1964, The Silly Surfers)^[5]
The New Sounds of the Weird-Ohs (1964, The Weird-Ohs)^[5]
Draculas' Deuce (1964, The Ghouls)^[5]
Music to Make Models By (1964, The Silly Surfers/ The Weird-Ohs)^[5]
The New Sounds of the Weird-Ohs (1964, The Weird-Ohs)^[5]
Hit City '65 (1965, The Surfaris)^[5]
It Ain't Me, Babe (1965, The Surfaris)^[5]
Go Sound of the Slots (1965, The Revells)^[5]
In Action (1966, Keith Allison)^[6]
An Esoteric Qabalistic Service (1966, Rev. Ann Davies with the Builders of the Adytum Choir)^[7]
Gene Clark with the Gosdin Brothers (1967, Gene Clark)^[5]
Younger Than Yesterday (1967, The Byrds)^[1]
The Peanut Butter Conspiracy Is Spreading (1967, The Peanut Butter Conspiracy)^[5]
Of Cabbages and Kings (1967, Chad & Jeremy)^[5]
The Great Conspiracy (1967, The Peanut Butter Conspiracy)^[5]
Present Tense (1968, Sagittarius)^[5]
The Ark (1968, Chad & Jeremy)^[8]
The Notorious Byrd Brothers (1968, The Byrds)^[1]
Waiting for the Electrician or Someone Like Him (1968, The Firesign Theatre)^[5]
Sweetheart of the Rodeo (1968, The Byrds)^[5]
Wackering Heights (1972, The Wackers)^[9]
Going Public (1977, Bruce Johnston)^[10]
"Sanctuary" (1984, Celestium)^[11]

Songwriting

"409" (1962, The Beach Boys)^[1]
"Lonely Sea" (1962, The Beach Boys)^[12]
"Ten Little Indians" (1962, The Beach Boys)^[13]
"In My Room" (1963, The Beach Boys)^[1]
"Beach Party" (1963, Frankie Avalon)^[14]
"Mag Wheels" (1963, Dick Dale and the Del-Tones)^[15]
"We'll Run Away" (1964, The Beach Boys)^[16]
"Comin' On Too Strong" (1965, Wayne Newton)^[17]
"The Truth Is Not Real" (1968, Sagittarius)^[18]
"The Blue Marble" (1969, Sagittarius)^[19]
"Don't Give In to Him" (1969, Gary Puckett & The Union Gap)^[20]
"(Friend)Ships" (1971, Gary Usher)
"Sanctuary" (1983, Celestium and later Laura Branigan and the J-Pop artist Reimy)^[11]
"Let's Go To Heaven In My Car" (1986, Brian Wilson)^[21] (Note - Gary Usher's son, Gary Usher Jr., played the guitar solo)
"Christmas Time" (1986, Brian Wilson)