Gary Usher was a songwriter, musician, and producer/arranger who was instrumental in the explosive birth of the Sixties surf'n'drag movement. Hot rod music in particular would not have taken off without the lyrics, melodies and massive ambition of Gary Usher. With longtime friend Brian Wilson he co-wrote the Beach Boys classics In My Room and 409, the latter sparking the entire California-based hot rod music scene. During the early- to mid-Sixties he wrote hundreds of surf and hot rod songs, many with his friend and fellow car-nut, Los Angeles deejay Roger Christian. By the mid-Sixties, with hot rod music on the wane, he moved on to other pop writing and producing ventures. Early 1967 found him at Columbia Records, where he produced the three most ambitious Byrds albums: "Younger Than Yesterday," "The Notorious Byrd Brothers" and "Sweetheart Of The Rodeo." He would also produce songs and albums for such artists as Chad & Jeremy, Firesign Theater, Gene Clark, the Peanut Butter Conspiracy, Sagittarius, and others. He dropped out of the music business in the Seventies, but returned in the mid-Eighties to work with former cohorts, including Brian Wilson. Gary Usher died too soon, of cancer in May, 1990.
This page is dedicated to the memory of Gary Usher Sr., and has been established with the full support of his son, Gary Usher Jr. You can contact Gary Jr. and House Of Usher Productions at his band's websites: Here at www.myspace.com/sprayface and also at www.sprayface.com.
The definitive website dedicated to Gary Usher is located at www.garyusher.com. There you will find an extensive discography and other items of significant interest to fans of Gary Usher and his music. It's not our intent to duplicate that site, but to complement it, and hopefully introduce the great Gary Usher to some new fans in the process.
The Work He Did -- A Partial List:
LPs with extensive Usher involvement (functioning in various combinations of producer, co-producer, arranger, artist or writer) includes but is not limited to the following, alphabetically: Keith Allison ("Keith Allison In Action," Columbia, 1967), Frankie Avalon ("Muscle Beach Party And Other Motion Picture Songs," United Artists, 1964), the Byrds ("Younger Than Yesterday," "The Notorious Byrd Brothers" and Sweetheart Of The Rodeo" (all Columbia, "Younger..." 1967, others 1968), Chad Stuart And Jeremy Clyde ("Of Cabbages And Kings," Columbia, 1967, and "The Ark," Columbia, 1968 [as Chad And Jeremy]), Gene Clark ("Gene Clark With The Gosdin Brothers," Columbia, 1966), the Competitors ("Hits Of The Street & Strip," Dot, 1963), Dick Dale ("Checkered Flag" and "Mr. Eliminator," both Capitol, 1963 and 1964), the Firesign Theater ("Waiting For The Electrician Or Someone Like Him," Columbia, 1967), Annette Funicello ("Annette's Beach Party," and "Muscle Beach Party," both Buena Vista, 1963 and 1964), the Ghouls ("Dracula's Deuce," Capitol, 1964), the Grads ("The Wild One," Mercury, 1964), the Hondells (self-titled LP and "Go Little Honda," both Mercury, 1964), the Kickstands ("Black Boots And Bikes," Capitol, 1964), the Knights ("Hot Rod High," Capitol, 1964), Mr. Gasser & The Weirdos ("Hot Rod Hootenanny" and "Rods'n'Ratfinks," both Capitol, 1963 and 1964), the Revells ("The Go Sound of the Slots, Reprise, 1964), the Road Runners ("The New Mustang," London, 1964), the Super Stocks ("Thunder Road," "Surf Route 101," and "School Is A Drag," all Capitol, 1964), the Surfaris ("Hit City '65" and "It Ain't Me Babe," both Decca, 1965), the Silly Surfers ("The Sounds Of The Silly Surfers," Mercury, 1964), the Weird-ohs ("The Sounds Of The Weird-ohs," Mercury, 1964), the Peanut Butter Conspiracy ("Is Spreading" and "The Great Conspiracy," both Columbia, 1967 and 1968), Sagittarius ("Present Tense," Columbia, 1968) and more.
Various artists compilation LPs with extensive Usher involvement (as producer, co-producer, arranger and/or writer or artist or a combination thereof) included "Shut Down" (Capitol, 1963), "Hot Rod Rally" (Capitol, 1963), â€Hot Rod City" (Vault, 1963), and "Big Hot Rod Hits" (Capitol, 1963); also "Sky Party" movie soundtrack (AIP, 1965).
Singles which contained songs Usher either produced, arranged or wrote (often in combination) were released by the following artists. This list, organized alphabetically, is far from complete: Frankie Avalon, the Beach Boys (he co-wrote 409 and In My Room with longtime friend Brian Wilson), Don Brandon, the Buddies, The Byrds, the Castells, Chad And Jeremy, Gene Clark, the Competitors, the Devons, the Forte Four, the Four Speeds, Annette Funicello, the Go-Gos, the Grand Prix, Keith Green, the Hondells, the Knights, the L.A. Teens, Donna Loren, Mr. Gasser & The Weirdos, the Neptunes, Wayne Newton, the Peanut Butter Conspiracy, the Pyramids, the Quads, the Road Runners, the Roadsters, the Sunsets, Lloyd Thaxton, the Toads, Sagittarius, Bobby Sherman, the Sons Of Adam, Spiral Starecase, the Super Stocks, the Surfaris, the Timers, the Tri-Fives, Gary Usher & the Usherettes, the Weird-Ohs, the Wheel Men, Brian Wilson, and many more.
