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 |
| Occupation(s) | Songwriter, record producer |
| Associated acts | |
| Website | www |
Gary Usher (December 14, 1938 – May 25, 1990) was an American rock musician, songwriter, and record producer.
Usher's early life was spent in Grafton, Massachusetts. He attended Norcross Grammar School with his sister, Sandra. Gary was kiddingly called "Chicken Feed" by his male classmates. He graduated from high school in Westborough, Massachusetts in 1957.
Though a musician in a number of California bands in the late 1950s, Usher gained notice in the early 1960s, writing and producing a number of hits for various surf rock artists. He was the earliest outside collaborator of The Beach Boys' Brian Wilson, a Hawthorne, California neighbor of his uncle, co-writing more than ten songs (among them "In My Room", "409", and "Lonely Sea"). According to Beach Boys biographer Steven Gaines, Wilson's domineering father Murry Wilson clashed with Usher and discouraged Usher's close personal friendship and working relationship with his son. Usher later recalled that the nicest thing Murry Wilson ever said to him was "not bad, Usher, not bad" upon hearing Usher and Brian Wilson play "In My Room" after they had co-written it.
Usher also produced fictitious surf groups or hot rod groups mixing studio session musicians with his own troops (Chuck Girard, Dick Burns and others). Later in the decade, he produced records for The Byrds, Peanut Butter Conspiracy, Dick Dale, and Sons of Adam, as well as being the force behind a number of "studio-created" bands, including The Hondells, The Super Stocks, and Sagittarius. He also made varying attempts to record vocal sides for himself (including two co-produced by Brian Wilson: "That's Just the Way I Feel" b/w "Sacramento). His second record, "Tomorrow" (regarded by some music historians as the forerunner to the surf/hotrod genre of rock n' roll) b/w "Lies", was written and produced by Zane Ashton (aka Bill Aken), another young artist who was on the Lan-Cet Record Label at the same time. Usher also discovered the comedy group The Firesign Theatre, using them on several of his projects for Columbia Records and producing their first album.
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