Gary Usher

Gary Usher (December 14, 1938 – May 25, 1990) was an American surf rock musician, songwriter, and record producer.

Biography

Usher's early life was spent in Grafton, Massachusetts. He attended Norcross Grammar School with his sister, Sandra, who was in the same class and was likely his twin. 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 also produced a lot of 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, 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...
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