Gary Usher


Gary Lee Usher 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 associates. These bands included the Super Stocks, the Kickstands, 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.

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. He was survived by his wife Sue, three sons and a daughter.

Selected discography

Production

  • Shut Down
  • Hits of the Street and Strip
  • Hot Rod City
  • The New Sounds of the Weird-Ohs
  • Hot Rod Hootenanny
  • Rods & Ratfinks
  • Surfink
  • Competition Coupe
  • Thunder Road
  • Surf Route 101
  • School Is A Drag
  • Go Little Honda
  • Hondells
  • The New Mustang and Other Hot Rod Hits
  • The New Sounds of the Silly Surfers
  • The New Sounds of the Weird-Ohs
  • Draculas' Deuce
  • Music to Make Models By
  • The New Sounds of the Weird-Ohs
  • Hit City '65
  • It Ain't Me, Babe
  • Go Sound of the Slots
  • In Action
  • An Esoteric Qabalistic Service
  • Gene Clark with the Gosdin Brothers
  • Younger Than Yesterday
  • The Peanut Butter Conspiracy Is Spreading
  • Of Cabbages and Kings
  • The Great Conspiracy
  • Present Tense
  • The Ark
  • The Notorious Byrd Brothers
  • Waiting for the Electrician or Someone Like Him
  • Sweetheart of the Rodeo
  • Wackering Heights
  • Going Public
  • "Sanctuary"

    Songwriting

  • "409"
  • "Lonely Sea"
  • "Ten Little Indians"
  • "In My Room"
  • "Beach Party"
  • "Mag Wheels"
  • "We'll Run Away"
  • "Comin' On Too Strong"
  • "The Truth Is Not Real"
  • "The Blue Marble"
  • "Don't Give In to Him"
  • "Ships"
  • "Sanctuary"
  • "Let's Go To Heaven In My Car"
  • "Christmas Time"