© Stephen J. McParland
New York, with Tin Pan Alley and the Brill Building, was where the action was and the "scene" had been entrenched there ever since the '20s, '30s and '40s. However, by the '50s the popular music business had developed to such a stage that it was really a "business" and big business at that, yet along the way a lot of the energy and excitement had been lost. In many respects, a form of conservatism had crept in, even as some say to the point of staleness. The advent of rock and roll injected a youthful approach, but still the basic system remained intact.
What happened in Los Angeles during the period of 1960-1966 turned the entire American music industry upside down. A new breed of musician, song write, record producer and record executive was born and as a result, in only a few years the West Coast became the centre of activity for American music. Gary Usher was there from the beginning and aided by his own innate talents, he was able to maintain a position as one of the leaders of his new movement throughout those adventurous times. His partnership with head Beach Boy Brian Wilson helped mould The Beach Boys into the super stars they became and in fact it was through his efforts that the group was signed to Capitol Records (a pivotal point in The Beach Boys career) and Sea of Tunes, their multi-million dollar music publishing company, was born and retained by the group themselves.
Describing himself as "one of the few Californians born in California," Gary through sheer determination and support from a few close friends rose from total obscurity to become one of the West Coast's leading record producers, song writers and conceptualists. His music provided the foundation for a series of highly successful motion pictures, now known as "Beach Party Films" or "Beach Pictures" and these together with the music of the period helped spread the "California Myth" not only throughout America, but worldwide. These films became the visual interpretation of the music of the period, music that has been called "California Music," "The West Coast Sound," "Surf Music," "Hot-Rod Music" and Fun-In-The Sun Music."
Dennis Wilson of The Beach Boys (it can be argued) was the one person responsible for the advent of VOCAL surf music, but it was Gary (with assistance from Brian Wilson) who quickly shifted attention from the surf to the turf and realigned the teenage interest in hot-rod music.
A weekend drag racer himself, Gary nonchantly and jokingly sketched out a song called 409 (about a Chevy he wanted at the time) on the way to an auto parts store with Brian Wilson, not realising the composition would eventually become a national anthem of drag racing and hot-rodding. Issued as The Beach Boys' first single for Capitol Records, the song (b/w Surfin' Safari) climbed the charts and spawned a plethora of similarly concocted automobile odes. With a foothold established, it was not long before the "Hollywood" connection was made and Gary's music was soon in demand as soundtrack material for the new emerging "Beach Party Film" genre. His contributions graced seven major motion pictures (including two complete motion picture scores - THE GIRLS ON THE BEACH and SKI PARTY) and were ideal proof that he had both the surf music and hot-rod music markets cornered.
As a further example of the Usher-productivity, during the period from October 1962 to November 1965, thirty record albums featuring ACTIVE involvement from Gary (in the form of song writer-producer-arranger-vocalist) were issued! An additional dozen more bore his name only as a song writer. In addition to these somewhat astounding figures are his 45rpm releases - sixty-nine in sixty-nine months (from March 1961 to December 1966). Then there are his productions from 1967 - 1989!
However, due to various music publishing and recording contracts, not all of these releases actually bore the Usher moniker. Although given permission to "freelance," the use of "group names" was developed and this procedure effectively confined the name of Gary Usher to the background (as far as the general public and casual observer was concerned). As a consequence, the reply, "Who?" is often encountered when the name of Gary Usher is mentioned. Gary's own reluctance to pursue a high profile and to establish a recognised image was a further factor responsible for this "public" anonymity.
With the completion of THE CALIFORNIA SOUND - An Insider's Story, the full tale is at last uncovered. Not only are the full and elaborate details exposed for the first time, so too is the workings of the burgeoning Los Angeles music industry. What it was like, the excitement, the identities, the "sharks," the failures and the hits. Everything is covered in the utmost detail, particularly the reasoning and feelings of those actively involved in the birth of a new music business.
For Beach Boys fans, a wealth of newly discovered facts and insights is also an important feature. Gary and Brian Wilson's personal and working relationship is examined closely, as is his relationship with another great of the California music scene, Jan Berry, the creative force behind the successful duo Jan & Dean. An entire chapter is devoted to the documentation of the Usher-Wilson-Berry relationship.
Likewise, the complete story of The Hondells, one of only a handful of California bands of the musical genre to achieve more than one national hit, is covered in full for the first time, as is the unusual situation of The Surfaris and their work for Decca Records. The Hondells were the only group to achieve worldwide success (courtesy of Gary Usher) with a song (the now classic Little Honda) also written and performed by The Beach Boys. The Hondells' version actually exllipsed The Beach Boys' original!
For the first time ever, the surf music and hot-rod music period of American popular music is thoroughly dissected. The how, when, where and why the musical genre was so successful is discussed intimately, all woven around the musical biography and discography of one of its major protagonists.
Although Gary Usher is/was not generally known outside of the musical hierarchy, the respect of his peers and an appreciation of his talents saw him employed by a number of major record companies. His first taste of executive and managerial duties was at Decca Records where he was recruited to inject some youth oriented panache into their West Coast operation (now the huge multinational M.C.A. conglomerate). As Decca's only A&R producer of contemporary music on the West Coast, Gary was present when the music began to change. As the images of cars, surf and suntanned bikini-clad beach bunnies began to fade, new sounds and new groups were born. "Folk Rock" replaced "Surf Rock" and as expected, Gary Usher was at the forefront. His musical productions for Decca Records during the 1965-1966 period mirrored the gamut of contemporary popular music. He signed The Sons of Adam, one of the first long haired rock groups to be given a recording contract on the West Coast (and for that matter the East Coast) and now the focus of a cult following. During his tenure at Decca, Gary also continued his song writing duties which up to 1989 amounted to over six hundred published and unpublished songs, most of which were subsequently recorded.
Between 1962 and 1969, Gary was able to claim twenty-four national chart singles and over twenty albums (with three turning Gold), even though a good proportion of his released product remained sleepers - records which have sold consistently over an extended period of time, thus escaping the chart record system. One of his first major chart successes was with THE BEATLES' STORY for Capitol Records. For this, which he co-produced with his longtime song writing partner Roger Christian, he received a Gold Album award. No easy task considering it was a double album set, not a common packaging concept at the time. It was also The Beatles' first double album!
After leaving Decca Records in late 1964, Gary took on a position at Columbia Records, occupying a similar role and undertaking similar duties to his work at Decca. At the time, Columbia was attempting to broaden their scope and Gary's involvement in the overall scheme of things was to prove highly successful. While employed as an A&R producer, he was able to achieve his most critically acclaimed successes, single-handedly resurrecting The Byrds from commercial and creative limbo by producing their most highly respected record albums - YOUNGER THAN YESTERDAY, THE NOTORIOUS BYRD BROTHERS and SWEETHEART OF THE RODEO. With the latter he was also responsible for spearheading what has since become known as "Country Rock." His efforts with the group earned him a Gold Award album for THE BYRDS' GREATEST HITS.
Also during this period, a number of motion pictures were released with Usher contributions - THREE IN THE ATTIC, HOMER, DON'T MAKE WAVES and the hugely successful and cult classic, EASY RIDER.
Gary's sorjourn at Columbia Records spanned the psychedelic years and his work with The Peanut Butter Conspiracy (one of the first psych-bands of the time) produced one of the first psych-hits in the form of It's A Happening Thing. Other productions with Simon and Garfunkel, Gene Clark, Keith Allison, Chad and Jeremy and the underground and critical successes of Sagittarius and The Millennium were equally progressive. The signing of The Firesign Theater to a recording contract with the label was another particularly good example of the astute Usher judgement. Apart from providing Columbia with a sizeable commercial return over the years, The Firesign Theater went on to successfully carve out a name for themselves in the annals of satirical spoken word and comedy.
In early 1969, Gary finally severed his ties with Columbia and in partnership with Curt Boettcher and Keith olsen, he formed Together Records, one of the first artist-oriented labels. It was a short-lived exercise, but one that produced and interesting variety of material.
After Together wound up operation (a result of financial difficulties experienced by its parent company, Transcontinental Entertainment Corporation, presided over by Mike Curb), Gary was hired to fill the position of vice president of contemporary music at R.C.A. Records, a role he pursued until he accepted an offer from Jac Holzman of Elektra Records. This new production venture and other more freelance activities carried him through to the end of the seventies, a period that waw him once again work with the likes of Terry Melcher, Mike Curb, Bruce Johnston and Brian Wilson. The project that united all the patriarchs of the "California Sound" was the "super group" California and the reasons why it never got off the ground are explained in graphic detail. So too are Gary's productions with one of the first "power pop" bands to hit the charts - The Wackers. Although not as successful as everyone had hoped, the group nonetheless led the way for a revitalisation in rock that epitomised the early to mid seventies. Both Bob Segarini and Randy Bishop, tow of the group's leading lights, went on to pursue successful solo careers.
By the late seventies, Gary had succumbed to a desire to maintain a new lifestyle detached from the music industry while he pursued more esoteric pursuits, but it was to be a short-lived sabbatical. With an ever increasing urge to share the new music he was feeling in his heart and was hearing in his head, the Celestium project was born, followed by an album in 1983.
By the time Celestium's SANTUARY album was in the stores, Gary found himself once again involved in the music industry, an involvement that over the ensuing years would find him not only working with his old song writing buddy, Brian Wilson (the subject of the book THE WILSON PROJECT), but once again providing music for a "Beach Party" styled film, Frankie Avalon's BACK TO THE BEACH. Gary's work on the soundtrack with old time friend and master guitarist Dick Dale earned him a Grammy nomination.
The mid eighties also saw Gary deeply involved in contemporary music, working with the likes of Laura Branigan, Bill Champlin and Jason Scheff of Chicago, Gary Richrath of R.E.O. Speedwagon, Wayne Nelso of The Little River Band and successful songwriters, Tom Kelly, Billy Steinberg, Gardner Cole, Michael Bradley, Jeff Silbar, etc.
THE CALIFORNIA SOUND - An Insider's Story tells the full story of Gary Usher the musical creator, but it also tells more. It tells the story of California music. As it changed, so too did Gary Usher. This story is not only told in Gary's own words, but also by others actively involved. All statements made are made by those who WERE THERE and not by some newspaper reporter, hack journalist or writer some 30 years after the fact. There are no conjectures here, only facts and facts substantiated by facts. If you want a definitive book on the California sound and Gary Usher, then this is the book for you.
To accompnay the text are complete discographies of released and unreleased material, together with definitive notes. In addition, the photographic collections of numerous identities from the period have been opened and the great majority of all photographs featured in the book have never been seen before. Photos of such groups as The Four Speeds and The Sunsets (just two of interest to Beach Boys fans) will be included, photos that were thought not to exist!
In conclusion, THE CALIFORNIA SOUND - An Insider's Story is a storehouse of musical wealth and knowledge and an important chronicle of American popular music. All it now needs is a publisher wise and willing to see the merit of its worth.
Check out the chapter by chapter synopsis of
THE CALIFORNIA SOUND - An Insider's Story.