I never met Gary Usher, but
his music was a great influence on my teenaged years in the 1960s.
Spending Saturday afternoons mowing the lawn then washing and waxing the
car while listening to the radio play Gary Usher and Brian Wilson penned
songs like "409" and "In My Room" was part of growing up in California's
San Joaquin Valley. Like most of my friends who dug the California
sound of surf and hot rod music, we wondered what happened to Gary Usher
during the Seventies. In the early Eighties we briefly heard from
Usher unfortunately for the last time. Along with a small group of
musicians recording as Celestium, they released the album "Sanctuary.”
Additionally, Usher produced the motion picture soundtrack for Frankie
and Annette’s reunion, "Back to The Beach." Usher disappeared so
much from the visible music scene that I don't even recall reading about
his untimely death in May of 1990.
To be honest, I had completely
forgotten about Gary Usher until several years ago when I read Stephen
J. McParland's book detailing Usher's studio work with Brian Wilson during
late 1986 and early 1987. Although these important sessions have
not been legitimately released, they paved the way for Wilson's first solo
album in 1988. Reading McParland's book made me mad! Mad about
how such a great musician and producer like Gary Usher was treated by others
throughout these sessions. But Usher, the consummate professional,
endured it as long as he could due to his love for his longtime friend,
Brian Wilson.
I reconnected so much with Usher's
music that I grew up on, I wanted to know more about the man who co-wrote
so many memorable songs with Brian Wilson, created studio groups like The
Hondells and Sagittarius, and produced The Byrds and Simon and Garfunkel.
The problem was I couldn't find anything, not even on the information laden
Internet. So I undertook the task to create a small page on the Internet
devoted to the musical legacy of Gary Usher. But preserving the legacy
of Gary Usher on the Internet just isn't enough.
One of the more common questions
I receive is “when will we see more of Gary Usher's material released?”
To this point, Sundazed Records of Coxsackie, New York has been the most
prominent domestic reissue label making Usher's catalog available to the
masses. For a while, One Way Records had the complete Superstocks
and Weird-Ohs catalogs available on compact disc.
Last year, the Usher family utilized
the services of Gary Usher biographer Stephen J. McParland to catalog all
the musical archives owned by the Usher estate. The first fruits
of McParland's archiving were seen last year when the Usher estate licensed
to Varèse Saraband's Varèse Vintage label, two Usher
produced instrumentals. Recorded by The Tri-Five (Carl Wilson, Dennis
Wilson, Gary Usher, Richie Burns, and Randy Thomas), "Come and Get
It" and "Like Chop” were part of Varèse’s reissue of The Beach Boys'
famous Hite Morgan sessions.
The impetus behind the licensing
of The Tri-Five recordings is Usher's name sake and son, Gary Usher, Jr.
A musician and producer in his own right, Usher is the first recognize
that even though his father's music is timeless, the master tape recordings
from sessions as long as forty years ago don't have much more time before
they begin to deteriorate.
I recently had the opportunity
to discuss with Gary Usher, Jr. just what his tentative plans are to preserve
his father's musical legacy for future generations to enjoy. Working
under the same production company name that his father created years ago,
House of Usher Productions, Usher recently licensed to the Japanese market,
three Gary Usher produced albums: Curt Boettcher's "California: Passionfruit,”
Sagittarius' second album "Blue Marble,” and for the first time ever released
in any form, the Gary Usher produced "Symphonic Tribute to Brian Wilson.”
This last album recently hit the number one Oldies spot in Japan.
Besides licensing Gary Usher recordings
in Japan and possibly the European markets, House of Usher has not forgotten
the American fans. Usher states that he currently has offers from
U.S. labels to issue the three previously mentioned albums that are currently
only available on the Dreamsville label in Japan. But the issuing
of his father's musical material will not stop there.
Besides negotiating with domestic
labels to release these first three Usher produced albums, the biggest
project that Gary Usher, Jr. has on his list is to get the so-called “Wilson
Project” sessions from 1986 finally released. Usher describes these
demos from sessions between his father and Brian Wilson as basically “homework
sessions” to get Wilson back into the studio for the first time in almost
ten years. Although some of these sessions have surfaced over the
years, none have been legitimately licensed from House of Usher Productions,
the owner of the recordings. Even though considered strictly high
quality demos, Gary Usher was such a studio perfectionist that the demos
stand on their own as highly listenable music
House of Usher would also like
to release the entire Together Records catalog plus other Gary Usher produced
albums. Some of the albums being considered for release for the first
time ever or on compact disc include: Gary Usher and Dick Campbell’s
unreleased “Shadow of A Doubt” album, unreleased Dick Dale material, and
The Byrds “Preflyte” album. Usher states that he is also considering
releasing demos written and created by his father while signed as a writer
for both Four Star and Beechwood Music. The House of Usher archives
also include material that Usher created as soundtracks for American International
Picture’s beach party films. In his studio, Gary Usher, Jr. is also
creating test discs for possible compilations of his father’s timeless
music from the Sixties, Seventies, and Eighties. Other long range
projects might include a book about learning from and working with his
father and a possible video documentary depicting his father’s career.
There is much available in the
House of Usher archives. Most of which we have heard, but some has
never seen the light of day. The Usher family is even considering
creating their own label if deals cannot be established with domestic labels.
But time is of the essence. Master tapes cannot last forever.
Rest assured, with Gary Usher, Jr. at the helm, he will find the proper
sanctuary for his father’s music and legacy to live on for future generations
to enjoy.
For more information on House
of Usher Productions, contact info@garyusher.com