By David "Chet" Williamson Sneade
“There's a world where I can go / And tell my secrets to / In my room / In my room ….”
The above words
are the opening lines to an international rock ‘n’ roll anthem. It’s time we reclaim
one of its authors as our own. Though born in Los Angeles
His name
is Gary Lee Usher, a prolific songwriter who is widely recognized as an
architect of the surf music. Along with Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys, Usher
co-authored the immortal “In My Room.”
According
to IMDb (Internet Movie Database), Usher was born on December
14, 1938 ,
and “grew up in New England . He attended Norcross Grammar School and graduated from Westborough High School Massachusetts
In high
school Usher was a well-liked and active student. He was called “Ush.” He liked
“convertibles, haircuts, cards, clothes, transmissions,” and his favorite
expression was “Oh, say now!”
Usher’s
activities were playing baseball, basketball, and in addition to writing for
the school paper, the Oriel, he worked
on the Yearbook, The Cotton Gin – named for another famous Westborough citizen,
Eli Whitney). Appropriately, his school epitaph read: “Race with the Devil.”
 |
| Usher's high school shot |
Absolutely
nothing is said about music. In a 1964 article in the Worcester Telegram, writer James Lee pointed out that Usher “had no
interest in music in his school days. He had a talent for art and he spent much
of his time on that. He even taught it in the lower grades.”
The
headline to the story read: “Former Bank Teller Here Becomes a Top Songwriter.”
Lee opened his piece with the question: “Like to hear a success story?”
Answering the question, he stated, “The subject is Gary Usher, who resigned as
a teller at the Worcester Five Cents Saving Bank three years ago to go to Hollywood
Lee also
noted that between 1963 and ’64 Usher published more than 150 songs, 100 of
which had already been recorded. At the time, his songs were recorded on more
than 40 albums and he was under contract to Capitol records as both a writer
and a singer. Usher was also committed to writing music for American
International Pictures. As Lee duly noted, “Not bad for a 24 year-old who never
had any musical education,”
Lee
reported that Usher became interested in music in 1958, a year after
graduation, while stationed in Korea
 |
| Pvt. Gary Lee Usher |
Returning
stateside, Usher was stationed at Ft. Devens Boston
After his
discharge in 1960, Usher moved to Los Angeles
In 1961,
Usher returned to Westborough and for six months worked at the Worcester Five
Cents Savings Bank. “Yearning to get into the musical mainstream, he left for
Los Angeles late in 1961,” Lee wrote, adding, “There he filled some minor
entertainment jobs, attended college, wrote music, pitched for the San
Francisco Giants’ farm teams and worked at the City National Bank in Beverly Hills.”
Lee contends
that Usher’s big break came in June, 1962. As legend has it, while visiting his
uncle’s home in Hawthorne Gary
In a 1971
interview with writer Gene Sculatti, Usher said, “I was a hot rod freak. I had
a 409. One day we were driving up to Los Angeles
“That was
the turning point,” Lee said. “Within a month Gary
“Dick
Dale and the Del Tones similarly prospered on Gary Gary
Ironically,
the two biggest songwriters of the surf music craze, Usher and Wilson
“When we
finished, it was late, after our midnight curfew. In fact, Murray Wilson Wilsons Murray
Usher
also offered his comments on what the song meant to Wilson Wilson
In his
short, action-packed life, Usher also
worked with an amazing array of artists such as Glenn Campbell, Gene Clark,
Dick Dale, Wayne Newton, Annette Funicello, Gram Parsons, and Chad &
Jeremy, among countless others. He produced three albums for the Byrds,
“Bookends” for Simon and Garfunkel, and is responsible for discovering Firesign
Theatre.
Usher
owned his own record label (Together Records), produced hundreds of sessions,
and as IMBd stated he became a major figure on the surf-rock scene. He was involved as a producer and/or songwriter
with many surf/hot-rod groups of the period which include the Hondells, the
Competitors, the Quads, the Road Runners, the Super Stocks, the Four Speeds,
the Silly Surfers, and the Surfaris.”
In the
1970s, Usher took time off from the music scene only to return in 1984 to
record Sanctuary, and in ’86 collaborated
on a session with old friend Wilson -- although, as of this writing, only "Let's Go to Heaven in My Car" has ever
been released. On May 25, 1990 , Usher died from cancer. He was 51.
For a complete picture of Usher see: The California Sound, an Insider's Story, the Musical Biography of Gary Usher by Stephen J. McParland
Gary Lee
Usher
DOB: December
14, 1938
(Los
Angeles
DOD: May
25, 1990 (Los Angeles
STANDARD
“In My
Room” by Usher and Brian Wilson
The Wikimedia
Foundation offers a few notable facts about “In My Room.” “It was released on
their 1963 album Surfer Girl. It was released as the B-side of the “Be True To
Your School” single. The single peaked at number six in the U.S.
Continuing
its take on the tune, the Foundation also noted that, “David Crosby (of the
Byrds and Crosby , Stills, Nash (and Young),
admitted to being an admirer of the song, quoting, “’In My Room,’ was the
defining point for me. When I heard it, I thought, ‘I give up – I can’t do that
– I’ll never be able to do that.’”
In 2001, Crosby , along with Jimmy Webb and Carly
Simon, got to sing a version of “In My Room” on “An All Star Tribute to Brian
Wilson.”
The song
is heard in the animated film Happy Feet
and a cover of “In My Room” appears on the soundtrack to the TV series, “Friends.”
As
performed by the Beach Boys
Brian
Wilson
Bill
Medley w/Phil Everly and Brian Wilson
Wilson
Phillips
Danny
Gatton
Tammy
Wynette
Grant Lee
Buffalo
Other popular
songs by Usher
“409” –
as performed by the Beach Boys
“Sacramento
Recommended
“Tomorrow”
– as performed by Gary Usher and Zane Ashton http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UiLynEFFfxA
“Lonely Sea
Usher
wrote hundreds of songs. Here are a list of others: “Barefoot Adventure,”
“Cactus Juice,” “C.C. Cinder,” “Cheater Slicks,” “Chug-A-Lug,” “Coney Island
Wild Child,” “Country Fair,” “Cuckoo Clock,” “Don’t Ever Leave Me,” “Don’t Give
Into Him,” “Draggin’ Deuce,” “Four n the Floor,” “Harder and Harder,” “Heads
You Win – Tails You Lose,” “Hot Rod
U.S.A.,” “Let’s Put the Fun Back in Rock ‘n’ Roll,” “Lonely Surfer Boy,” “Mag
Wheels,” “Milky Way,” “My Little Beach Bunny,” “My Little Surfin’ Woodie,” “My
Sting Ray,” “My World Fell Down,” “Nifty 50,” “Playmate of the Year,” “Pom Pom
Play Girl,” “Power Shift,” “RPM ,” “Ski Party,” “Soul Stompin’,”
“Sugar & Spice,” “Ten Little Indians,” “Three Surfer Boys,” “Tied Down,” “Truth
is Not Real,” “Twins,” “Wax, Board, and Woodie,” and “You Made a Believer Out of
Me,” among many others.
This is a work in progress. Comments, corrections,
and suggestions are always welcome. Write to walnutharmonicas@gmail.com Also see: www.jazzriffing.blogspot.com
Resources
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