Gary Usher – Barefoot Adventure The 4 Star Sessions 1962-66

Gary Lee Usher (December 14, 1938 – May 25, 1990)[1] 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 (the Go-Go's) or hot rod groups, mixing studio session musicians with his own troops (Chuck Girard, Dick Burns and others). These bands included the Super-Stocks, with the hot-rod song "Midnight Run", and the Kickstands.

Gary Usher's importance in the history of California rock is considerable. He co-wrote several of the Beach Boys' early songs with Brian Wilson, including classics like "In My Room" and "409," and produced the Byrds' Younger Than Yesterday and Notorious Byrd Brothers albums. He was also an occasional performer.

"One of the most stubborn myths of revisionist musical history is this: the early '60s were the Dark Ages of American pop, a sad and embarrassing era of prefab teen idols and silly dance crazes that was put out of its misery by the British Invasion.

In reality, strange and wonderful things were happening with American music in the months before The Beatles met Ed Sullivan, creative big bangs that continued to evolve for decades to come.

In Detroit, Berry Gordy was defining the Motown Sound, while Stax and James Brown were inventing soul music. At 1650 Broadway, the Aldon table of songwriters was bringing sophistication to teen pop, while The Four Seasons reinvented group harmony. And in California, where America's youth culture was being born, a trio of songwriters–Brian Wilson, Roger Christian and Gary Usher–were drawing up the blueprints for the West Coast sound.

This collection explores Gary Usher's tenure as co-architect of the happiest pop music ever written, a guileless celebration of sun, surf and cars that's become an enduring symbol of the American dream.

Barefoot Adventure does more than simply collect a bunch of songs that sound great on the car radio and mean exactly what they say (take that, psychedelic music!). It's also a remarkable glimpse of the process, of a struggling songwriter angling for a break, sometimes tapdancing in tangents, oblivious to the bullseye he was hitting on the way

to forging an important new sound.

So here's the whole story, 36 terrific tracks, including exclusive Sundazed interviews with Usher himself, with an illuminating essay and track commentary by author and Usher-biographer Stephen McParland. It's musical scholarship that's perfect for parties!

We're not sure if this is history masquerading as fun, or vice-versa, but we're definitely sure that it's fun. Which, in the end, is all that matters." ~  sundazed.com

CD1

1.Gary Usher - R.P.M. (The Four Speeds) (2:35)

2.Gary Usher (The Sunsets) - My Little Surfin' Woodie (2:02)

3.Gary Usher (The Four Speeds) - Barefoot Adventure (1:45)

4.Gary Usher (The Four Speeds) - Four on the Floor (2:25)

5.Gary Usher (The Four Speeds) - Cheater Slicks (1:59)

6.Gary Usher (The Sunsets) - C.C. Cinder (2:09)

7.Gary Usher (The Sunsets) - The Chug-a-Lug (2:21)

8.Gary Usher Interview, Pt. 1: The Four Speeds and the Sunsets - Gary Usher Interview, Pt. 1: The Four Speeds and the Sunsets (1:33)

9.Gary Usher  (The Sunsets) - My Little Beach Bunny (2:04)

10.Gary Usher  (The Sunsets) - Playmate of the Year (1:59)

11.Gary Usher  (The Sunsets) - Lonely Surfer Boy (1:58)

12.Gary Usher - Soul Stompin' (2:41)

13.Gary Usher - Nifty '50 (1:39)

14.Gary Usher - Power Shift (2:01)

15.Gary Usher - Mag Wheels (2:16)

16.Gary Usher Interview, Pt. 2: Drag Racing and Hot Rod Songs - Gary Usher Interview, Pt. 2: Drag Racing and Hot Rod Songs (2:53)

17.Gary Usher  (The Four Speeds) - My Sting Ray (1:56)

18.Gary Usher  (The Competitors) - 426 Super Stock (1:53)

CD2

19.Gary Usher - Wax, Board and Woodie (1:49)

20.Gary Usher - Draggin' Deuce (2:02)

21.Gary Usher - '54 Corvette (1:55)

22.Gary Usher (The Sunsets) - My Little Surfin' Woodie (2:02)

23.Gary Usher Interview, Pt. 3: In the Studio - Gary Usher Interview, Pt. 3: In the Studio (1:14)

24.Gary Usher - R.P.M. (2:41)

25.Gary Usher  (The Four Speeds) - Barefoot Adventure (1:52)

26.Gary Usher - Cactus Juice (2:25)

27.Gary Usher - Coney Island Wild Child (2:02)

28.Gary Usher - Sugar and Spice (2:41)

29.Gary Usher - Twins (2:21)

30.Gary Usher & The Usherettes - Milky Way (1:40)

31.Gary Usher - Quicksand (2:10)

32.Gary Usher Interview, Pt. 4: Writing and Producing - Gary Usher Interview, Pt. 4: Writing and Producing (0:56)

33.Gary Usher - You Made a Believer Out of Me (With the Honeys) (1:53)

34.Gary Usher (With the Honeys) - Waiting for the Day (1:49)

35.Gary Usher - Tied Down (2:08)

36.Gary Usher - Harder and Harder (1:46)

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