Dionne WordPress Banner

The Second Disc

Expanded and Remastered Music News

  • Home
  • News
    • Classic Rock
    • Rock
    • Pop
    • Jazz
    • Popular Standards/Vocal
    • R&B/Soul
    • Country
    • Folk
    • Cast Recordings
    • Soundtracks
    • Everything Else
      • Classical/Opera
      • Disco/Dance
      • Funk
      • Gospel
      • Rap/Hip-Hop
  • Features
    • Release Round-Up
    • The Weekend Stream
    • Giveaways!
    • Interviews
  • Reviews
    • Classic Rock
    • Rock
    • Pop
    • Jazz
    • Popular Standards/Vocal
    • R&B/Soul
    • Country
    • Folk
    • Cast Recordings
    • Soundtracks
    • Everything Else
      • Classical/Opera
      • Disco/Dance
      • Funk
      • Gospel
      • Rap/Hip-Hop
  • Release Calendar
    • Coming Soon
    • Now Available
  • About
  • Second Disc Records
    • Full Catalog
  • Contact

/ Gary Usher

January 4, 2023 By The Second Disc 13 Comments

gold cd2

Happy 2023!  Welcome, friends, to The Second Disc's 13th Annual Gold Bonus Disc Awards! A lot has happened in the last twelve months, but as we look to a new year with optimism and a hopeful spirit, we recognize the many roles music has played in our lives.  With that spirit in mind, The Second Disc wishes to recognize 2022's cream of the catalogue music crop - those exemplary reissues and box sets, big and small, that proved to be truly outstanding for music lovers worldwide.  Despite the

Continue Reading

Categories: Features Formats: Box Sets, CD, Digital Download, Digital Streaming, SACD, Vinyl Genre: Cast Recordings, Classic Rock, Classical/Opera, Pop, Popular Standards/Vocal, R&B/Soul, Rock, Soundtracks Tags: Barbra Streisand, Bob Crewe, Cheap Trick, Daryl Hall, Dean Torrence, Debbie Gibson, Frank Zappa, Gary Usher, John Williams, Little Feat, Madonna, Nancy Sinatra, Neil Sedaka, Paul McCartney, Sheena Easton, Swing Out Sister, The Beach Boys, The Beatles, The Boston Pops, Tom Petty, Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers, Tony Christie, Wilco

August 15, 2022 By Joe Marchese 4 Comments

Gary Usher Happy in Hollywood

Ace's long-running Songwriters and Producers series has recently yielded two stellar entries celebrating two gentlemen equally versed in both crafts: Gary Usher and Bob Crewe.  Part One of our Ace Round-Up today looks at Happy in Hollywood: The Productions of Gary Usher. Gary Usher (1938-1992) would have gone down in pop history as one of his neighborhood pal Brian Wilson's earliest collaborators, penning lyrics for both a popular hot rod tune ("409") and one of Wilson's most introspective,

Continue Reading

Categories: News Formats: CD Genre: Pop Tags: Brian Wilson, Curt Boettcher, Gary Usher, Keith Allison, Sagittarius, The Byrds, The Castells, The Hondells, Various Artists

November 7, 2019 By Joe Marchese 2 Comments

Curt Boettcher Looking for the Sun

High Moon Records' new collection from Curt Boettcher and Friends, Looking for the Sun, takes its title from a 1968 Boettcher production for singer-songwriter Gordon Alexander. Given Boettcher's participation, one might expect the song to be a dreamy SoCal pop fantasia with richly layered harmonies. But instead it's a rather sparse, dark rumination with an acid coffeehouse feel. Alexander, in the song at least, doesn't find the sun, and arguably, neither did Curt Boettcher in his lifetime. But

Continue Reading

Categories: News, Reviews Formats: CD, Vinyl Genre: Pop Tags: Curt Boettcher, Eddie Hodges, Gary Usher, Gordon Alexander, Sandy Salisbury, The Millennium, Various Artists

May 22, 2015 By Joe Marchese 3 Comments

Here Today The Songs of Brian Wilson

2015 has been a banner year for Brian Wilson.  The Beach Boys legend has already released a new album, is currently preparing for a tour with Searching for Sugar Man cult hero Rodriguez, and will next month see the full release in theatres of his biopic Love and Mercy.  Ace Records is joining the celebration with the June 29 U.K. release (July 10 in the U.S.) of Here Today! The Songs of Brian Wilson. One of Ace's first releases in its Songwriters and Producers Series was 2003's Pet Projects:

Continue Reading

Categories: News Formats: CD Genre: Pop, R&B/Soul Tags: Bobby Vee, Brian Wilson, Bruce and Terry, Carmen McRae, Gary Usher, Hugo Montenegro, Jay and the Americans, Nick DeCaro, The Beach Boys, The Tokens

March 11, 2015 By Joe Marchese Leave a Comment

Sessions 64

  What do Brian Wilson, MC Lyte and Sam Phillips have in common? All three are among the artists and producers represented on Omnivore Recordings’ trio of delicious vinyl offerings for this April 18’s upcoming Record Store Day! Sessions ’64!! is so exciting that no less than two exclamation points will do!! This groovy 10-inch slab of translucent gold vinyl transports listeners back to 1964. It includes nine tracks produced by Brian Wilson and Jimmy Bowen for the Warner Bros. and

Continue Reading

Categories: News Formats: Vinyl Genre: Pop, Rap/Hip-Hop, Rock Tags: Brian Wilson, Gary Usher, MC Lyte, Pugwash, Record Store Day, Sam Phillips, The Honeys

Upcoming Releases

  • Sheena Easton Modern Girl
    Modern Girl: The Complete EMI Recordings, Vol. 1
    Sheena Easton
    May 23, 2025
    US UK
  • Version 1.0.0
    Natural Gas: Original Master Edition
    Natural Gas
    May 30, 2025
    US UK
  • Grateful Dead The Music Never Stopped
    The Music Never Stopped
    Grateful Dead
    May 30, 2025
    US UK
See Full Calendar

Connect

  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 4,676 other subscribers

Popular Posts

  • Most Commented
  • Most Viewed
  • Dionne Warwick Make It Easy on Yourself(Don't) Walk On By: Dionne Warwick's "Make It Easy on Yourself: The Scepter Recordings 1962-1971" Due in June on 12...
  • Tracks II CD packshot no disc artShut Out the Light: Bruce Springsteen Offers Seven Unheard Albums on 'Tracks II'
  • Rod Stewart Ultimate Hits Amazon exclusiveHe Wears It Well: Rod Stewart's 'Ultimate Hits' Due in June
  • RSD 2025 best of restRecord Store Day 2025: The Best of the Rest
  • record store day logoThe Second Disc's Guide to Record Store Day 2025: Our Favorite Picks
  • John Williams Anthology 1Mondo Maestro: New John Williams Box Set Series Announced, Plus 'Star Wars' Re-Recordings on Vinyl

Music Resources

  • Addicted to Vinyl
  • Crap from the Past
  • Discogs
  • Film Score Monthly
  • IMWAN Forum – From the Vaults
  • MusicTAP
  • Musoscribe
  • Pause & Play
  • Popdose
  • Slicing Up Eyeballs
  • Steve Hoffman Music Forums
  • Ultimate Classic Rock
  • Vintage Vinyl News
  • Wolfgang's Vault

Labels of Note

  • Ace Records
  • Analog Spark
  • Bear Family
  • BGO Records
  • Big Break Records
  • Blixa Sounds
  • Cherry Red Label Group
  • Craft Recordings
  • Demon Music Group
  • Friday Music
  • Funky Town Grooves
  • Iconoclassic Records
  • Intervention Records
  • Intrada
  • Kritzerland
  • La La Land Records
  • Legacy Recordings
  • Light in the Attic
  • Masterworks Broadway
  • Now Sounds
  • Omnivore Recordings
  • Real Gone Music
  • Rhino Entertainment
  • Rock Candy Records
  • SoulMusic Records
  • Sunset Blvd. Records
  • Supermegabot
  • Varese Sarabande
  • Vinyl Me, Please
  • Wounded Bird
Copyright © 2025 The Second Disc. All rights reserved. · Site by Metaglyphics

The Second Disc is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com, amazon.ca and amazon.co.uk.

Terms and Conditions - Privacy Policy