Biography
Gary Usher, a producer and songwriter who had previously released his own recordings as a vocalist, achieved his greatest commercial impact in the early 1960s by teaming with Brian Wilson on compositions such as “In My Room” and “409.” Usher later joined forces with Roger Christian, another Wilson collaborator, to craft additional tracks in the same surf-and-car vein, and he was soon asked to deliver finished masters of those styles, which dominated the marketplace in 1963. To meet the demand he assembled several studio-only ensembles that drew from a stable pool of vocalists and session players; among them were the Hondells, the Revells, and the Surfaris, the last of which existed as a real band yet still featured many of Usher’s regular studio personnel. The Super Stocks ranked among the most fondly recalled and frequently employed of these fabricated surf outfits, ultimately issuing three full-length albums and appearing on two popular anthology LPs.
Their initial exposure came via four cuts on the Capitol Records collection Shut Down, a car-song compilation distinct from the Beach Boys’ later Shut Down, Vol. Two. Six additional numbers followed on the Hot Rod Rally album, but the group’s primary legacy rests on the three LPs they released in 1964—Thunder Road, Surf Route 101, and School Is a Drag. For those sessions Usher assembled a core rhythm section that included guitarists Glen Campbell, Richie Podolor, and Paul Johnson, drummer Hal Blaine, and saxophonist Steve Douglas. Early vocal duties fell partly to Usher himself, with Chuck Girard, Ritchie Burns, and Joe Kelly also contributing; Girard eventually assumed the majority of the lead work.
Although the Super Stocks closely mirrored the early Beach Boys sound in surf and hot-rod material—an unsurprising overlap given their shared pool of session musicians and the songwriting contributions of both Usher and Christian—they lacked the increasingly personal lyrical and musical vision Brian Wilson developed in 1964 and 1965. Some listeners who preferred the band’s simpler early style viewed that evolution with regret, echoing Pete Townshend’s contemporary complaint that Pet Sounds sounded overly soft, romantic, and sentimental; devotees of pure surf and car songs, by contrast, continue to prize the three Super Stocks albums. Further activity might have followed had Usher not shifted his attention toward the Hondells, who scored a Top Ten hit with “Little Honda” while using many of the same musicians, as well as the Revells and other studio projects he had created. In 1965 he accepted a staff-producer position at Columbia Records.
Most of the Super Stocks’ alumni were already established players—Glen Campbell would become a superstar, Hal Blaine a drumming legend, and Richard Podolor a leading producer of the 1970s—yet among the younger members, Chuck Girard gained the widest recognition from fans through his prominent lead vocals.
Their initial exposure came via four cuts on the Capitol Records collection Shut Down, a car-song compilation distinct from the Beach Boys’ later Shut Down, Vol. Two. Six additional numbers followed on the Hot Rod Rally album, but the group’s primary legacy rests on the three LPs they released in 1964—Thunder Road, Surf Route 101, and School Is a Drag. For those sessions Usher assembled a core rhythm section that included guitarists Glen Campbell, Richie Podolor, and Paul Johnson, drummer Hal Blaine, and saxophonist Steve Douglas. Early vocal duties fell partly to Usher himself, with Chuck Girard, Ritchie Burns, and Joe Kelly also contributing; Girard eventually assumed the majority of the lead work.
Although the Super Stocks closely mirrored the early Beach Boys sound in surf and hot-rod material—an unsurprising overlap given their shared pool of session musicians and the songwriting contributions of both Usher and Christian—they lacked the increasingly personal lyrical and musical vision Brian Wilson developed in 1964 and 1965. Some listeners who preferred the band’s simpler early style viewed that evolution with regret, echoing Pete Townshend’s contemporary complaint that Pet Sounds sounded overly soft, romantic, and sentimental; devotees of pure surf and car songs, by contrast, continue to prize the three Super Stocks albums. Further activity might have followed had Usher not shifted his attention toward the Hondells, who scored a Top Ten hit with “Little Honda” while using many of the same musicians, as well as the Revells and other studio projects he had created. In 1965 he accepted a staff-producer position at Columbia Records.
Most of the Super Stocks’ alumni were already established players—Glen Campbell would become a superstar, Hal Blaine a drumming legend, and Richard Podolor a leading producer of the 1970s—yet among the younger members, Chuck Girard gained the widest recognition from fans through his prominent lead vocals.
Albums
