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.
Rather than being a formal band, The Ghouls were a studio ensemble under Usher's direction, primarily recorded as a one-off for the album Dracula's Deuce.
The record blended surf rock with horror-comic themes and featured a mix of instrumental and vocal tracks.
Each song leveraged macabre humor, with pun-filled titles like "The Little Old Lady from Transylvania" and "Be True to Your Ghoul," offering satirical nods to contemporaneous hits by Jan and Dean and the Beach Boys.
[3] Usher died of lung cancer at his home in his hometown of Los Angeles, California, on May 25, 1990, at the age of 51.