Anthony D. Asher (born May 2, 1939) is an American songwriter and advertising copywriter who is best known for his collaborations with Brian Wilson (of the Beach Boys) and Roger Nichols in the 1960s.

Asher co-wrote eight songs on the Beach Boys' 1966 album Pet Sounds, including the singles "God Only Knows", "Wouldn't It Be Nice", and "Caroline, No".

[1] He and his mother moved to Los Angeles before he was six months old, while Irving remained in England to serve in the US Army during World War II.

"[8] Asher explained, "I think we were recording some music, or voice-overs for a commercial and I had heard that the Beach Boys were in another studio.

During a break, we kind of hung out in the hallway and eventually, sort of snuck into the booth and Brian was in the studio [alone].

"[4] Looking for a clean break from the by-then-famous Beach Boys sound (associated with surfing and cars) and not wanting to collaborate with any of the songwriters with whom he had previously worked, Wilson called Asher around December 1965, and within ten days they started to write the songs that formed the bulk of Pet Sounds.

[4] Other sources state that the pair had met during a social gathering at mutual friend Loren Schwartz's house.

Asher's contribution to the music itself was minimal, serving mainly as a source of second opinion for Wilson as he worked out possible melodies and chord progressions, although the two did trade ideas as the songs evolved.

[13] On the publishing royalties, Asher agreed to a 25% cut, an arrangement that he felt was not necessarily commensurate with his contributions.

"[16] Asher believed that the "whole claustrophobic scene with him and his family" was more to blame for Wilson's bipolar moods than his use of LSD.

He remembered that Wilson showed him "some proofs of the pictures they'd done at the zoo, and he told me they were thinking of calling the album Pet Sounds.

He also wrote several songs with composer-arranger John Bahler recorded by The Partridge Family and used on their television show.

), Asher wrote and produced dozens of jingles for Mattel Toys, Gallo Wines, Max Factor Cosmetics, Glendale Federal Savings, and others.

[citation needed] After leaving the advertising agency business, Asher teamed with John Bahler to form Producer's Music Service, a jingle and scoring production company in Hollywood.

[citation needed] In the late 1990s, Wilson and Asher rekindled their writing partnership and wrote at least four songs together.