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Jan Berry (April 3, 1941, Los Angeles – March 26, 2004) and Dean Torrence (born March 10, 1940, Los Angeles) were a rock and roll duo popular from the late 1950s through the mid-1960s. Although Jan & Dean pre-dated The Beach Boys, they became most famously associated with the vocal "surf music" craze inspired by The Beach Boys.
Beginnings
Jan & Dean began singing together after football practice at University High School in Los Angeles. Primitive recording sessions followed soon after, in a makeshift studio in Jan's garage. They first performed on stage as The Barons at a high school dance. Their first commercial success was "Jennie Lee" (1958), a Top-10 ode to a local burlesque performer which Jan Berry recorded with fellow Baron Arnie Ginsburg. "Jan & Arnie" released three singles in all. After Dean returned from a stint in the army reserves, and Arnie went off to other pursuits, Berry and Torrence began to make music as Jan & Dean.
With the help of friend Herb Alpert and producer Lou Adler, Jan & Dean scored another Top-10 smash with "Baby Talk" (1959), and then scored a series of hits over the next couple of years. Playing local venues, they met and performed with the Beach Boys, and discovered the appeal of the latter's "surf sound". By this time, Jan Berry was co-writing, arranging, and producing all of Jan & Dean's original material. Jan signed a series of contracts with Screen Gems to write and produce music for Jan & Dean, as well as other artists such as Judy & Jill (which included Berry's girlfriend Jill Gibson and Dean's girlfriend Judy Lovejoy), Vic Diaz and Pixie (a young female solo singer).
Surf's golden boys
Jan Berry and Brian Wilson collaborated on roughly a dozen hits and album cuts for Jan & Dean, including the number one national hit "Surf City" (1963). Subsequent Top-10 hits for Jan & Dean included "Honolulu Lulu" (1963), "Drag City" (1963), "[[The Little Old Lady from Pasadena" (1964) and the eerily portentous "Dead Man's Curve" (1964). Their commercial peak came between 1963 and 1966, and the duo scored an impressive total of twenty-six chart hits over eight years.
In 1964 at the height of their fame, Jan & Dean hosted and performed at The T.A.M.I. Show concert. The live show was held in the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium and was made into a concert film by Steve Binder. This historic show also featured such great acts as The Rolling Stones, Chuck Berry, Gerry & The Pacemakers, James Brown, Billy J. Kramer & The Dakotas, Marvin Gaye, The Supremes, Lesley Gore, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, and The Beach Boys (whose sequence was later cut from the film). Along with Phil Spector, Brian Wilson, and Lee Hazlewood, Jan Berry enjoyed a reputation as one of the best record producers on the West Coast. Brian Wilson has cited Jan as having a direct impact on his own growth as a record producer.
Jan's car wreck and its aftermath
On April 12, 1966 Jan was involved in a serious motor vehicle accident, resulting in severe head injuries. Earlier that month, Berry had separated from his girlfriend of seven years, singer-artist Jill Gibson, later a member for a short time of The Mamas and the Papas who had co-written many songs with Jan. As a result of Berry's accident, Jan & Dean did not perform again until the mid-1970s. Jan traveled a long and difficult road toward recovery from brain damage and partial paralysis.
In Berry's absence, Dean Torrence recorded Save for a Rainy Day, a concept album featuring all rain-themed songs, to meet their contractual obligations, imitating Berry's voice and posing with his brother Ken for the cover photos. While critically acclaimed, and loved by the fans who heard it, distributor Columbia Records didn't put much support behind the album, and when it became clear Berry would have a long recovery, Columbia dropped their contract.
In February 1978, Jan & Dean were reintroduced to America when the film biography Deadman's Curve aired on national television. The duo made steps toward an official comeback that year, touring with the Beach Boys. Jan & Dean continued to tour on their own throughout the 1980s, 1990s, and into the new millennium — with 1960s nostalgia providing them with a ready audience. Sundazed Records also reissued Save for a Rainy Day, which drew new critical praise.
On August 31, 1991, Jan Berry married Gertie Filip at The Stardust Convention Centre in Las Vegas, Nevada. Dean Torrence was Berry's best man at the wedding. Jan and Dean finally ended with Jan's untimely death on March 26, 2004, at the age of 62. Berry's body was donated to science and later cremated.
Miscellany
Neil Young's song "Tonight's the Night", is about Jan's brother Bruce (and about Danny Whitten) ... "Bruce Berry was a working man, he used to load that Econoline van..."
Jan's brother Ken founded Studio Instrument Rentals (S.I.R) in Los Angeles in 1967, using Jan's instruments to get started, the instruments being unused following Jan's accident.
Brother Brian Berry went to Canada during the Vietnam war. He purchased trapping rights to the North Selkirk Mountains and became a mountaineering guide, hunter, and fisherman.
Dean became a graphic artist while Jan recovered, starting his own company, Kitty Hawk Graphics, and designing album covers for other recording artists, including Harry Nilsson and The Beach Boys.
External links
- Official Jan & Dean Fan Site
- Official Web Page
- Official Jan Berry Website
- Jan Berry and Jan & Dean Central - Message Board
- http://www.geocities.com/shakin_stacks/deantorrence.txt
- Jan and Dean from History-of-rock
"Jan and Dean"