Jan & Dean Biography

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Jan & Dean
Pop Music | 3 CD Set
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By the time Jan Berry brought to tragic reality one of Jan & Dean's hit songs, the duo was pretty much history. Berry crashed his sports car in April 1966, receiving major debilitating injuries. Two years earlier, Jan & Dean had one of its five Top 40 hits in 1964, the No. 8 "Deadman's Curve." Surf music was all the rage in the early '60s as Jan & Dean, the Beach Boys and Dick Dale created this West Coast "two girls for every boy" attitude. Jan Berry was born in 1941 and Dean Torrence in1940, both in Los Angeles. They began singing together informally, forming a group called the Barons with Bruce Johnston (future Beach Boy), Sandy Nelson and Arnie Ginsburg. Johnston and Nelson dropped out but the trio soldiered on, recording "Jennie Lee" (based on a Civil War song). Torrence was drafted prior to its 1958 chart (No. 8) success, so it was billed as Jan & Arnie, even though Dean was on the recording. Nothing more came of Jan & Arnie, so they split up. Jan and Dean got back together upon his release from the Army the following year, and after a number of demos made in Jan's small studio, they tied up with producer Lou Adler, immediately tapping into the Top 10 with "Baby Talk." A few more minor hits ensued until the big one, "Surf City," struck it rich in 1963 with two weeks at No. 1, thus opening the door for several more hits, including "Drag City" in 1963 and "Little Old Lady From Pasadena," in 1964, which hit No. 3. The Beach Boys' Brian Wilson had some input in several of the duo's hits, including "Surf City" and "Ride the Wild Surf" as well as "Drag City" and "Dead Man's Curve." Jan Berry returned the favor when he is said to have sung lead on the Beach Boys' "Barbara Ann" in 1966. Berry and Torrence began having problems and by January 1966 were all but washed up. After the crash, Berry recovered enough in the '70s to make some singles and Torrence kept the Jan & Dean name alive without recapturing the earlier success. He became a highly successful graphic artist with his design company, Kitty Hawk Graphics. The pair reunited briefly in 1978 when they opened for some Beach Boys shows.

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