Jan & Dean — Blog City

The year 1959 was a momentous one for Jan Berry. At the age of 18, the Bel Air Baron with a rebellious spirit was gaining traction in the fast lane. After a year with Arnie Ginsburg (as Jan & Arnie), Jan stepped into a new partnership with old friend Dean Torrence, and Jan & Dean were on their way as national hit-makers and pop culture icons. Jan also started college at UCLA that year, later entering the California College of Medicine. As a student, Jan would live a second life as a successful songwriter, record producer, and artist. Jan & Dean hit the Top 10 right out of the gate in 1959, and progressed through the early and mid-Sixties with an impressive run on the charts—iconic songs that still define youth, relationships, and summer lovin’ fun for multiple generations.

Jan’s story is a hallmark of Hollywood tragedy. A golden boy makes good, loses nearly everything, then fights his way back. The infamous auto accident on April 12, 1966 hurled Jan into a dark world of brain dysfunction—a story arc that dominated Jan’s biography for the rest of his life, robbing attention from the music and from his talents as an arranger and producer. Yet he returned to the studio in 1967, and recorded new material through the 1970s and beyond. As the band MC5 said, “Kick out the jams, motherfuckers!”

When the film Deadman’s Curve aired in 1978, the floodgates opened and Jan & Dean caught a new wave. Baby Boomers remembered earlier years, and legions of new fans emerged. “Phase II”—summer tours on the nostalgia circuit—was defined in large measure by Jan’s return to the stage after the accident. If Jan could get up there, after partial recovery, defying the odds and delivering (and if Dean was there to help make it happen) people wanted to see it. They wanted to see music’s Laurel & Hardy laughing and joking like the old days. Even more, they wanted to see Jan perform “Dead Man’s Curve”—“the last thing I remember, Doc”—and trip on the irony (and tragedy) of the whole thing. Ultimately, it was a triumph; because Jan & Dean, through good and bad, spent the better part of a quarter-century (1978-2004) giving fans of all ages what they wanted.

In 2009, five years after Jan’s untimely death, we’re celebrating Jan & Dean’s 50th Anniversary. That’s a big one. It still seems strange for friends and fans to look onstage and not see Jan standing next to his longtime partner. But the music is timeless, the spirit continues, and the band plays on.

It’s fitting that Jan’s legendary post-accident project for Jan & Dean, Carnival of Sound, will see its first official release during their Golden Anniversary. In 1967, Jan called these recordings “the most bitchen records I have ever made . . . so dig that, baby!” It brings us back to Jan’s first interest, the studio, and reminds us that Jan & Dean’s story is still being told . . . and there’s much more to come.

Mark A. Moore
September 2009

Friday, September 11, 2009

(Originally Posted September 11, 2009)

Filed under: Jan & Dean 50th Anniversary