April 12th

[jdman]

52 years ago! Jan crashed his car into a parked truck. Although it ended Jan & Dean as hit making artists, his music was still heard in the Mamas and the Papas, The Turtles, the Grass Roots, etc.

Deadman's Curve forever!

RIP Jan

[Surfermike]

Just left the Caribbean island of Antigua on April 12th with Jan in my thoughts. Does anybody remember that day in 1966? It happened 4 days after my 11th birthday. A friend and fellow J&D fan told me that he heard Jan was in a car accident. How he knew, I'll never know. The Anthology album included a copy of the newspaper article which confirmed what my friend told me 6 years earlier.

[jdman]

I don't think it was huge news at the time. He didn't die. He was just injured.
I don't believe people understood the severity until later.
Had he passed away that day, I think the news would have spread all over.