Jan & Dean: Official Message Board for Jan Berry

Here's the promotional video for the book:

https://youtu.be/SkuN7Mt8_fo

Admit it, Phil . . . You were high when you wrote that. 

N E W    B I O G R A P H Y

Forthcoming in 2021.
Pre-Order from McFarland & Co.

Dead Man’s Curve: The Rock ’n’ Roll Life of Jan Berry
By Mark A. Moore

Jan Berry, leader of the successful music duo Jan & Dean from the late 1950s to mid-1960s, was an intense character who experienced more in his first 25 years than many do in a lifetime.

As an architect of the West Coast Sound, he was one of Rock ‘n’ Roll’s original rebels—brilliant, charismatic, reckless, and flawed. He bucked authority and made his own rules. As a songwriter, music arranger, and record producer for Nevins-Kirshner Associates and Screen Gems-Columbia Music, Jan was one of the pioneering self-produced artists of his era in Hollywood. In addition to co-writing Jan & Dean’s most famous hits, he also penned hit songs for other artists.

He lived a dual life unprecedented in the annals of popular music, reaching the top of the charts with Jan & Dean while transitioning from college student at UCLA to medical student at the California College of Medicine.

Fast cars were an extension of his personality, but an automobile accident ended his seemingly charmed existence on April 12, 1966.

Suffering from brain damage and partial paralysis, Jan spent the rest of his life trying to come back from Dead Man’s Curve. His story is told here in-depth for the first time—from the birth of Rock to the bitter end.



7″ x 10″ paperback; 195 photos, illustrations, and maps; 4 Appendices; Bibliography; Index; $49.95 (print).
pISBN: 978-1-4766-7210-6
eISBN: 978-1-4766-4333-5

Really interesting. I will deliberately repeat a point I have made before about the limited videos / photos of the time. Nowadays rock / media stars (including Z listers) photograph everything.
Will your new biography be illustrated Mark?

The biography, titled Dead Man's Curve: The Rock 'n' Roll Life of Jan Berry, will include 195 images. Currently in production at publisher McFarland & Co.

I don't know, but my guess would be that Jan or Dean gave him one. According to Dean, the boards never made it beyond the promotional stage. Dean rode one on The TAMI Show. Wayne's board also looks used, with scuff marks on the logo from riding it.

Cool photo . . .



Wayne Fontana with Jan & Dean's Sidewalk Surfer skateboard.

R.I.P. Wayne . . . and thanks for the music.

The entire site is now secure with an SSL certificate.

HAL BLAINE — Legendary drummer and Wrecking Crew member Hal Blaine has passed away at age 90. He was one of the most popular, and most recorded, drummers of all time. What a legacy, and what a life. This one hits close to home. Hal—along with the great Earl Palmer—played on most of Jan Berry’s sessions for Jan & Dean in the ‘60s. He also served as contractor for Jan’s sessions, and had a role—both speaking and playing—in Jan & Dean’s 1966 television pilot “On the Run.” Hal and Jan were close personal friends who socialized together outside of the studio. Hal was 12 years his senior and very much like an older brother to Jan. Hal was devastated by Jan’s 1966 life-changing automobile accident. He spent a lot of time at Jan’s bedside, and played on all of Jan’s post-accident recordings, beginning with the first “Carnival of Sound” related sessions in 1967. I am grateful that I got a chance to interview Hal. He was always gracious and loved to talk about his time with Jan, and Jan’s influence on his career. Hal called me after receiving a copy of my book The Jan & Dean Record, and I was truly thankful for his enthusiastic support of the project. Thanks for the music, Hal. Rest easy, my friend. You had a long and productive life, and we are all the richer for it. “Here we go . . . Top, fellas!” – Mark A. Moore, Author of The Jan & Dean Record

Thanks guys. Happy Holidays.