The Anaheim, Azusa & Cucamonga Sewing Circle, Book Review and Timing Association – Jan & Dean – Authentic Sheet Music

Jan Berry’s original music score, used by Wrecking Crew studio musicians to record the original track in 1964.

The B-side of Jan’s & Dean’s Top-20 hit “Ride the Wild Surf” from the fall of 1964 (#50 Cash Box; #77 Billboard). The A-side was the title track to the Columbia Pictures film Ride the Wild Surf (#16 Billboard; #23 Cash Box).

Transcribed by Mark A. Moore from Jan Berry’s music archive, in association with his estate. Moore is the author of Dead Man’s Curve: The Rock ‘n’ Roll Life of Jan Berry (McFarland 2021) and The Jan & Dan Record (McFarland 2016).

Perfect for high school and college orchestras, concert bands, jazz ensembles, or any combo interested in tackling one of Jan Berry’s best music arrangements.

Note: This arrangement is labeled “Jazz Ensemble” because it is the closest category offered by the Hal Leonard Corporation’s ArrangeMe service.

Audio Preview:

The video recording is a sound font audio preview, generated by music notation software, that allows potential sheet music buyers to get an idea of what the notes on paper will convey when played by real musicians.

Studio Recording Arrangement:

WOODWINDS: Oboe; Bassoon.

BRASS: French Horn; Trumpet.

RHYTHM: Guitar 1; Guitar 2 (Electric 12-String); Guitar 3 (Danelectro 6-String Bass Guitar); Bass 1 (Fender); Bass 2 (Upright); Percussion (Glockenspiel, Timpani, Slapstick, Tambourine, Concert Bass Drum); Drums; Piano.

Alternate Brass and Woodwind Arrangement (used for live performances in the 1960s):

WOODWINDS: Alto Sax 1-2; Tenor Sax 1-2; Baritone Sax.

BRASS: Trumpet 1-3, Trombone 1-3

Vocal Arrangement:

VOCALS: Lead; Falsetto; Alto; Tenor; Bass.

Publication Includes:

(1) Illustrated cover page; (2) Introductory text with context for the music and the musicians who recorded it; (3) Song chronology with recording session details; (4) Full music score; (5) Individual charts for each part in the music score; and (6) Illustrations, including images from Jan Berry’s music archive.

16 Distinct Chords.

Size: 11″ x 17″
Length: 71 pages.

Distributed by: ArrangeMe and the Hal Leonard Corporation.
Licensed from: Universal Music Careers.
Available from: Sheet Music Direct, Hal Leonard’s premier outlet for digital sheet music. Also available from Sheet Music Plus.
Published: July 27, 2022 (Fiji Printing #2).

Commentary:

“If you were a musician on a Jan & Dean session date in 1964, you knew to look hard at the part in front of you before the red recording light came on, which chart would be filled with multiple key center shifts, time signature changes and unexpected turns of harmony—the act had come a long way from “Baby Talk” or “Jennie Lee”. (“Ride the Wild Surf” has 19 different chords in it.) In the case of [“Anaheim”] Jan may have based some of his melodies on Bach’s version of the hymn “Lobt Gott…”, but to even the classically trained ear . . . the main tip of the cap is in the mid-verse instrumental breaks, which almost any listener can tell you is an homage to the Beach Boys’ then-recent hit “I Get Around”. Upon inspecting the score, I see that the rhythm and downward swoop of the first note is another. Jan’s sophisticated arrangement is full of sly humor, like the oboe, bassoon and harpsichord gamely attempting to convince the listener that the grannies are stereotypically prim and proper and would be likely listening to square, stuffy baroque music. There is even a self-reference at the end with “Go Grannies Go,” as though the infamous Little Old Lady had sisters. It is instructive to see how much Jan borrowed from Phil Spector—the unusual number of guitars/basses (six), the rather large ensemble playing live in one room. Here we see Jan Berry at perhaps his finest arrangement/production hour, at the peak of his game, age a mere 23, giving Brian Wilson a run for his money. He was also smart enough to realize that at live shows, a beefier sound was called for, and a standard Big Band winds section replaced the more orchestral instruments in the alternative live arrangement. For my money, I think the song might have benefitted from having less background vocals, since the instrumental parts are so dense and lively and deserve to be better heard. (I note there were numerous vocal overdub sessions). Conceptually, [“Anaheim”] was a triumph, which regrettably was not reflected in its sales, peaking at only #77 in the Billboard charts. Modern connoisseurs of baroque pop would do well to study this outstanding piece of work by Jan Berry.“

Probyn Gregory
Multi-instrumentalist and member of Brian Wilson’s band

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