Jan & Dean and The Surfaris

Welcome to Rock & Roll Flashback!  I’m Bill Price, and we’ll be looking back at some of
Rock and Roll’s greatest artists, songs and stories.  In this edition of Surf’s Up, I’ll spotlight the singing duo Jan and Dean, and The Surfaris, who helped play a role in popularizing surf music.

All podcasts on the Rock and Roll Flashback Podcast are produced by brothers-in-law Bill Price and "Jumpin' John" McDermott. The Podcast Theme Song, "You Essay", was written by John. It was initially recorded by Bill and John on April 1, 2004 with several revisions since then.
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Transcript

Welcome to Rock & Roll Flashback! I’m Bill Price, and we’ll be looking back at some of
Rock and Roll’s greatest artists, songs and stories.  In this edition of Surf’s Up, I’ll spotlight the singing duo Jan and Dean, and The Surfaris, who helped play a role in popularizing surf music.

William Jan Berry was born on April 3, 1941 in Los Angeles, California.  Dean Ormsby Torrence was on born March 10, 1940 also in Los Angeles.  Jan and Dean first met at Emerson Junior High School located in Westwood which is west of Hollywood.  While attending University High School, they began harmonizing.  Jan and Dean formed a doo wop group called the Barons with fellow students William Steele, Arnold Ginsburg , Wallace Yagi and John Seligman.  They formed the group in order to enter a talent competition at the high school.  During the group’s brief span, Dean’s neighbor Sandy Nelson, who would have a hit with “Teen Beat” in 1959, played drums and along with future Beach Boy member Bruce Johnston sang and played piano.  Their performance at the talent competition earned them praise, however, several members of the Barons eventually left the group, leaving only Jan and Dean.

The first release “Jennie Lee”, was written by Arnold Ginsburg, who was inspired by
seeing a poster for a burlesque performer, who went by the name of Jennie Lee.  After
several weeks of rehearsal, Jan, Arnold and Dean had planned on making a demo
recording in Dean’s garage.  However, before the recording was to take place, Dean was
drafted into the Army Reserve for a period of six months.  This caused Jan and Arnold to
record “Jennie Lee” with fellow high school friend Donald Altfeld.  The following day,
Jan had the tape transferred to disc at a small studio.  After hearing the song, the head of A&R at Arwin Records was impressed and proposed adding instrumentation, and
releasing it on the Arwin label.  In May 1958, after Dot Records released “Jennie Lee”
with the B-side “Gotta Get a Date”, the single entered the charts.  Also in May they
appeared on the Dick Clark Show.  The song reached number three on the Cash Box
charts, number four on the R and B charts and number eight on the Billboard charts.

In July 1958 the second single “Gas Money” and the B side “Bonnie Lou” was released,
and entered the Billboard charts in August, reaching number eighty one.  Interestingly,
both “Jennie Lee” and “Gas Money” contained several musical elements that would
eventually be incorporated into their surf sound.

In September 1958 a third and final release by Jan and Arnold, “The Beat That Can’t Be
Beat” and the B-side “ I Love Linda”, failed to chart.  In May 1959 Jan and Dean’s first
single “Baby Talk” was released on the Dore record label.  With the assistance of record
producers Herb Alpert and Lou Adler, “Baby Talk” reached number ten.

Later while playing at local venues, they performed with The Beach Boys, and were
attracted to the surf sound.  After meeting Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys, Jan and Dean achieved their peak commercial success in 1963 and 1964 with sixteen top forty hits.

One interesting aspect of Jan and Dean, was that unlike most other rock and roll
performers, they did not devote their full attention to music.  Both were college students.  While attending the University of Southern California, Dean majored in advertising design.  Jan was enrolled at the University of California at Los Angeles, studying science and music.  Later he entered the California College of Medicine.

Jan Berry and Brian Wilson would collaborate on several hits and album cuts, including
“Surf City”, a number one hit in 1963.  Other top ten hits in 1964 were “Drag City”
reaching number ten, “Dead Man’s Curve” climbing to number eight, and “The Little Old
Lady From Pasadena” peaked at number three.

Two years after “Dead Man’s Curve” became a hit, Jan Berry sustained severe head
injuries in an automobile accident while driving on Whittier drive, not far from the actual Dead Man’s Curve located in Beverly Hills, California.  Due to the injuries, he remained in a coma for more than two months.  Even thought Jan recovered from brain damage and partial paralysis, use of his right arm remained limited and he had to learn to walk again.  This event certainly had an eerie coincidence with the song “Dead Man’s Curve”.

Almost one year later, Jan went back to the recording studio, writing and producing.
In December 1967, Jan and Dean signed with Warner Brothers and released three singles.

In addition to studio work, Dean worked as a graphic designer, and started Kittyhawk
Graphics.  He designed album covers and logos for recording artists, which included
Harry Nilsson, Steve Martin, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Dennis Wilson, Bruce Johnston,
The Beach Boys, Diana Ross and the Supremes, Linda Ronstadt, The Canned Heat, and
the Ventures.

Other notable singles which were released include, “Sidewalk Surfin’”, “Honolulu Lulu”,
and ”Ride The Wild Surf’”.  “Sidewalk Surfin’” which was a composition about skate
boarding, was released in September 1964 and reached number 25 on the Billboard Hot 100.  Jan came up with idea for a song about a sport other than surfing.  However, after unsuccessfully trying to come up with a song, he approached Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys.  Jan asked Brian and lyricist Roger Christian to rewrite the lyrics to the Beach Boys’ “Catch a Wave”.  So the song “Sidewalk Surfing’” is “Catch a Wave” with
different lyrics about the sport of skate boarding.  In 1976 “Sidewalk Surfin’” was
reissued and once again achieved radio play.  However, it only managed to chart at
number 107.  In the early 1960's, I acquired a skateboard that was shaped much like a
surfboard, and sidewalk surfed around my neighborhood.

On March 26, 2004, Jan Berry passed away as a result of a seizure just eight days before his sixty third birthday.  Following Jan’s death, Dean Torrance occasionally toured with the Surf City All-Stars.  He serves as a spokesman for the City of Huntington Beach, California, which due to his work is recognized as Surf City USA. Dean also currently resides in Huntington Beach.

During my early teenage years, I frequently traveled from San Bernardino to Huntington Beach, fishing off the Huntington pier, and also body surfing during the summer.

On April 12,1996, 30 years after Jan’s near fatal automobile accident, Jan and Dean were inducted into the Hollywood Rock Walk of Fame.  Then on January 28, 2023 they were inducted into the California Music Hall of Fame.  Surprisingly, they were not inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in spite of having played a roll in the Surf Craze.

The Surfaris were also instrumental in establishing surf music in the early 1960's.
In the fall of 1962, The Surfaris were formed in Glendora California.  High school
students Jim Fuller, Pat Connolly and their friend guitarist Bob Berryhill met at Bob’s
house for a practice session that lasted for about four hours.  Later that evening the trio
met drummer Ron Wilson at a high school dance, resulting in the band’s formation.
By the winter of 1962 “Wipe Out” was written and recorded.  In 1963 the recording
reached Number 2 nationally, and also became an international hit.  The B side to “Wipe
Out” was “Surfer Joe”.  Soon after the release of “Wipe Out”, Saxophone player Jim Pash
joined the band.  In August 1965, prior to the start of the Surfaris Japanese tour, Pat
Connolly left the group, Ken Forssi then replaced him on bass guitar.

“Wipe Out” was written and recorded at Pal Recording Studio in Rancho Cucamonga
which is located east of Los Angeles.  In the opening of the song, Bob Berryhill’s father
broke a board intended to simulate a surfboard breaking up. Band manager Dale Smallin provided the opening laugh and the words “Wipe Out”.  Initially it was issued on the DFS label, then on Princess and eventually on Dot.  It sold over one million copies and earned a gold disc.

On an interesting note, in the early 1960s, Frank Zappa played in nearby Upland,
performing to college audiences.  Later he acquired the Pal Recording Studio, and
renamed it Studio Z, where he started to make recordings that led to the forming of The
Mothers of Invention.

The band also released several records, which included two singles “Surfer Joe” and
“Point Panic”, named after a Hawaiian surfing location.  After the Japanese tour in early 1966 Jim Fuller left the band, and The Surfaris disbanded.  Then in 1981 the band reformed with Pash and Berryhill.  However, two years later Berryhill left the band after a disagreement.  In the mid 1980's The Surfaris incorporated new members, which remained as of 2023.

Ron Wilson passed away in 1989, and then in 1998, Ken Forssi passed away.  Jim Pash
passed away in 2005.

The Surfaris along with the duo Jan and Dean played an important role in popularizing
surf music as well as other surf bands during the early 1960's.  So be sure to check out
future editions of Surf’s Up for more episodes.