Gotta take that one last ride....
Jan Berry, of the 60's surf duo Jan and Dean, passed on yesterday.
I've been a big Jan and Dean fan for decades now. Although I had heard some of their songs in passing, it wasn't until the docudrama "Deadman's Curve" aired in the mid-70's that I became hooked on their music and story.
J & D started out as a doo-wop duo, and even scored a minor hit with the song "Linda" (written about the future Linda McCartney) in the late 50's. It wasn't until the Beach Boys became big, though, that J & D became big. Jan was the musical genious of the group, responsible for their arrangements and production. After riding the wild surf wave for two years, the duo branched out into more folky sounds in 1965.
He and Dean were good friends with the Beach Boys, and members of the two groups frequently performed on each others' records. (Jan can be heard doing the "bow-bow-bow"s that lead into the chorus of the single version of "Help Me Rhonda", and Dean can be heard sharing falsetto lead w/ Brain on "Barbara Ann.")
Jan managed to reinact one of the group's most popular songs, "Deadman's Curve", in early 1966, when he plowed his Jag into the back of a truck, leaving himself with massive aphasia. Although his medical studies ended, he managed to regain use of both limbs and speech. Eventually he was able to resume touring. (I saw Jan and Dean live several times in the late 70's-- early 80's.) Milking their hits for all they were worth, he and Dean were able to bring happiness and good times to many, many people.
(Dean managed to make a name for himself as a graphic designer on the side-- he designed many a famous album cover in the 1970's under the name ">Kitty Hawk Graphics.)
In any case, I am sad at Jan's passing; I seem to have lost another old friend.....
I've been a big Jan and Dean fan for decades now. Although I had heard some of their songs in passing, it wasn't until the docudrama "Deadman's Curve" aired in the mid-70's that I became hooked on their music and story.
J & D started out as a doo-wop duo, and even scored a minor hit with the song "Linda" (written about the future Linda McCartney) in the late 50's. It wasn't until the Beach Boys became big, though, that J & D became big. Jan was the musical genious of the group, responsible for their arrangements and production. After riding the wild surf wave for two years, the duo branched out into more folky sounds in 1965.
He and Dean were good friends with the Beach Boys, and members of the two groups frequently performed on each others' records. (Jan can be heard doing the "bow-bow-bow"s that lead into the chorus of the single version of "Help Me Rhonda", and Dean can be heard sharing falsetto lead w/ Brain on "Barbara Ann.")
Jan managed to reinact one of the group's most popular songs, "Deadman's Curve", in early 1966, when he plowed his Jag into the back of a truck, leaving himself with massive aphasia. Although his medical studies ended, he managed to regain use of both limbs and speech. Eventually he was able to resume touring. (I saw Jan and Dean live several times in the late 70's-- early 80's.) Milking their hits for all they were worth, he and Dean were able to bring happiness and good times to many, many people.
(Dean managed to make a name for himself as a graphic designer on the side-- he designed many a famous album cover in the 1970's under the name ">Kitty Hawk Graphics.)
In any case, I am sad at Jan's passing; I seem to have lost another old friend.....