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- Jan Berry & Dean Torrence—two friends & football teammates at their
Jr. High in L.A.
- both continued their educations full-time at UCLA ... until they were convinced
of their musical success
- Dean as pre-Med, then Architecture
- Jan as Art & Design
- after 4 yrs of minor success (and a label change from Dore/Challenge to
Liberty), the pair hit the big time with a song cowritten by Beach Boy Brian
Wilson
- it was their 1st & only #1 hit
(#1 in 1963)
Beach Boys and Jan & Dean often sang on each other's records until the
record companies objected
- uncredited, Dean - along with Brian Wilson - sang lead on The Beach Boys' hit Barbara Ann ...
(#2 in1966; essentially a drunken party captured on tape!)
- mid-60s - friendship was strained and the possibility of going separate
ways was under discussion when ...
- 4/12/66 - Jan Berry crashed his Corvette into a parked truck at 65 mph on
L.A.'s Whittier Blvd.
- 3 passengers were killed and Berry received such severe brain damage
that he was unable to recall an entire song lyric until 1973!!
- remains partially paralyzed and suffers speech difficulties
(#8 in1964; co-written with Brian Wilson)
- Dean went solo and Berry moved on to graphic design
- won awards (including 1 Grammy) for his album covers
- Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
- Beach Boys
- Nilsson
- Steve Martin
- Linda Rondstadt
- Jan & Dean
- 1973 - the pair attempted an unsuccessful (and premature) comeback
- by 1977 were performing live periodically
- still make limited public appearances together
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