Jan & Dean Singer Berry Dies at 62
Larry Pattis
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Jan Berry, a member of the duo Jan & Dean
that had the 1960s surf-music hits ``Deadman's Curve'' and ``The
Little Old Lady from Pasadena,'' has died. He was 62.
Berry had a seizure and stopped breathing Friday at his home. He
was pronounced dead that evening at a hospital, said his wife,
Gertie Berry.
He had been in poor health recently from the lingering effects
of brain damage from a 1966 car crash.
Jan & Dean had a string of hits and 10 gold records in the 1960s
with their tales of Southern California. Among them were 1964's
``The Little Old Lady from Pasadena,'' about a hotrod racing
grandma, and ``Surf City,'' with its lines about taking the station
wagon to a place where there are ``two girls for every boy.''
With Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys, William Jan Berry co-wrote
the lyrics for ``Surf City'' and ``Deadman's Curve,'' which
featured the driving guitar licks and falsetto crooning of the
wildly popular surf music.
Berry's hit-making career with high school friend Dean Torrence
was cut short in 1966 when Berry's speeding Corvette hit a parked
truck and he suffered severe brain damage that left him partially
paralyzed and unable to talk.
His recovery was slow, but eventually he was able to resume
singing and writing songs.
In addition to his wife, Berry is survived by his parents,
William and Clara Berry of Camarillo; three brothers and three
sisters.
--
Larry Pattis
LP "at" LarryPattis "dot" com
Guitar Odyssey
http://www.LarryPattis.com
Wade Hampton Miller
>Jan & Dean Singer Berry Dies at 62
Then posted a news article about the death of Jan Berry.
Thanks for posting this, Larry. I used to love their records when I was a kid.
Wade Hampton Miller
Chugiak, Alaska
Remove the "Howdy" to reply...
Robert L. Abramowitz
> Larry Pattis wrote:
>
>
>>Jan & Dean Singer Berry Dies at 62
>
>
> Then posted a news article about the death of Jan Berry.
>
> Thanks for posting this, Larry. I used to love their records when I was a kid.
>
I knew Jan Berry when I was growing up in L.A. and we both went to UCLA.
We ended up in a bunch of classes together, and became study mates.
I was pretty damn bright, if I say so myself; Jan was brighter.
It's painful to relate this. Jan Berry is probably the most achieving
person I ever met. He went to UCLA full time as a pre-med student, got
himself a 3.8 GPA doing so.
When the disabling crash occurred was a 1st year medical student at
California College of Medicine in L.A.. He went there because they
allowed his a little schedule flex in order to keep recording; I
remember that he smashed the MCAT and probably would have been admitted
to nearly any medical school in the U.S..
And he managed to do this highly stress filled and competitive academic
drill, which would be cause for praise in its own right, while doing all
the stuff that goes with being a teenage heartthrob record star.
He was great looking, he was rich as hell, and to top it off was a
genuinely humble individual, a nice guy. No ego trip, from a guy whose
whole musical life was lived in vast sea of ego trippers.
How he managed to be that way I'll never know. I never saw anything
like it before or since.
Here's a story that I tell with great affection for both Jan and for the
subject of the story-
One weekend there was an exam coming up in a class that both Jan and I
were taking, so we decided to get together to study at my folk's house
(down about 10 rings on the economic ladder from Jan's, but that didn't
matter, either).
So we're studying away and decide to take a break. We go out into the
living room and lo, my Uncle and his daughter, my 13 year old cousin
Candace, are visiting. Well, she perks up big time when she sees this
good looking hunk.
I introduce Jan to both relatives. All of a sudden Candace's eyes widen
with a flash of recognition, she goes red and runs away into another
room. I found out later from my Uncle that she peed her pants.
Jan was serene through all of this.
I'll miss you, Jan.
Bob Abramowitz
Alexander Mcleod
You still in my hometown of Kalamazoo? Haven't been there in over 50 years.
Sandy from Surf City, HB, CA
"Robert L. Abramowitz" <abram...@att.net> wrote in message
news:4067050C...@att.net...
Rick
back (within the last year or so) that featured Jan and Dean.
Sorry Jan is gone.
Rick
"Alexander Mcleod" <san...@sprintmail.com> wrote in message news:AdH9c.23886$Lq4....@twister.socal.rr.com...
Robert L. Abramowitz
Bob Abramowitz
Mike
booking acts on oldies tours etc. A couple of years ago Jan and Dean were
the headliners, and while the band and Dean were good, it was pretty painful
seeing Jan onstage trying to sing the songs. If it wasn't so obvious that
Dean and the band had him up there for HIS sake, I'd have accused them of
using him. But Jan obviously enjoyed what he was doing, and it's good that
he was ever able to even get back out on stage like that. It was just sad,
though.