Jan & Dean |
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Fri. March 10.2000 3:04 AM EST |
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Jan and Dean's Dean Torrenceby Frank Tortorici |
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Jan and Dean, featuring Dean Torrence (right), worked with Brian Wilson. ( ) |
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Dean Torrence was one-half of the popular surf-music team Jan and Dean. The duo had 13 top-30 singles in the '60s and sold more than 10 million records globally. Torrence was born March 10, 1941, in Los Angeles. He met Jan Berry when they
The Barons included drummer Sandy Nelson and future Beach Boy Bruce Johnston. With singer Arnie Ginsburg, the Barons recorded a song about a stripper, "Jennie Lee," which made the U.S. top 10. But because Torrence, who sang lead on the track, was away in the National Guard, the single was credited to Jan and Arnie. When Torrence became a private citizen again, Ginsburg joined the Army. Torrence and Berry continued their career as the duo Jan and Dean. Trumpeter Herb Alpert and producer Lou Adler became their managers and produced "Baby Talk," which made the top 10 in 1959. After a few more chart singles on their managers' small label, Jan and Dean were signed by Liberty Records in 1961. In 1963, Jan and Dean topped the Billboard Hot 100 with "Surf City" (RealAudio excerpt), a song co-written by a friend, Beach Boy mastermind Brian Wilson. Wilson also sang and played on Jan and Dean's debut LP, Jan and Dean Take Linda Surfin'. Torrence even sang on the Beach Boys smash "Barbara Ann," although he did not appear in the record's credits. The record companies finally stopped the two groups from appearing on each other's records — something very unlikely to happen today, in the era of superstar collaborations. Jan and Dean hosted "The T.A.M.I. Show" in 1964. Through the first half of the duo's show business career, Torrence attended UCLA, first as a pre-med student, later studying architecture. Other Jan and Dean hits included "Heart and Soul" (1961), "Linda" (1963), "Honolulu Lulu" (1963), "Drag City" (the 1964 title cut from their concept album about cars), "Dead Man's Curve" (1964), "The Little Old Lady (From Pasadena)" (1964), "Ride the Wild Surf" (1964), "I Found a Girl" (1965) and "Popsicle" (1966). During the latter half of the '60s, however, Jan and Dean began to bicker. They were considering splitting when Berry sustained brain damage in a car wreck that killed the three passengers in his Corvette. As Berry partially recovered through years of therapy, Torrence recorded the solo Save for a Rainy Day and became head of Kitty Hawk Graphics in Hollywood. Torrence has since won design awards and a Grammy for his album covers, created for such artists as the Beach Boys, Nilsson, Linda Ronstadt, and Jan and Dean. In 1973 the duo made an unsuccessful comeback attempt but began performing together again four years later. ABC-TV's 1978 movie about Jan and Dean, "Dead Man's Curve," made their music briefly popular again. In 1982, they issued One Summer Night — Live. In 1996, Capitol Records issued the two-CD Jan and Dean retrospective From Surf City to Drag City. Legacy Entertainment issued Surf City: Live in Concert last year. Jan and Dean still tour together today. Other birthdays on Friday: Tom Scholz (Boston), 53; Gail Greenwood (Belly/L7), 40; Jeff Ament (Pearl Jam), 37; Neneh Cherry, 36; Billy Boredom (Bikini Kill), 35; and Edie Brickell, 34. |
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