William Jan Berry was born on Apri l3, 1941, and Dean Ormsby
Torrence was born March 10, 1940. Although Jan & Dean pre-dated The
Beach Boys, they became most famously associated with the vocal "surf
music" craze inspired by The Beach Boys. Both born in Los Angeles,
California, they began singing together after football practice at
University High School. With the help of friend Herb Alpert and record
producer Lou Adler, Jan & Dean scored a top 10 hit with "Baby
Talk" On 12 April 1966, Berry received severe head injuries in a
motor vehicle accident. As a result of Berry's accident, Jan & Dean
did not perform again until the mid 1970s. Berry travelled a long and
difficult road toward recovery from brain damage and partial paralysis.
Jan & Dean ended with Berry's death on March 26, 2004, at the age of
62.
This is a non-profit, informational web page, meant to be a
reminder of the music we listened to 50 years ago. Use of copyrighted
material is consistent with the "fair use" provisions contained in
section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976; the use of copyrighted material is
of a nonprofit, educational nature, intended for the sole purposes of
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