Jan and Dean’s Dean Torrence Is Still Cruising, 60 Years After ‘Deadman’s Curve’ Crash
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- Dean Torrence, now 86, is the last surviving member of Jan and Dean and still performs sporadically with his group the Surf City All-Stars, six decades after the duo's heyday
- Jan Berry suffered a devastating car crash near Los Angeles's actual Dead Man's Curve on April 12, 1966, leaving him with severe brain damage and partial paralysis; Berry died in 2004
- Jan and Dean formed in 1957 at Emerson Junior High School in Los Angeles and landed teen hits like 'Baby Talk' and 'Clementine' with backing from Lou Adler, Herb Alpert, and Dick Clark on American Bandstand
- Torrence majored in advertising design at USC while Berry attended UCLA and later California College of Medicine — a highly unorthodox choice that limited touring but led Torrence to found graphic design firm Kittyhawk, where he created album covers for Chicago, the Beach Boys, Steve Martin, the Supremes, and Michael Nesmith
- The duo collaborated with the Beach Boys on 'Surf City' and emceed the 1964 T.A.M.I. Show, a concert film featuring the Rolling Stones, James Brown, the Supremes, Marvin Gaye, Chuck Berry, and the Beach Boys
- Torrence publicly expressed hope that Jan and Dean will be recognized by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which has never inducted them
Why it matters: Jan and Dean helped pioneer surf rock and co-wrote 'Surf City' — a #1 hit co-written with Brian Wilson — yet the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has never inducted them. With Berry gone since 2004 and Torrence now 86, the window for that overdue recognition is closing fast.
