Jan & Dean

Jan Berry and Dean Torrence made it big in 1963 on the crest of a surfing wave created by The Beach Boys. They celebrated Californian beach and hot rod lifestyle in a series of slick records including Surf City (containing the memorable line "two girls for every boy"), Drag City and Dead Man's Curve.

Prior to the surf boom the duo had experienced some success in 1961 - 1962 with a ridiculous version of Hoagy Carmichael's Heart and Soul and Who Put The Bomp? After the surf craze died out they recorded an odd collection of tracks including Batman and Bucket T (both covered by The Who) and a version of The Beatles' Norwegian Wood which was a US-only hit in 1966.

Jan Berry was seriously injured in 1966 after crashing his speeding Corvette into a parked truck. Fighting brain damage and paralysis, he eventually regained mobility and began performing again in the late 1970 after the release of the Jan and Dean biopic Dead Man's Curve. Berry died following a seizure on March 26, 2004.