From:   "Dik de Heer" 
Date:  Wed Apr 3, 2002  12:30 am
Subject:  Born To Be With You : Jan Berry
 
JAN BERRY

Born 3 April 1941, Los Angeles, California

Singer / songwriter, half of the duo Jan and Dean.
Berry's first singing partner was Arnie Ginsburg, not to be confused
with the famed DJ of the same name. As Jan and Arnie they cut
"Jennie Lee" in Jan's garage. With overdubs by Rene Hall,
Plas Johnson, Earl Palmer and Ernie Freeman, the record was
issued on Arwin (a label owned by Doris Day's husband, Marty
Melcher) and went to # 8 in the spring of 1958. Arnie never felt
comfortable in show business and was happy to quit soon. Berry
then teamed up with Dean Torrence (born 10 March 1940) as
Jan and Dean. They had several hits on the Dore label, 1959-60,
produced by Lou Adler and Herb Alpert. Of these, "Baby Talk"
went Top 10 (# 10). After a short spell with Challenge in 1961,
Jan and Dean signed with Liberty, where they would enjoy 18 chart
entries, 1962-66. Jan did most of their writing ; a collaboration with
Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys paid off in the shape of a # 1 hit
with "Surf City" (1963). The duo's success ended with Jan Berry's
near-fatal automobile accident in April of 1966. It took years for
Berry to recover even partially, learning how to walk and talk all
over again, and though the duo would make a comeback, their days
as a musical influence were over.

The pre-Liberty recordings, including those by Jan and Arnie, have
been collected on the CD "Teen Suite, 1958-1962" on Varese
Sarabande 5590 (21 tracks).
Website: http://www.jananddean.com

P.S. - Jan Berry Died March 26, 2004 in Los Angeles, California.