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Jan and Dean’s Dean Torrence Is Still Cruising, 60 Years After ‘Deadman’s Curve’ Crash
Dean Torrence, the last surviving member of surf-pop duo Jan and Dean, has spoken to Rolling Stone about the car crash that derailed the group's career 60 years ago. Torrence and Jan Berry formed the act as schoolboys in Los Angeles in 1957, scoring early hits before achieving global fame in the 1960s alongside the Beach Boys with songs including "Surf City." Their success was cut short when Berry suffered a near-fatal crash in 1966, close to the location made famous in their own song "Dead Man's Curve," leaving him with lasting brain damage and partial paralysis.
Berry's accident occurred on 12 April 1966 and left him impaired until his death in 2004. Torrence, unusually for a pop star, had continued studying at university throughout the band's early success, later using his design degree to found the graphic design firm Kittyhawk, producing album covers for artists including Chicago and the Beach Boys. Now 86, Torrence still performs occasionally with his group the Surf City All-Stars and spoke to Rolling Stone from his Southern California garden.
In short
- Dean Torrence, 86, reflects on Jan and Dean's career 60 years after Berry's crash
- Partner Jan Berry was left brain-damaged after 1966 crash near "Dead Man's Curve"
- Torrence built a design career and still performs occasionally today
Explained simply
Jan and Dean were a surf-pop duo who formed as schoolboys in Los Angeles and became major stars in the 1960s. Their catchy songs about beach culture, including the global hit "Surf City," made them household names and placed them at the heart of a golden era of American popular music.
Their success was cut short in 1966 when Jan Berry suffered a near-fatal car crash near the location celebrated in their own song "Dead Man's Curve." The accident left Berry with brain damage and partial paralysis that ended his performing career and affected him until his death in 2004.
Dean Torrence, his musical partner, took a different path by continuing his university studies throughout the band's peak years and later establishing a successful career in graphic design. Now in his mid-80s, Torrence remains based in Southern California and continues to perform music occasionally.
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