Jan & Dean

Jan Berry (April 3, 1941, Los Angeles -- March 26, 2004) and Dean Torrence (born March 10, 1940, Los Angeles) were a rock and roll duo popular from the late 1950s through the mid-1960s. Although Jan & Dean pre-dated

Jan Berry (April 3, 1941, Los Angeles -- March 26, 2004) and Dean Torrence (born March 10, 1940, Los Angeles) were a rock and roll duo popular from the late 1950s through the mid-1960s. Although Jan & Dean pre-dated The Beach Boys, they became most famously associated with the vocal "surf music" craze inspired by The Beach Boys.

Jan & Dean began singing together after football practice at University High School in Los Angeles. Primitive recording sessions followed soon after, in a makeshift studio in Jan's garage. They first performed on stage as The Barons at a high school dance. Their first commercial success was "Jennie Lee" (1958), a Top-10 ode to a local burlesque performer which Jan Berry recorded with fellow Baron Arnie Ginsburg. "Jan & Arnie" released three singles in all. After Dean returned from a stint in the army reserves, and Arnie went off to other pursuits, Berry and Torrence began to make music as Jan & Dean.