THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

811-Jan and Dean-Surf City.

1963-Number 26 single.

Best Bit-At 1.22. Some say three’s a crowd, but not in this case.

Jan and Dean were the American Rock duo of William Jan Berry, (1941-2004) and Dean Ormsby Torence, who formed in 1958, in Los Angeles, California, United States, they were active together until 1968, then got back together in 1973, for a re-union concert, before touring officially again from 1976, until Jan Berry’s death from a seizure in 2004. Jan and Dean first met while both were students at the ‘Emerson Junior High School,’ in Westwood, Los Angeles, where their first musical collaboration was helping to form a ‘Doo-Wop’ group called ‘The Barons,’ with Jan Berry singing bass, and Dean Torrence providing falsetto. In 1958 Dean Torrence was conscripted into the United States Army Reserve, so Jan Berry teamed up with Arnie Ginsburg, who had also been a member of ‘The Barons,’ to form ‘Jan & Arnie,’ together the duo released four singles between 1958-1960, with their debut single ‘Jennie Lee,’ reaching Number 8 on the American Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.

Dean Torrence returned to civilian life in 1959, after a compulsory six months stint in the ‘US Army Reserve,’ and once again began to make music as ‘Jan and Dean.’ Their first single release together was ‘Baby Talk,’ which was co-produced by Lou Adler, and Herb Alpert, (see also best songs 815) and reached Number 10 on Billboard in 1959. The discography of Jan and Dean includes 16 studio Albums issued between 1960-2017, and 48 singles released between 1959-1987. On Billboard, 13 of those singles made the top 40, with ‘Surf City’ making Number 1 in 1963, while in the UK, two of their singles have reached the top 40, with ‘Heart And Soul,’ from 1961, being their other, (and biggest hit) when peaking at Number 24. Jan Berry has also issued nine solo singles, between 1960-1984, and Dean Torrence has released four, between 1965-2014.)

‘Surf City’ was the first of two singles released from Jan and Dean’s third studio Album ‘Surf City and Other Swingin’ Cities,’ from July 1963, it was co-written by Brian Wilson, and Jan Berry, with the production credited to Berry. As a member of the ‘Beach Boys,’ (see also best songs 930-180 and 74) Brian Wilson had toured on the same bill as Jan and Dean, and they had got to know each other well. Wilson told Jan Berry about a song he was struggling to complete with the working title ‘Goody Connie Won’t You Come Back Home,’ saying that he was losing interest in it. Jan Berry helped Wilson complete the song, that was to become ‘Surf City,’ with Dean Torrence contributing several phrases, but insisting that he wouldn’t be given writing credit. It is said that Brian Wilson’s father, Murry Wilson, (1917-1973) who was also the manager of the Beach Boys at that time, was furious with his son, believing that Brian had wasted a Number 1 record, by letting someone else record it instead of his group the Beach Boys. Brian Wilson has said,’I was proud of the fact that another group had had a Number 1 track with a song I had written, but dad would hear none of it. He called Jan a ‘record pirate.”

‘Surf City’ should be filed under ‘Surf Vocal,’ which a sub genre of ‘Surf Music,’ associated with surf culture, particularly as found in Southern California. ‘Surf Music’ was at it’s height between 1958-1964, and can be split in to two major forms, the first being ‘Instrumental Surf,’ which is distinguished by reverb-heavy electric guitars, played to evoke the sound of crashing waves, largely pioneered by Dick Dale (1937-2019) and the Del-Tones. The second is ‘Surf Vocal,’ which took elements of the original surf sound, and added vocal harmonies, a movement led by the Beach Boys. Dick Dale didn’t like ‘Surf Vocal,’ and said,’They were surfing sounds with surfing lyrics, in other words, the music wasn’t surfing music. The words made them surfing songs, that was the difference. The real surfing music is instrumental.’ Brian Wilson has said,’It wasn’t a conscious thing to build our music around surfing. We just want to be identified with the interests of young kids. I hate so-called ‘Surfin’ music. It’s a name that people slap on any sound from California. Our music is rightfully the Beach Boy sound, if one has to label it.’

‘I bought a ’30 Ford wagon and we call it a woodie. You know it’s not very cherry, it’s an oldie but a goodie. Well, it ain’t got a back set or a rear window, but it still gets me where I wanna go. And we’re goin’ to Surf City, ’cause it’s two to one, you know we’re goin’ to Surf City, gonna have some fun.’