Posted on 06/20/2015 9:46:21 AM PDT by EveningStar
Surf City was a mythical place, a paradise for the era’s restless teens in the summer of 1963, when the song became the first surfing tune to reach No. 1 on the Billboard charts.
Fame came quickly for the Los Angeles-born duo of Jan Berry and Dean Torrence, who became stars in their early 20s. They would build on their success with hits such as “Dead Man’s Curve,” “Ride the Wild Surf” and “The Little Old Lady From Pasadena,” joining with their younger friends, the Beach Boys, in writing the anthems of the California coastal lifestyle.
Skip forward more than half a century and, predictably, much has changed.
(Excerpt) Read more at ocregister.com ...
&#^&# Woody Allen.
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Damn straight. The world does not revolve around the east coast.
RE: Deadman’s Curve: I loved the various versions and features of the Ridge Route, remember this one well. Some years ago, we found the version from the early 1900’s and drove what was left between Castaic and Gorman, noting all the old foundations for the hotels and way stations of the era. So many interesting stories of the Old Ridge Route(s), and I personally miss the Grapevine part of the trip. The switchbacks were way more fun than now, though the truckers would no doubt disagree. Don’t know if any of Scott Harrison’s books are still available, but he was always the go-to-guy regarding the old versions of the Ridge Route.
There are a number of Dead Man’s Curves worldwide.
The one Jan and Dean referred to is on Sunset — and the song refers to “starting on Doheny” which crosses Sunset.
From Wikipedia:
A stretch of Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles was memorialized by Jan and Dean in the song “Dead Man’s Curve.” It is located near the Bel Air estates north of UCLA’s Drake Stadium. While an accident involving voice actor Mel Blanc prompted safety improvement, the curve remains today
Thank you that is a classic. Also it took me to other links with the Champs (Tequila), Chantays (Wipeout), Ventures (Wipe Out)...sigh those songs are all so classic. During an era that California was truly a Golden State.
M4L Ridge Route
“Ride the Wild Surf” was my fav J&D song. Growing up during that time, I always felt Jan Berry was far more talented than Brian Wilson.
Nice video of “”Ride the Wild Surf” with above average audio quality. Video features scenes from the movie including a reddish brunette Barbara Eden in her pre-”Jeannie” days.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WDTTln3zd8
Then reality sank in.
Dean is one cool cat!
The blue eyed blonde “girl-next-door” and I moved to Hollywood in ‘68 and stayed until mid 70’s.
We were so poor, our entertainment was walking Sunset & Hollywood Blvds and “watch the shows”. Weekends we would “drive west on Sunset to the sea” and to Santa Monica & Huntington beaches and points in between.
“Time of our lives”...and then returned to SW Ohio.
You couldn’t pay me enough to live there now - 3rd world hellhole.
That song was written for a film of the same name. Unfortunately, during the shoot, a friend of Jan and Dean’s tried to kidnap Frank Sinatra’s son, and they got banned from the production, investigated by the police, and questioned in open court about what they knew about the plot.
Barbara Eden was an uber-babe in the 1960s and 1970s, surpassed only by Dawn Wells, but only slightly. :)
“Right. I’m a bigot. But for the left.” — Alvy Singer (Woody Allen’s character in “Annie Hall”)
Jan’s been gone 11 years already.
A TV movie about Jan & Dean, “Deadman’s Curve”, was made in 1978. I remember seeing it at the time and also remember Jan doesn’t come off so good. It gets 4 1/2 stars on Amazon.
Jan toured for years; a friend of a friend was in his band for a short time, said that the other musicians made fun of his movements and speech behind his back, very classy.
Cassette?
yes, sir! a cassette tape.
I once drove the old route from Gorman to Castaic. The trip was at times hair-raising since the road in some places was extremely narrow.
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