By Robert Jablon, Associated Press Writer

LOS ANGELES - Jan Berry, a member of the duo Jan & Dean that had the 1960s surf-music hits "Deadman's Curve" and "The Little Old Lady From Pasadena," has died. He was 62.

Berry had a seizure and stopped breathing Friday at his home. He was pronounced dead that evening at a hospital, said his wife, Gertie Berry.

He had been in poor health recently from the lingering effects of brain damage from a 1966 car crash.

Jan & Dean had a string of hits and ten gold records in the 1960s with their tales of Southern California. Among them were 1964's "The Little Old Lady From Pasadena," about a hotrod racing grandma, and "Surf City," with its lines about taking the station wagon to a place where there are "two girls for every boy."

With Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys, William Jan Berry co-wrote the lyrics for "Surf City" and "Deadman's Curve," which featured the driving guitar licks and falsetto crooning of the wildly popular surf music.

Berry's hit-making career with high school friend Dean Torrence was cut short in 1966 when Berry's speeding Corvette hit a parked truck and he suffered severe brain damage that left him partially paralyzed and unable to talk.

His recovery was slow, but eventually he was able to resume singing and writing songs.

In addition to his wife, Berry is survived by his parents, William and Clara Berry of Camarillo; three brothers and three sisters.

My condolences to all this friends,fans, and family.
Jan will be missed, but, even though the body now no longer carries the soul,
his music lives on.

Rest in Peace Jan..and thank you for sharing your
music with the world!

Most respectfully,
~Code

While I have never heard of Jan Berry music, I'd also like to send out my condolences. Especially since the record label he signed up was One Way Records Inc, a non-RIAA.

Got to see Jan and Dean in about 1989. Good show.

this is very sad. a true legend has passed.

"two girls for every boy.."

I got to see them in concert for free a week after I was sent to Ft. Campbell,KY . They palyed a full concert for all the troops there at the post football field in 1981. I still have the paper from the week after they had the show. IT was good to see the show but hard to watch as well knowing that Jan was still having trouble with his injuries. Going to miss any chance of seeing them in concert now but I'll always have their music. Thanks for everything Jan.

Major bummer. I was listening to Jan & Dean today at work. Thanks for the music and God rest your soul!

They were doing a gig when we passed through San Francisco years back. I wanted to go see them, but alas, not enough time. I guess we should take the time to do things when the opportunities arise, cause once they're gone......

"Especially since the record label he signed up was One Way Records Inc, a non-RIAA."

Jan and Dean were originally signed to Liberty Records, which eventually ended up in the hands of EMI. One Way Records is a reissue label that licensed the Jan and Dean reissues from EMI.

A history of Liberty Records here:

http://www.bsnpubs.com/liberty/liberty.html

My condolences to his family. He will be missed.

Jan and Dean form a part of the bedrock of American music that is sad to say being eroded. Most of that music was playing while I was crawling around in diapers, but I somehow know all the words to the songs form the sixies when they rarely come on the radio. The only other place to hear them is on the internet....for a little while longer before it gets taken away.

Good-bye, Mr Jan Berry

Dead Man's Curve, it's no place to play
Dead Man's Curve, you must keep away
Dead Man's Curve, I can hear 'em say:
"Won't come back from Dead Man's Curve"

Will miss ya Jan! Thanks for the music you gave.

Shmoo

thanks mroop, but, according to the http://www.magnetbox.com/riaa/ , I was assumed that it was RIAA safe. Apparently, it is NOT!!! And now, I could care less about Jan Berry's loss since his music fell in the hands of the conglomerate RIAA-label, EMI.

Gimme a break, ilikethissite. That's just dumb. Music doesn't get rendered bad *just because* it's been controlled by the RIAA. Believe it or not, there's been A LOT of great music that fell into the hands of a conglomerate label. ...Further, the man's LIFE doesn't become worthless either.