"When the music of the 1960s turned toward sunny Southern California, two musicians knew the scene better than just about anyone. Jan Berry and Dean Torrance met at University City High School in Los Angeles when both were on the football team. They soon started playing rock and roll together and formed the band The Barons with other friends. The band played in a talent show and afterward members left until it was just Jan and Dean. They worked on a song together with a friend named Arnie Ginsburg called ""Jenny Lee,"" which caught the attention of a record producer when they took it to be made into a record for a party.Jan and Arnie ended up releasing ""Jenny Lee"" without Dean because he had to report for active duty in the Army. By the time Dean had returned from his duty, Arnie was out and Dean was in. They released their first songs as a duo, ""Baby Talk,"" in 1959, and it started to grow a buzz for the teens in Los Angeles, but really blew up when it appeared on American Bandstand. The song reached number 10 on the charts, and the duo was on its way. They soon moved on to a bigger label and found success with the single ""Surf City"" in 1963.That single really started the surfer craze of the 1960s and changed the course of the duo. Jan & Dean were soon releasing surfer song after surfer song. They influenced such great bands as the Beach Boys. Their careers were going great until Jan was in a near-fatal car crash in 1966. Jan had to go through tremendous physical therapy for years after the crash. Dean tried his hand and recording on his own as well as becoming a graphic designer. Jan & Dean reunited for tours in the 1980s and continued working together until Jan died in 2004."