Jan & Dean 1958-1968
    To state that without Jan & Dean, there might well have been no Beach Boys is, at best, questionable, for surely the musical talents of Brian Wilson would have found expression one way or another. However, to deny that The Beach Boys owed anything at all to Jan & Dean is simply ridiculous, as a swift A/B comparison of "Jennie Lee" or "Baby Talk" with "Surfin'" and "Surfin' Safari" conclusively demonstrates, and this is only the most overt and earliest example: Brian Wilson has often credited Jan Berry with showing him how to cut 'clean' tracks, and his collaborations with Jan (and the rest of his circle) surely informed his own burgeoning compositions of the period. Jan & Dean have been described as "the Laurel & Hardy of pop", and certainly it's true that their bent for comedy was an ever present and may have distracted the casual observer from their undoubted strengths, but a quick run-through of their single releases 1963-64 reveals outstanding songs and productions. That Jan & Dean aren't yet in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is a scandal, pure and simple.
 
    This is a very basic discography covering their active years - for considerably more detail on not only the releases but also the duo's entire history, you are directed to Mark A. Moore's outstanding Jan Berry/Jan & Dean website.  It's simply the best there is.  An explanation of the various notations: 
 
        * indicates a single released as by Jan & Arnie (Ginsburg); 
      ** is a Jan Berry Solo release;
    *** indicates post-accident releases credited to Jan & Dean that have no involvement from Jan;
           an underlined title doesn't appear on any regular studio (i.e. non-compilation) album;
           and a single in blue has a picture sleeve.
 
    As yet there is no box set devoted to the work of Jan & Dean (another scandalous oversight): currently the best compilation available is 1996's All The Hits - From Surf City To Drag City (EMI 7243 8 53730 2 2), a handy 2CD set that, while neatly covering all the bases from "Jennie Lee" to "Batman", perhaps devotes too much time to radio spots and 'sing-along' versions: it should also be noted that most, if not all, of the tracks have been remixed. The Complete Liberty Singles (Collector's Choice CCM-949, 2008) does what it says on the label - the original mono mixes of all the single sides released on Liberty in the 60s plus the Jan Berry solo single and the B side to a cancelled 45, accompanied by splendid liner notes. For those wishing the whole experience, all the Liberty albums are available on download (again with excellent, newly-written liner notes). The pre-Liberty material has been collected on several compilations, none of which contain all the tracks released: probably the best is Teen Suite 1958-62 (Varèse Sarabande VSD-5590, 1995) (there is a Complete Early Years CD on Sparkletone, but its legality is questionable). The Doré album has been reissued on CD, with bonus tracks, as Jan & Dean (Era /Dominion/K-Tel 5035-2, 1996)
 
    Corrections and additions welcomed, and my grateful thanks to Mark A. More for his invaluable assistance
 
  4/58 Arwin 108 Jennie Lee/Gotta Getta Date*     8
  7/58 Arwin 111   Gas Money/Bonnie Lou*   81
  9/58 Arwin 113 The Beat That Can't Be Beat/I Love Linda*     -
  5/59 Doré  552 Baby Talk/Jeanette, Get Your Hair Done [1]   10
  8/59 Doré  531 There's A Girl/My Heart Sings   97
11/59 Doré  539 Clementine/You're On My Mind   65
  2/60 Doré  548   White Tennis Sneakers/Cindy     -
  3/60 Doré  101 The Jan & Dean Sound [2]     -
  5/60 Doré  555 We Go Together/Rosie Lane   53
7/60 
Dot 16116 Gas Money/Gotta Getta Date*
-
8/60 
Dot EP1097 Jennie Lee-Gas Money/Gotta Getta Date-The Beat That Can't Be Beat*
-
10/60 Doré  576 Gee/Such A Good Night For Dreaming   81
  1/61 Doré  583 Judy's An Angel/Baggy Pants        -
  2/61 Ripple 6101 Tomorrow's Teardrops/My Midsummer Night's Dream** [3]     -
  4/61 Challenge 9111 Heart And Soul/Those Words [withdrawn]
  5/61 Challenge 9111 Heart And Soul/Midsummer Night's Dream   25
  8/61 Doré  610 Don't Fly Away/Julie     -
  9/61 Challenge 9120 Wanted, One Girl/Something A Little Bit Different     -
11/61 Liberty 55397 A Sunday Kinda Love/Poor Little Puppet    95
  4/62 Liberty 55454 Tennessee/Your Heart Has Changed My Mind      69
  8/62 Liberty 55496 My Favorite Dream/Who Put The Bomp     -
  8/62 Liberty LRP-3248 Jan & Dean's Golden Hits [4]     -
11/62 Liberty 55522 Frosty (The Snowman)/She's Still Talking Baby Talk     -
  1/63 Liberty 55531 Linda/When I Learn How to Cry   28
  3/63 Liberty LRP-3294 Jan & Dean Take Linda Surfin'   71
  5/63 Liberty 55580 Surf City/She's My Summer Girl    1
  8/63 Liberty 55613 Honolulu Lulu/Someday (You'll Go Walking By)   11
  7/63 Liberty LRP-3314 Surf City (and Other Swingin' Cities)   32
11/63 Liberty 55641 Drag City/Schlock Rod (Part 1)   10
11/63 Liberty LRP-3339 Drag City [5]   22
  2/64 Liberty 55672 Dead Man's Curve/The New Girl in School [#37]     8
  4/64 Liberty LRP-3361 Dead Man's Curve/The New Girl in School [6]   80
  6/64 Liberty 55704 Little Old Lady (From Pasadena)/My Mighty G.T.O.     3
  8/64 Liberty LRP-3368 Ride The Wild Surf   66
  8/64 Liberty 55724 Ride the Wild Surf/The Anaheim, Azusa & Cucamonga Sewing Circle Book Review and Timing Association [#77]   16
  9/64 Liberty LRP-3377 The Little Old Lady From Pasadena   40
11/64 Liberty 55727 Sidewalk Surfin'/When It's Over   25
  1/65 Liberty LRP-3403 Command Performance - Live In Person   33
  2/65 Liberty 55766 (Here They Come) From All Over the World/Freeway Flyer   56
  4/65 Liberty 55792 You Really Know How to Hurt A Guy/It's As Easy As 1,2,3 [7]   27
  7/65 Liberty 55816 It's a Shame to Say Goodbye/The Submarine Races [cancelled]
  8/65 Liberty LRP-3417 Jan & Dean Golden Hits Volume 2 107
  9/65 Liberty 55833 I Found A Girl/It's A Shame To Say Goodbye   30
10/65 Liberty 55845 The Universal Coward/I Can't Wait To Love You** [8]     -
11/65 Liberty LRP-3431 Folk 'n' Roll 145
12/65 Liberty 55849 A Beginning From An End/Folk City     -
  1/66 Liberty 55856 Norwegian Wood/I Can't Wait to Love You [cancelled]
  1/66 Liberty 55860 Batman/Bucket T   66
  3/66 Liberty-LRP 3444 Jan & Dean Meet Batman     -
April 12th, 1966 - Jan Berry suffers a near-fatal car wreck on Whittier Drive
  4/66 Liberty-LRP 3441 Filet Of Soul - A "Live" One 127
  5/66 Liberty 55886 Popsicle/Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) [9]   21
  6/66 Liberty-LRP 3458 Popsicle [10]      -
  7/66 Liberty 55905 Fiddle Around/A Surfer's Dream [11]   93
  7/66 J&D Record Co. 001 Summertime, Summertime/California Lullabye***     -
  8/66 Liberty-LRP 3460 Jan & Dean Golden Hits Volume Three     -
  8/66 Magic Lamp ML-401 Summertime, Summertime/California Lullabye***     -
  8/66 J&D Record Co. 401 Summertime, Summertime/California Lullabye***     -
10/66 Liberty 55923 School Day (Ring! Ring! Goes the Bell)/The New Girl In School     -
10/66 J&D Record Co. 402 Like A Summer Rain/Louisiana Man*** [12]     -
12/66 J&D Record Co. 101 Save For A Rainy Day***     -
  2/67 Columbia 4-44036 Yellow Balloon/Taste Of Rain***     -
  3/67 Columbia CL-2661 Save For A Rainy Day*** [cancelled]
   /67 Jan & Dean 10 Hawaii/Tijuana [13]     -
   /67 Jan & Dean 11 Fan Tan/Love And Hate [13]     -
10/67 Warner Bros. 7151 Only A Boy/Love And Hate [14]     -
  6/68 Warner Bros. 7219 I Know My Mind/Laurel And Hardy [13]     -
/68
Warner Bros. Carnival Of Sound [unreleased] [15]
11/68 Warner Bros. 7240 In The Still Of The Night/Girl, You're Blowing My Mind [cancelled]
x
1
  The initial pressings of this single carried the incorrect label credit "Jan & Arnie".
2
  This album comprised the eight previously released Dore sides plus four tracks that would later see single release.
3
  Ripple seems to have been a one-shot label created especially for this release.
4
  A classic example of misleading titling - most of the 'golden hits' are covers of hits by other artists !
5
  Contains the non-hit version of "Dead Man's Curve".
6
  Contains the hit single re-recording of "Dead Man's Curve".
7
  The B side is a duet between Jan and then-girlfriend Jill Gibson.
8
  Although released as a Jan Berry solo single, both tracks were included on the Folk 'n' Roll album.
9
  The A side was originally released on the Drag City album.
10
  Hastily assembled to cash in on the unexpected success of the "Popsicle" single, this album consisted of both single sides, six tracks from
  Ride The Wild Surf, two from The Little Old Lady... and one each from Drag City and Golden Hits.
11
  The A side, previously unreleased, was recorded in July 1962.
12
  The instrumental track for the B side was produced by Jan (pre-accident).
13
  Although Jan oversaw the production of the Jan & Dean and Warner Bros. singles, he didn't sing lead on any of them except one.
14
  Jan sings lead on the A side, which was recorded before the accident.
15
  Carnival Of Sound saw an eventual release on the Rhino Handmade label in February 2010.
Created 2/27/11