There are very few hits out there that capture the carefree spirit of early ’60s surf rock quite like “Surf City”. The chart-topping hit from Jan and Dean helped define a musical era — and on Tuesday, Dean Torrence, one-half of the iconic duo, is celebrating his 86th birthday.
Born in Los Angeles in 1940, Torrence helped pioneer both the California Sound and the styles of Southern California surf culture during the sixties with top ten hits like “Surf City,” as well as “Little Old Lady from Pasadena” and “Dead Man’s Curve.”
Jan and Dean were created by Torrance and William Berry in the late 1950s while they were high school football players. They started making music with different groups until establishing Jan and Dean in 1959, and started working with famous producers like Herb Alpert and Lou Adler.
1963 and 1964 were the duo’s peak years. In May 1963, they released their hit song “Surf City,” which became the first surf song to reach No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Co-written by Barry and Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys, about a fictional surfing spot where there are “two girls for every boy.” In addition to remaining the top song for two weeks in the United States, the single also crossed over to the Billboard R&B chart and peaked at No. 3, and was also popular in the United Kingdom…