Nationalizing a lifestyle

Huntington Beach makes a point to be known as Surf City, but it’s doubtful anyone would care much about the title if it weren’t for local resident Dean Torrence and a tune he sang with his friend Jan Berry.

In the early 1960s Jan and Dean became synonymous with the sounds of summer, tanned teens and surfing — that new rebellious sport that was sweeping the beaches. Along with compatriots like the Beach Boys, Jan and Dean exported the reverb-laden taste of California around the world.

With a number of hits that include “Dead Man’s Curve” and “The Little Old Lady From Pasadena” their best-known was “Surf City,” where there are two girls for every boy. But Torrence says they had no intention of being a groundbreaking musical duo.

“We were so naive,” he said. “We didn’t think it was that different.”

Because they grew up with Los Angeles’ beach culture, it was a natural thing for them to sing about. After all, many surfers are quick to point out surfing’s a lifestyle, not simply a sport. Its influence stretches beyond music and into film, fashion and art.

The International Surfing Museum’s new exhibit celebrates surfing’s cultural influences, and it includes an in-depth Jan and Dean retrospective. It’s the second in the museum’s series of surf music exhibits.

“Surfing is the only sport that has its own music,” said Randy Lyford of the museum’s exhibit committee.

“So baseball has ‘Take Me Out to the Ballgame,’” Lyford concedes. “That’s one song.”

Music was what brought surfing to the masses, Lyford said. Kids in the Midwest could listen to a Dick Dale’s “Misirlou” or the Chantays’ “Pipeline,” hop on a skateboard and feel as though they were hitting the waves.

“You felt when you were listening to it that you knew what surfing was all about,” Lyford said.

Torrence says the music was about bringing all audiences that surf feeling, not just surfers.

“‘Surf City’ doesn’t say surfer city. It’s about getting to the beach, all in all there are very few references to actual surfing,” Torrence said.

The exhibit doesn’t leave out other surf-inspired arts. There is a showcase of paintings by French surf artist Celine Chat. It’s a true testament to surfing’s worldwide cultural clout.

The museum has also installed a new theater area with a flatscreen TV and real theater seats to show surf films. The sign from Huntington’s now-razed Surf Theatre gives the film area a historical element.

Hall-of-fame surfer Jericho Poppler said there’s a reason surfing translates into the arts. The wave itself, she says, is the ultimate stage, so creativity comes naturally to surfers.

“They surf in the day and make music at night,” Poppler said.

IF YOU GO

What: “Surf Sounds: Jan and Dean”

When: Noon to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday; 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekends

Where: International Surfing Museum, 411 Olive Ave.

Cost: Free

Information: www.surfing museum.org

FROM THE BEGINNING

 Los Angeles natives Jan Berry and Dean Torrence met at University High School and started The Barons as a doo-wop group in the late 1950s.

 Jan and Dean were influenced by the style of The Beach Boys, and they soon became one of the seminal surf sounds. The Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson even sang a falsetto harmony on “Surf City,” Jan and Dean’s iconic 1963 single, which hit No. 1 in the United States.

 They had six Top 10 singles between 1958 and 1965 including “Little Old Lady From Pasadena,” “Ride the Wild Surf” and “Deadman’s Curve.”

 Jan was involved in an auto accident in 1966 that left him partially paralyzed and with brain damage. After recovery, Jan and Dean started touring again in the early 1970s and performed together until 2004, when 62-year-old Jan experienced a fatal seizure.

 Dean still performs and resides in Huntington Beach.

JOSH ADEN may be reached at (714) 966-4609 or at [email protected].