While I dont think that Jan was a Brilliant a producer as Brian or Spector
(who
wasnt?) he was one of the major architects of the "California Sound". "Jennie
Lee" might have been the first home demo to hit the charts in rock history,
and
thier modest 2-hit success in the late 50's helped set the stage for the surf
music explosion of the Early 60's. Its just a damn shame what happened - who
knows what might have progressed in J&D's career if the crash never happened. 

I saw J&D perform at a casino in Shreveport in 1997 and Jan was very sweet
while signing a few vintage Liberty albums and the UA Anthology album. Dean
was
a little more reluctant to come out but he did sign. Jan did a fine job
singing
the old hits though Dean did carry most of the weight.The highlight was an
long
extended jam of "Barbera Ann" with Shreveport resident and session great James
Burton.

Billy
 

At 01:10 PM 3/28/2004 -0500, you wrote:
>
>Let's also take just a moment to remember
>that Jan Berry was one of the indisputable pioneers
>of west coast, as opposed to merely "surf," rock too:
>
>Jan's garage band (literally!) of the late Fifties,
>much more like a genuine, groundbreaking 15ips workshop,
>brought together such visionaries as Bruce Johnston, Sandy Nelson,
>and even Phil Spector,
>resulting in some truly landmark productions for their day
>(check out Varese Sarabande's superb "Teen Suite 1958-1962" overview).
>
>Sure I love and deeply admire the energy, spirit, and pure sonic shimmer
>Jan created on the string of recordings he made in Brian Wilson's wake,
>but all those pre-"Surf City" gems are certainly worth (re)discovering today 
>as well.
>
>And that ain't no mere Baby Talkin' either,
>
>Gary  "NP: The Jan & Dean Anthology Album (Side Four especially)"  Pig
>  
Billy G. Spradlin
http://listen.to/jangleradio