DEAD MAN’S CURVE (April 12) On this day in 1966 |54 years ago #JanBerry crashed his brand new #CorvetteStingRay into the back of a parked pickup truck on Whittier Drive in Beverly Hills. He had just turned 25 on April 3, and had enjoyed success in the music industry for the past eight years. He was also in his second year of medical school at the California College of Medicine, whose campus at that time was located on Griffin Avenue, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. From his first self penned Top 10 record in 1958 to his final release in 1966, Jan had scored 26 chart entries during that brief period 2 with Jan & Arnie and 24 with Jan & Dean. Sixteen of those were Top 40 hits, including seven Top 10, as charted by “Billboard” and “Cash Box.” Jan had signed a series of major contracts as an artist, songwriter, arranger, and record producer for Nevins-Kirshner Associates in September 1961. Those contracts were renewed and revised by Screen Gems-Columbia Music in April 1963, a month before the release of “Surf City.” Jan’s signing with Screen Gems set the stage for his most famous body of work as a writer, arranger, and producer. Jan & Dean’s television series “On the Run” had been green-lighted to debut on the ABC network in the fall of 1966. The pilot was in the can, and the new medium would have provided the duo a major platform for releasing new music. Jan had launched his personal production company, Berry Enterprises Ltd., in August 1965, and by early April 1966 had laid the groundwork for establishing his own label, J&D Records. In order to fully utilize these two personal companies, Jan was working diligently toward a legal separation from Screen Gems at the time of the accident. Overnight, the crash ended Jan’s musical career, ended his dream of becoming a doctor, and changed his life forever. With brain damage and partial paralysis, Jan’s challenges were immense. He was released from UCLA Medical Center in mid-June 1966, and immediately resumed intensive therapy at Cedars-Sinai Rehabilitation Center. One year to the month after the accident, Jan returned to the studio in April 1967 with original compositions to arrange and produce the first sessions (at Halifax, Nova Scotia) https://www.instagram.com/p/B-9iqMuHTw4/?igshid=91ok7lwg7c50
