"Dead Man's Curve" is a 1964 hit song by

Jan and Dean Jan and Dean was an American rock music, rock duo consisting of William Jan Berry (April 3, 1941 – March 26, 2004) and Dean Ormsby Torrence (born March 10, 1940). In the early 1960s, they were pioneers of the California Sound and vocal surf mu ...

whose lyrics detail a teen street race gone awry. It reached number eight on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 singles chart. The song was written and composed by

Brian Wilson Brian Douglas Wilson (born June 20, 1942) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often called a genius for his novel approaches to pop composition, extraordinary musical aptitude, and m ...

Artie Kornfeld Arthur Lawrence Kornfeld (born 1942) is an American musician, record producer, and music executive. He is best known as the music promoter for the Woodstock Festival held in 1969. Kornfeld is also known for his collaborations with Artie Kaplan. ...

, Roger Christian, and

Jan Berry Jan and Dean was an American rock duo consisting of William Jan Berry (April 3, 1941 – March 26, 2004) and Dean Ormsby Torrence (born March 10, 1940). In the early 1960s, they were pioneers of the California Sound and vocal surf music styles ...

at Wilson's mother's house in

Santa Monica Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing to ...

. It was part of the

teenage tragedy song A teenage tragedy song is a style of ballad in popular music that peaked in popularity in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Examples of the style are also known as "tear jerkers", "death discs" or "splatter platters", among other colorful sobriquet ...

phenomenon of that period, and one of the most popular such selections of all time. "Dead Man's Curve" was added to the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2008.

Premise

The singer goes out for a leisurely drive one night in his Corvette

Sting Ray Stingrays are a group of sea rays, which are cartilaginous fish related to sharks. They are classified in the suborder Myliobatoidei of the order Myliobatiformes and consist of eight families: Hexatrygonidae (sixgill stingray), Plesiobatidae ( ...

, when a driver pulls up alongside in his Jaguar XKE and challenges him to a drag race. According to the song, the race starts at Sunset and Vine, traveling westbound on West Sunset Blvd., passing North La Brea Ave., North Crescent Heights Blvd., and North Doheny Dr. The original

Schwab's Pharmacy Schwab's Pharmacy was a drugstore located at 8024 Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, California, and was a popular hangout for movie actors and movie industry dealmakers from the 1930s through the 1950s. History Opened in 1932 by the Schwab brothers ...

was located just east of Crescent Heights on Sunset. The North Whittier Drive curve, a nearly 90° right turn traveling west on Sunset Boulevard just past North Whittier Drive, may have been the "dead man's curve" in the song, but there is debate on the actual location of the curve. Coincidentally, Jan Berry, of Jan and Dean, would himself later be involved in a near-fatal incident in 1966, when he crashed his own

into a parked truck on North Whittier Drive near (but not on) Dead Man's Curve. The song ends with the singer relating his last memories of the ill-fated race to a doctor. Sound effects of screeching tires and crashing are also heard in the song. ''

Deadman's Curve ''Deadman's Curve'' is a 1978 American made-for-television biographical film based on the musical careers of Jan Berry and Dean Torrence. The film was developed from a 1974 article published in ''Rolling Stone'' by Paul Morantz, who also helped ...

'' was used as the title for the 1978 biographical nationally televised movie about Jan and Dean, starring Richard Hatch and

Bruce Davison Bruce Allen Davison (born June 28, 1946) is an American actor and director. Davison is well known for his starring role as Willard Stiles in the cult horror film '' Willard'' (1971) and his Academy Award-nominated and Golden Globe-winning perfor ...

respectively portraying Berry and Torrence.

Versions

Three versions of "Dead Man's Curve" were released: *Version #1: Original version from the 1963 ''Drag City'' album *Version #2: Single "hit" version with added horns, strings, additional backing vocals, and sounds of a car skidding and crashing; from the 1964 ''Dead Man's Curve/The New Girl In School'' LP *Version #3: An earlier rejected studio mix from the 1966 ''Filet of Soul'' album. Live versions appear on the 1965 ''Command Performance'' and 1971 ''Anthology'' albums There are a few minor lyrical differences between versions #1 and 3 and version #2 listed above: *Versions #1 & 3 – "my frenched tail lights", "the strip was deserted", and "pulled her out and there I was" *Version #2 – "my six tail lights", "the street was deserted", and "pulled her out and there we were" There are two basic versions: Version one: Lead and backing vocals: Jan Berry Background vocals: Jan Berry, Brian Wilson, Gary Usher. Released: on Drag City LP, Liberty LST 7339, Jan and Dean Jan. 6, 1964 Side one, cut five – 3:01 Also on Filet of Soul LP, Liberty LST 7441, Jan and Dean, April 25, 1966, Side two, cut three – 3:01 Version two: Jan Berry, Roger Christian, Artie Kornfeld, Brian Wilson Jan Berry: Lead and backing vocals. Dean Torrence: Backing vocals Released February 17, 1964 Liberty 55672 45 RPM (B-side: "New Girl in School") – 2:28 (2:21 listing on actual disk—Wiki says 2:27) Released May 4, 1964 "Dead Man's Curve"/"The New Girl in School" LP Liberty LST 7361, Jan and Dean Side one, cut one – 2:28 Also re-released on several compilations (the 1984

Rhino A rhinoceros (; ; ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. (It can also refer to a member of any of the extinct species o ...

LP ''

Teenage Tragedies ''Teenage Tragedies'' (aka ''Teenage Tragedy'') is a compilation album of teen tragedy songs released on Rhino Entertainment, Rhino Records in 1984. Release data The album was conceived and compiled by Rhino Records co-founder Richard Foos. Boa ...

'' lists the song as a "re-recorded version"), anthologies, and 45 RPM records (some timed 2:39)

Cover versions

The song was covered by

The Carpenters The Carpenters (officially known as Carpenters) were an American vocal and instrumental duo consisting of siblings Karen Carpenter, Karen (1950–1983) and Richard Carpenter (musician), Richard Carpenter (born 1946). They produced a distinct ...

as part of their oldies sequence on their album '' Now & Then''. The B-side "

The New Girl In School "The New Girl in School" is a song written by Jan Berry, Roger Christian, Brian Wilson, and Bob Norberg for the American rock duet Jan and Dean. It was the B-side of their hit single " Dead Man's Curve". Both songs were released on their album ...

" was covered by

Alex Chilton William Alexander Chilton (December 28, 1950 – March 17, 2010) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer best known as the lead singer of the Box Tops and Big Star. Chilton's early commercial success in the 1960s ...

on his 1995 album, '' A Man Called Destruction''. The song was covered by the Belljars, whose version plays over the closing credits of the 1998 film, '' The Curve'' AKA ''Dead Man's Curve''. This song has also been covered by Cleveland proto-punk band electric eels,

Blink-182 Blink-182 (stylized as blink-182) is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Poway, California in 1992. Their current lineup consists of bassist/vocalist Mark Hoppus, guitarist/vocalist Tom DeLonge, and drummer Travis Barker. Though their ...

, and Canadian musician

Nash the Slash James Jeffrey "Jeff" Plewman (March 26, 1948 – May 10, 2014), better known by his stage name Nash the Slash, was a Canadian musician. A multi-instrumentalist, he was known primarily for playing the electric violin and mandolin, as well as the h ...

References

External links

Google Map of the route described in the song

Google Map location of Jan Berry's accident

Listen to it on YouTube
{{authority control 1963 songs 1963 singles Jan and Dean songs Teenage tragedy songs Vehicle wreck ballads Songs about cars Songs written by Roger Christian (songwriter) Songs written by Brian Wilson Songs written by Jan Berry Songs written by Artie Kornfeld Songs about Los Angeles Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients Liberty Records singles