Dead Man's Curve

Jan Berry

About Dead Man's Curve

"Dead Man's Curve" is a 1964 hit song by Jan and Dean 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, Artie Kornfeld, Roger Christian, and Jan Berry at Wilson's mother's house in Santa Monica. It was part of the teenage tragedy song phenomenon of that period, and one of the most popular such selections of all time.


Year:
1997
3:19
32 

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I was cruisin' in my Stingray late one night
When an XKE pulled up on the right
He rolled down the window of his shiny new Jag
And challenged me then and there to a drag

I said "You're on buddy -- my mill's running fine
Let's come off the line now at Sunset and Vine
But I'll go you one better, if you've got the nerve
Let's race all the way -- to Dead Man's Curve"

(Dead Man's Curve) is no place to play
(Dead Man's Curve) you'd best keep away
(Dead Man's Curve) I can hear 'em say
"Won't come back from Dead Man's Curve"

The street was deserted late Friday night
We were buggin' each other while we sat out the light
We both popped the clutch when the light turned green
You shoulda heard the whine from my screamin' machine!

I flew past La Brea, Schwab's and Crescent Heights
And all the Jag could see were my six taillights
He passed me at Doheny then I started to swerve
But I pulled her out and there we were - at Dead Man's Curve

(Dead Man's Curve) is no place to play
(Dead Man's Curve...  )

"Well, the last thing I remember, Doc
I started to swerve
And then I saw the Jag slide into the curve
I know I'll never forget that horrible sight
I guess I found out for myself that everyone was right"

Won't come back from Dead Man's Curve

(Dead Man's Curve) is no place to play
(Dead Man's Curve) you'd best keep away
(Dead Man's Curve) I can hear 'em say
"Won't come back from Dead Man's Curve"

(Dead Man's Curve) is no place to play
(Dead Man's Curve) you'd best keep away
(Dead Man's Curve) I can hear 'em say
"Won't come back from Dead Man's Curve"

 Become A Better Singer In Only 30 Days, With Easy Video Lessons!


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 popularized by the Beach Boys. Among their most successful songs was 1963's "Surf City", the first surf song ever to reach the #1 spot. Their other charting top 10 singles were "Drag City" (1963), "Dead Man's Curve" (1964; inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2008), and "The Little Old Lady from Pasadena" (1964). In 1972, Torrence won the Grammy Award for Best Album Cover for the psychedelic rock band Pollution's first eponymous 1971 album, and was nominated three other times in the same category for albums of the Nit… more »

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Written by: ARTIE KORNFELD, BRIAN DOUGLAS WILSON, JAN BERRY, ROGER VAL CHRISTIAN

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind


10 facts about this song

Song Background
"Dead Man's Curve" is a hit song from 1963 that was co-written and performed by Jan Berry, one half of the surf pop duo, Jan and Dean.
Song Concept
The song was about two boys racing their cars along the winding 'Dead Man's Curve', which ended in a catastrophic crash for one of them. The story serves as a cautionary tale about the dangers of reckless driving.
Song Influence
Jan Berry was inspired to write "Dead Man's Curve" after he had to swerve to avoid an accident at the real-life location in Los Angeles known as Dead Man's Curve, an infamous section of Sunset Boulevard notorious for its dangerous turn.
Song Chart Performance
"Dead Man's Curve" reached number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and became one of Jan and Dean's biggest hits.
TV movie Inspiration
In 1978, the TV movie "Deadman's Curve" was made, inspired by the life of Jan Berry and Dean Torrence. The film features a fictionalized depiction of the recording of the song.
Personal Connection
Ironically, in 1966, just three years after releasing "Dead Man's Curve," Jan Berry himself was involved in a near-fatal car accident, not far from the actual location in Los Angeles known as Dead Man's Curve.
Claim to Fame
"Dead Man's Curve" is so popular that it was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, a special Grammy award established in 1973 to honor recordings that are at least 25 years old and that have "qualitative or historical significance."
Recording Process
The song was recorded using the Wall of Sound technique, a music production formula developed by Phil Spector to create a dense, layered, and reverberant sound that came across well on radios and jukeboxes.
Collaboration
The lyrics to "Dead Man's Curve" were a collaboration between Jan Berry, Roger Christian, Artie Kornfeld, and Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys. Wilson, who was a close friend of Jan and Dean, often collaborated with Berry on many of their songs.
Identification
The song 'Dead Man's Curve' helped solidify Jan and Dean's reputation as pioneers of the California Sound and surf rock genre. The song remains one of their most recognized recordings.

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