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Note: John was part of Jan and Dean's band The Belair Bandits at this time.
Because of the massive use of turbulent and alluring rhythms, one may find one’s body movement will coordinate with the beat against one’s will. – How to Distinguish Decadent Music Chinese pamphlet.
It’s a long march from Deadman’s Curve to the Great wall, but two forever California boys will make the trek later this month. With twinges of nostalgia and nativistic pride, we take note that Jan and Dean will become the first American rockers to tour mainland China.
There’s a West Coast quintessentialism to Jan Berry and Dean Torrance. They began singing while surfers and high school football teammates in Santa Monica. Their shrill vocals and warbling harmonies produced hits such a “Little Old Lady from Pasadena,” – about a souped-up grandmother, “Sidewalk Surfin’,” the seminal skateboard siren; and “Deadman’s Curve,” the hot-rod anthem of the 1960s.
Then there was the classic “Surf City.” It speaks of California’s waves, sun and fun-loving youth, an exuberance and innocence that defines the 1960s for many persons.
And this is why Jan and Dean are going to China. The Chinese, in their slow climb to cultural modernity, have musically reached the 1960s, which officials believe are best represented by the California duo. Hence, the government’s Bureau of Culture booked Messrs. Berry and Torrance to more than a dozen shows in Peking, Guangzhou, Shanghai and elsewhere.
The performances will be jammed. And curiosity is stoked by what could happen during and after the collision of these two cultures. How will Chinese youths react to the torrents of electronic sound pouring off the stage, to the English lyrics – “I think our stuff is simple enough for anyone to understand,” says Jan sincerely and to the live-wire excitement of a rock show?
Will they sit in stunned silence – or twist and shout in the aisles to the turbulent and alluring rhythms? Can we expect skateboards at the Great Wall, surf contests in the South China Sea?
Perhaps the concerts will spark imitations. Imagine Chinese rockers with bleached-blond hair strumming electric balalaikas while singing “Little Old Lady Form Guangzhou Province.” The mainland may never be the same again.
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