Description
It was a Hollywood music publicist's fondest dream and worst nightmare, all at the same time. Jan Berry, the lead vocalist, composer and producer of famed surf/hot rod duo Jan & Dean had crashed his Corvette on the Sunset Strip late at night on April 19, 1966, almost killing himself. Jan remained in a coma for some time afterwards, and his rehab would take years rather than months. The hitmaking partnership of Jan & Dean, an act that had launched 14 winners into the national Top 40 over the previous six years, had come to a screeching halt. Or had it? Dean Torrence, singer of the duo's ozone-scraping high parts, its specialist in vocal-stacking and its idea man when it came to personal presentation, decided to carry on single-handed while his partner was incapacitated. With the assistance of a few celebrated friends and session men who were regulars in Phil Spector's Wrecking Crew--bassist Joe Osborn, pianist Larry Knechtel, guitarist James Burton and drummer Mickey Jones--Dean began recording tracks whenever he could in Osborn's North Hollywood garage for what would become the new Jan & Dean album, Save for a Rainy Day. The album was a spectacular concept, with its rain-related songs, both new and old, all linked together with the sound of a summer thunderstorm. Dean issued the LP in very limited quantities on his own J&D label and the album became the ultimate rarity in the Jan & Dean catalog. Enter Sundazed Music, who, in 1996, purchased the masters and rights to the album from Dean and gave it a proper, expanded release. Now Save for a Rainy Day appears on Sundazed on limited edition 180-gram vinyl, mastered from the pristine mono reels, in all its original glory!