Jan Berry and Dean Torrence began singing together after football practice at University High School in Los Angeles in the late 1950s. Primitive recording sessions followed soon after in a makeshift studio in Jan's garage. They first performed on stage as The Barons at a high school dance. Then they were known as Jan & Arnie. After Dean returned from a stint in the army reserves, the duo began to make music as Jan & Dean in 1958.

Jan Berry and Brian Wilson collaborated on roughly a dozen hits and album cuts for Jan & Dean