Sidewalk Surfin'
Jan & Dean Lyrics

@sharonramone7186

This is my fave clip of Jan and Dean. I keep coming back to this . Miss ya!💝

@Kelly-nm4kw

Hello Sharon, How are you doing?

@harveymushman2219

I just turned 11 when this song came out....Summer Calif Coast....Jan & Dean....comic books...Big Daddy Ed Roth....Ford Mustang....and words from the older dudes to yell out while going down a steep sidewalk on our homemade skateboards with steel skate wheels...COWABUNGA !

@lemurlover7975

As a Ninja Turtles fan and Sk8ter girl (rollerblades) I shout back at cha Cowabunga Dude!!! (I was born in the 80s, loved those steep sidewalks.)

@dougstevens6257

If Jan & Dean aren't in the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame, they should be. They were awesome!

@billeywinn3792

Ya Jan wrote his music rearrange and published a lot of author musician never did and there in the hall of fame

@yehudafinkelstein7504

Jan and Dean aren't in the Rock and Roll of Fame because Jann Wenner, Founder of Rolling Stone, hates Surf Music. He also denied Bruce Johnston entry in the HOF, you know the guy who sang on God Only Knows with Carl Wilson and replaced Brian Wilson on Beach Boys tours.

@clydesuckfinger7097

You may be the only person out there who knows who Bruce Johnston is. Do you remember his single release?

@sweetgoatpussy2423

You’re crazy if you Think they contributed enough reputable material to rock history to even wipe their ass in the bathroom at the rock and roll hall of fame.

@409442

Had to laugh, 3Ddude101! Big difference between Jan Berry & Mike Love. Jan actually was cool & knew how to dance. Mike Love may have TRIED to copy Jan's moves, but it didn't work very well. Nothing against Mike, but he always danced like a dork onstage.

@fob1xxl

"SIDEWALK SURFING" LIKE this song started in CALIFORNIA ! Around the early 60's kids were puting the wheels from a pair of roller skates on a board and came up with a skateboard and there you were, "SIDEWALK SURFING" !

@impalaman9707

Boy these lads were preppy, 20 years before the idea being preppy was cool! Feathered back hair, designer shirts, probably wore penny loafers!

@SimuLord

No kidding. They look like the "evil rich kids" from every '80s teen movie.

@Fear_inc_sk8s

Preppies ain’t cool wtf you mean?

@MRM-Red

@HUCK IT CREW yes look at Miami Vice. They were preppy and very cool

@jeffreyb8770

Neck tattoos forever!

@impalaman9707

@@SimuLord Members of the "Alpha Beta" fraternity in "Revenge of the Nerds"

@DrHogfan

"Taking gas in a bush...takes a lot of nerve" "...then she'll know your an asphault athlete" GENIUS!

@michaelserby7697

Good old days 🇺🇸 💙 🎶 🎶🎵 💖
,--1964-- 😎

@davidjensen4702

Peeps, you can't have a summer mix without these two, nor the Beach Boys to add more variety, and classics

@bobsilver3983

I was digging through my moms cassette tapes in the mid to late 80's, and heard this song for the first time, I loved it...I played it alot in my 1969 Chevelle.

@psychickitty1

Here's to all the competitors in the new Olympic discipline of skateboarding! Every one of you is a winner! And here's to us, the kids who rode our sidewalk surfboards back in the day.

@gtamediaproductions1

Wow! all these songs I've been hearing from them made me think all along that they were the beach boys singing. Never thought of Jan and Dean. This is gold!

@Buttermilkjug

Beach Boys had a song that sounded exactly like this called "Catch A Wave", where the lyrics were "Catch a wave and you're sittin' on top of the world"~ Also, Brian Wilson wrote this song~

@kezner32

@@Buttermilkjug Yeah, Brian Wilson and Roger Christian first wrote Catch a Wave for the Beach Boys. Jan asked Brian and Roger if he could use the music with different lyrics which Roger wrote. The song became a hit (and Capitol Records surely weren't happy with Brian Wilson handing over a hit to Jan & Dean, who were on a different label, haha)

@nunyabeeswax3112

Jan and Dean and The Beach Boys did backups for each other. Thanks for sharing.

@alexanderhagert189

Jan and Dean were California Cool. Seriously laid back. But Jan finished 2 years med. school before his car accident. Dean was a very talented graphic artist. They played off each other. They had the Wrecking Crew behind them when they recorded. Records sounded great. Jan made a courageous comeback before his condition weakened. A true tragedy played out in public and made into a very good movie.

@jimb01957

Agree and well said

@impassable

Tragic..Jan was so talented the sky was the limit

@Carol-qv3mk

Dean, also had a master's degree in architecture. Both musically talented, and extremely intelligent.

@ejr1636

Early skate rock. Respect.

@mercdan

They were great, loved all their songs

@elliothagen9874

Remember watching that. Childhood memory.

@NeeCeeRidinFree

OMGOSH!! My brother was born the 2nd..died July 2004...1 week before his 40th... I WAS the one ridin' the board!!! LOL RIP Tom...miss you!

@Kelly-nm4kw

Hello Denise, How are you doing?

@stephenroman9015

One of the first groups I listened to as a kid

@xtrudreman

Deadman's Curve was my favorite. My 1965 highschool year book has skateboarding as my hobby.

@miguellopez8285

Fueron y siempre serán grandiosos, son de mis dúos favoritos 🙌🏻🇲🇽👌🏻

@jettrink7510

I've always loved this song.

@erniemiller1953

I love that their moves on the skateboard were extreme back then.

@jonnyrox116

Jan and Dean originated karaoke, the term" lip sync" didn't come out until these guys were hasbeens...I wore through several 45's of these and many other surfer bands of that era and I still love it!

@SkaterOperator

Loved the 180 Power Slide at the end. Kick Flip! 🛹🤙🏻

@customsuzuki

These guys were my first concert ever..they appeared with the Supremes and other groups on a Dick Clark show at Steel Pier in Atlantic City right around the time of this show..

@sharonramone7186

Mine too! Also at Steel Pier, only with different acts.

@ronnieboucherthecrystalcraftsm

i had a skate board in 1965 and worked in a skate board maker in 1975 and at 60 now i drive!

@chrisbuck1695

Had my first skateboard right around this time, it was my old metal rollerskates, screwed to a board, theyve come a long way since then

@kenhoyer8601

Did the Same thing, took my sisters steel skates apart and nailed them on a 2x4 . In San Francisco there was a lot of hills . If you hit a pebble you were screwed.

@blackspace007

I went to high school with a guy that looked like Jan Berry.  He was so handsome

@UGAmike34

Great memories

@gordontainsch2624

What down to earth guys...a sense of humor for sure. Funny when Dean missed his ending lip sync and Jan started laughing. Great songs from these guys and great memories.

@TurboMountTV

You know from what I read about their relationship, and how Jan looked down upon Dean constantly, he was probably saying to himself "dumb ass you are lucky to be here"

@michaelflorez4194

Classic act. Jam and. Dean

@bufordghoons9981

What an excellent mix. This duo sounds like a quartet.

@AmyWinehouse.914

I dare say the beach boys are backing them.

@michaelmurphy213

I don't think there's a bad hot rod \surfin record ever made that I didn't like! Why doesn't the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame respect Surf Rock as a legitimate genre

@sharonramone7186

I've wondered that for YEARS!

@gabrieldecampos7774

I love this song 🎶🏄🏻 Jan and dean Forever...

@zcam1969

amazing talent ....im flabbergassed

@jeffjackson8905

Sidewalk surfin and catch a wave have the same music, but I love both songs

@RNRCUB

Great time piece and it is still a lot of fun to ride 58 and still falling down

@robertpooley3831

I'm relying to comments below. Jan and Dean did not steal anything they asked Brian Wilson if they could take the music from Catch A Wave and add their own lyrics to which Brian agreed. Secondly Catch A Wave wasn't a hit record because it wasn't released as a single

@mt9054

Boom end of story...well put...👍🏻

@jonnyrox116

Jan and Dean were contemporaries of the Beach Boys, both struggling for top seed. Each band covered each other's songs but what they created was nothing short of legendary surf and hotrod music, and I still love it to this day!

@robertbykowski1398

@JonnyRox One crucial difference: the Beach Boys had the collective talent to grow artistically beyond just surfing & car songs, whereas Jan & Dean never did. Then again, they were never really given the chance due to Jan Berry's horrific, near-fatal car accident in April of 1966. But even though Jan was a talented producer & arranger, I don't believe he had the songwriting talent that Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys had.

@jonnyrox116

@Robert Bykowski I wholeheartedly agree, though most people think they copied the Beach Boys

@nuwavedave

@Robert Bykowski Music was really just a hobby for them. Jan was in medical school, and Dean was preparing for what became a successful graphic design career. Jan also produced hit records for other artists - something that isn't widely known. He was also a gifted producer, recording multi-track sound-on-sound while still in high school.

@davidgrose6349

Love watching these two clown around.

@NiennaT

growing up my sister and i both got skateboards, and what i remember is that the trucks had the name torrance on them. I think they were made in torrance california, but given that Dean's surname was Torrance i am not so sure now.

@Kelly-nm4kw

Hello Nienna, How are you doing?

@sqflo2

I cried when saw the movie on them

@alienteriyaki8960

Amazing how far skateboarding has come.

@snowrocket

I'm NOT an expert, but I heard that the urethane skateboard wheel was probably the biggest single improvement ever made to skateboards. It made them really popular and much safer in the 1970s.

@markrechter9965

23 and 24, one gone and the other a Doctor. Time is fleeting and only for the strong!

@clydesuckfinger7097

Really neat. Jan and Dean , the Beach Boys and all the other surf groups. Great times 1961-1963. Graduation, college at L.A. Pierce college and a letter from Uncle Sam.

@robertbykowski1398

@Clyde Suckfinger Staying in college as long as possible would have prevented the letter from Uncle Sam. I had a professor at Marquette University who went to Berkeley from 1965-72, and he flat out admitted that the only reason he got his PhD and became a professor was to avoid being drafted into Vietnam.

@GeorgeVreelandHill

Where's the band? No matter. Great song by a GREAT duo. Jan & Dean should be in the Hall of Fame. George Vreeland Hill

@popguynj

i think it's funny how 2 guys can sound like 5 beach boys lol

@Octopussyist

Yeah really - here is what they really sound like - live, no playback, no backing choir:
https://youtu.be/FHTUKcniD2U?t=52

@scootergeorge9576

I think it's funny that you believe it's their voices on the track!

@Octopussyist

@Scooter George It seems, however, that at least one of them had some talent for arranging and mixing i so that it sounded pretty good. Some of the voices are probably theirs, but only the two of them, unplugged, is really not impressive.

@scootergeorge9576

@Octopussyist - Yes, it does sound good. And some of the voices they are lip syncing to COULD have been their own.

@Octopussyist

@Scooter George The funny thing is - I do remember them from my early childhood, but had no idea who they were. I probably confused some of what I had in memory with the Beach Boys. Then I stumbled over a clip from an old TV show where they are singing unpluged -and I thought, WTF!!!?? How could those two vocally untrained school boys in any way have made hit records? Then I realized that some of what came out on the records sounded pretty good. But I doubt that anyone would have put so much effort into those two guys if one of them had not been producing it. Hence the conclusion: At least one must be e pretty good arranger.
Besides, it is obvious, when you listen to Surf City that there are about five voices and they are not just overdubbings. I don't know if they even used overdubbings back then - and the character of the single voices are so different ...
It is probably a bit like "Modern Talking" - although at least one of them has a great voice. But Dieter Bohlen - can he sing, can he play well? He is good at picking the right people and putting it all together in the studio.

@timmyotoole1010

JAN & Dean ❤️🇺🇸por siempre

@USCG.Brennan

Back when music was FUN!!

@joeflaherty4682

A neighbor dad of my friend fashioned a peace of wood with I think a coping saw and we attached wheels bought in a store to the board. We had to clean the wheels which had ball bearings. Nothing like today. Those wheels if they hit even the tiniest pebble you would crash. I won a third place ribbon in the neighborhood skateboarding contest on a street called Huerta Verde in Glendora, California 1965. It was yesterday.

@garyoconnordbaairrepair7775

We took metal skate wheels and attached them to a 2x4 board and that was our skateboard in the early 1960s.

@rhondahancock7942

Why are these guys not in hall of fame they were the best even better than beach boys to me Jan was a sexy genuous guy their hits are priceless let's give them the respect they deserve

@kennydobbins1345

In my opinion the Beach Boys are better, but I agree Jan And Dean should be in the Hall of Fame.

@jarmeljake

Story is/was...Jan and Dean hung out with Brian Wilson, who liked them and foolishly gave up some killer tunes to them Surf City and apparently this tune. Brian's father and the rest of the Beach Boys were not happy with Brian at all.

@3Ddude101

Tony Eric That's not why they're not in the HoF. The founder of Rolling Stone magazine hates surf music.

@frankforbes6667

Brian Wilson wrote some of their sons

@elzach0

They not in the rnr hall of fame because they are a scuffed version of the beach boys

@bobbileemarsh691

soooo young...wow memories!!!!!

@Mike12522

Hmmm. The skateboard in the video looks like an early Hobie. I had one.
The board was straight hardwood. It never cracked or broke.
The wheels were not steel or plastic, but rather a very strong brownish material. Though they wore, my wheels never cracked or broke.
High quality stuff, in those days.
Since the wheel assembly or board scarcely tilted, trying to go around curves, or turn hard, was a real challenge.

@stereoal

Loved the video. The interview was great to see. Thanks

@chilbury

That has to be the first skateboard ever!!! Real men ...

@JaKeW138

This is literally catch a wave by the beach boys

@mikaleno1

Thank you captain obvious.

@Patriot4444

Pretty sure you meant figuratively.

@3Ddude101

Rufus Firefly You think so??

@thesarge1969

Written by Brian Wilson

@Richiezbrasjr

Jim Taylor and Roger Christian I believe

@TheDejael

Jan & Dean's surf-pop song "Sidewalk Surfin' " was released on June 30, 1964, and was on the pop charts through the summer of '64, along with their other hit song "Ride The Wild Surf" in August. They were getting ready to promote their own line of Jan & Dean Skateboards. I had one.
"Sidewalk Surfin' " was written by Brian Wilson, Jan Berry and Roger Christian. Originally it was a Beach Boys song, "Catch A Wave".
From Dick Clark's American Bandstand in its last season on WFIL-TV in Philadelphia (You'll notice the kids are not dressed in hip California clothing), on August 22, 1964.

@clasystems

Jan and Arnie [who finished Jenny Lee when Dean was in the reserves got caught up in a publicity stunbt gone sour to bolster the career of Frank Sinatra Jr. with a fake kidnapping; the studio was pissed so they were dropped from the movie, but the theme song was already out; there were to have been in the movie, etc.

@raymondmalcuit8361

American Bandstand Was In California Already, When This Show Aired.

@guillaumefrenkel6993

catch a wave more greatest

@dougwinders6973

Great songs and great singers.

@mn1fatcat

sad story, but they were great, loved em

@cnnw3929

The funniest part: The downhill grade will really give you a kick but when the sidewalk's cracked ya gotta pull out quick! LOL

@carolynjones6457

I absolutely love this Song, the first time that I was on a skateboard I wiped out. I haven't tried it since, you can't ride a skateboard on gravel.

@guillaumefrenkel6993

beach boy song
like the others

@frankjuster8726

"bust yer buns , bust yer buns aawoooo..".lol!

@dianecarver6566

I think these guys lived on Pretty Boy Lane. Such a sad day when Jan got into that accident. I'm glad he survived but seeing him when he started performing again.....but very sad to see Jan. He was a beautiful soul and it was painful to see him. Especially near the end of his life when he had to sit on a chair. He gained so much weight and his hair was dark. I always liked Jan and Dean. I was fortunate enough to see them live.

@jimb01957

Surf music always!!!!

@jc6594

Today Commemorates Dean Torrence's 80th Birthday <3

@michaelpearson1272

They had minor hits in 1959 and they where here before the beach boys. They where Jan and arny before Jan and Dean. Search for a song called Jenny Lee by them. They made a surf version of a classic rockabilly record by moon mulican.

@BUSTER.BRATAMUS

Only jan and Dean would make fun of lip syncing..love the guys.

@michaelmonette2759

If you listen to it it's the exact same tune as the Beach Boys 'Catch a Wave'

@3Ddude101

Michael Monette Wow....I never realized that...........till I was 7 years old in 1964.

@sharonramone7186

The Clown Prince's of R+R💝

@USCG.Brennan

@Michael Monette Of course you know who wrote both songs don't you??
Brian Wilson.

@Brian-fz1xj

They are lip syncing?

@mtnman6557

Back in the early 60's, skateboards weren't available to purchase locally, so we just made our own. We'd get some old roller skates & hammer the toe & heel grips flat & attach them w/ screws to a sanded & painted board. Then you'd make it your own by adding racing stripes, Rat Fink & racing decals, etc. What fun it was! You could get some great speed w/ those old type skinny, all steel, roller skate wheels, but as in the song, man, "if the sidewalk's cracked, ya' better pull out quick" sure applied. Also, w/ those skinny wheels, if you hit a lose piece of gravel, it would stop your board in its tracks & then a wipeout usually followed : )

@johnvan6803

They wete great! Very undrr rated!

@leetana5166

Been missing this song!! We'd walk up to the top of our street, which was quite a big hill, then set our wooden longboards down. (Thought the brand was Conn -?) We always rode barefoot. We'd all be in a line, 5-6 of us, and all push off at the same time. It sure wasn't easy on the rough asphalt street, but we usually all made it to the end of the street together. Then, walk back up to the top to do it again. We'd blast the song on a single, had the record player by the sidewalk. Good times

@alanmurr6562

Sidewalk surfing is so much more popular today and 15 years ago (circa 2000), then it was in 1963. Today in the city I live in I can rarely go out of my house and not run into some teen-ager who is sidewalk surfing and whizzing right by me at a 100 miles an hour. When I was a kid rolling skates and sidewalk surfing was for sissies. My how time changes things. This would make a great song 52 years later in 2015 with many many more real sidewalk surfers. And they don't even know that they are sidewalk surfers today.

@GeorgeVreelandHill

Send me back in time to the California of the 1960s. George Vreeland Hill

@bqkmg2037

California was the place to be from the 1950s thur 1980s.

@gerardourbinacosio3995

Dick Clark en Américan Bandstan un grande descansa en paz

@josephloehr9617

Captain Jan & Dean, The Boy Blunder! HOLY SKATEBOARDS!!

@1234buns4

I'm questioning the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, cause I'm wondering if Jan and Dean have been enlisted and if not, WHY!!!.   To me and many more who grew up listening to this popular dual would wonder why they  have been overlooked...something tells me they have and that in itself is worth noting of this so called Rock and Roll Hall of Fame     Thanks4 posting an excellent video on the skateboard/ha. 
.Never seen one for myself until the disco era, honest (Vancouver, Canada).  Now there everywhere and so are the skateboard parks.

@landrykkb

elmo michaels I'm thinking that their omission into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has everything to do with them being dismissed as just Beach Boys clones.

@landrykkb

***** Apparently so.

@tjb9693

elmo michaels Being born at the end of 61 somehow, no act has shaped my liefe in those early years as a grade schooler, more than the Beatles and Jan and Dean. Inexplicable, and I'm all for them in the hall. I have Dean's autograph on an obscure album and Jan unfortunately missed that show due to a fall, and I think he unfortunately passed within a year. What a treasure I have

@3Ddude101

John W Landry The main reason is bcuz the founder of Rolling Stone magazine which calls the shots for the R&R HoF hates surf music in general.

@KeldorDAntrell

I've just looked up Jan and Dean and the Beach Boys on Wikipedia and apparently Jan and Dean were releasing records before the Beach Boys. Their first single came out in 1958 and their first album was released in 1960. The Beach Boys' first single was released in 1961 and their first album in 1962 - a full 3 years behind J&D.

Having said this, Sidewalk Surfing which is remarkably similar to the Beach Boys' Catch a Wave was recorded in 1964 - a year after Catch a Wave so Jan And Dean coulkd have been sued for breach of copyright over this if The Beach Boys had the copyright of their song. I don't anything to suggest that J&D were ever sued over this or anything else. Maybe the two hits were recorded so close to one another that The Beach Boys were satisfied that the similarity was a genuine coincidence, or maybe the dates were so close together that they were advised not to enter into a legal battle.

@oftenwrongdon

I love it! Anyone out in youtube land have a time machine!

@storm7586

a piece of ply board with 4 rollers skate wheels on it -- THAT was the real skateboard

@tincat2173

When I was 15 I thought I was too old for a skate board. I missed out from a lifetime of fun.

@GeorgeVreelandHill

Kings of surf!

@derekllewellyn6663

You know Joey king she was part of rock and roll 60s have it with you

@TomElvisSmith

Jan and Dean always had a great sense of humor. I noticed that "Sidewalk Surfin" has the same melody as "Catch a Wave". I'm guessing that the Beach Boys wrote it and recycled the melody, as they did with at least one other song I can think of.

@frankwallace5934

Sweet little Sixteen and Surfin USA

@gabrieldecampos7774

Eu amo Surf Rock 😎🇧🇷🌊

@LeeBartoletti

"I think they tried to outlaw them in Glendale..." My home town, and I had my own skateboard in '64 or so.

@Jugivadi

The Beach Boys provided background harmonies on many Jan and Dean songs. You can hear them on this vid reprising the same harmonies from BB song Catch A Wave parodied here.

@scootergeorge7089

The music was by Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys and the lyrics by Roger Christian.

@woodstock5841

Great duo 🧡🏄🏝️🍊☮️🌈

@excommando1

Imagine how silly they must have felt standing there moving their lips in front of all those people.

@chasbodaniels1744

I cringed just watching them mime.

@dalethebelldiver7740

My Uncle bought me one in 1964.  It sure was fun.  All the neighbor kids took turns trying it out.

@dalethebelldiver7740

LOL really?  well three years later I was in the ARMY TOO.  But no skate board.  lol 

@balkandancer

My first and only skateboard was smaller than the one they're using and had metal roller skate wheels, dangerous as hell but still road it all over the place.

@koalabandit9166

I like the choreography.

@greggprice3609

their outfits never went out of styles

@brettkoeshall2325

Jan and Dean demonstrating how to use a skateboard.

@davidroberts1702

Lol, have a metal plate over and 4 screws in my Left radius from wiping out off the Sutterville Overpass, '63 :)

@robertbykowski1398

It's impossible for me to hear or watch anything about Jan & Dean today without ruminating about the late Jan Berry's near-fatal car accident in 1966. It's amazing that he survived the crash considering he slammed his Corvette into a parked truck doing somewhere between 80-90 MPH, although he was badly damaged physically and brain-wise for the rest of his life. It's especially creepy when you now listen to Jan & Dean's hit "Dead Man's Curve", considering that the accident happened right around that spot in LA.

Only these two could make skateboarding sound cool!