Fred Vail, Beach Boy s' early 60's promoter
uncovers the story of how Jan & Dean recorded their great live album!
===>Click headline to access the email from Bob that Fred refers to ... then scroll down that page to read Dean Torrence's response to Fred's comments!
Bob ... What a delight to receive your e-mail regarding Jan and Dean’s fabulous ‘live’ album, "Command Performance." While not quite as legendary as The Everly Brothers, nor, perhaps, as influential, Jan & Dean were–at one time–easily the #1 vocal duet in the country and Jan, along with longtime partner, Lou Adler, was one of the first artists to step out from behind the microphone and into the control room, where they produced many of those fabulous hit songs of the late 50’s, early and mid-60’s.
What you may not know, however, is how the "Command Performance" album came about. Back in the early 60’s, and prior to "Surfin’ USA," "Little Deuce Coupe" and "Surfer Girl," The Beach Boys actually opened for Jan and Dean. That billing would be reversed during the late spring and summer of 1963, but the fact is that Jan and Dean (and Jan and Arnie) actually predated The Beach Boys by nearly three solid years.
I had first met Jan & Dean nearly three years before I produced my first of hundreds of Beach Boys concerts, May 24, 1963, at the Sacramento Memorial Auditorium. Just one year prior to that, on May 24, 1962, I had presented Jan and Dean, along with Johnny Crawford, Bobby Freeman, and Smokie Robinson and The Miracles, at a school assembly at El Camino High School in the affluent north area of Sacramento. I was the school Commissioner of Entertainment and, as such, was responsible for putting on the school dances, assemblies, and pep rallys. I had just turned 18.
Two years prior to that–in 1960–I had met Jan & Dean when Dick Clark took his American Bandstand on the road to Treasure Island Naval Shipyard–across the Bay from San Francisco. I was working as a gopher at KXOA Radio, a ‘Top 40′ station, along with working weekends as an ‘announcer’ at KXRQ-FM, a jazz station. Only the Top 40 guys were called ‘deejays’ in those days, the other formats used the term "announcer."
After the May 24, 1963 Sacramento Beach Boys concert I was hired by ‘beach dad’ Murry Wilson as the band’s first ‘advance man,’ setting up concerts and dances throughout the west coast. In fact, I was the first ‘employee,’ per se, of The Beach Boys.
Like you, Bob, I got into radio and records because, first and foremost, I loved great music and I loved being around all those great singers, songwriters, and bands who were making the music– a passion that has continued for well over 50 years.
In fact, after bringing the ‘boys’ on stage, I would typically go out into the audience and take in as much of the show as I could. The Beach Boys–in their white pants and stripped shirts–were fabulous on stage and the girls would scream at every song and gesture–much like the audiences would do less than a year later when The Beatles exploded on the scene.
After producing and promoting a dozen or so Beach Boys concerts, including a ‘dance and show’ on November 22, 1963–the day of the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy–I approached Murry and Brian with an idea. To me, it was a ‘no-brainer,’ but to Murry–who was approximately twenty years my senior–and to Brian, it was met with a bit of skepticism. My idea was to record a Beach Boys concert and release it as a ‘live’ album.
Recording a ‘live’ album, in and off itself, was not an original idea. "The Kingston Trio From The Hungry-I" had been released in January 1959, and two years later, Capital had recorded and released "Judy At Carnegie Hall," the historic Judy Garland two record set that won five Grammy Awards, including Best Album," of 1961. Jazz musicians had recorded numerous ‘live’ albums. However, recording and releasing a ‘live’ rock and roll album had not been done.
I suggested that we record the album in Sacramento, the city that had really established The Beach Boys as a headlining attraction. I produced the first of two recorded concerts on December 21, 1963. It was the third appearance the group had made in Sacramento in barely seven months, not including the November 22 concert in Marysville, California, 50 miles north of Sacramento. Brian decided to record a ’second’ Sacramento concert that summer, combining the two for the August 1964 "Beach Boys In Concert" release. It was the group’s first Gold album and their first #1 album.
Barely a month later I received a phone call from Jan Berry. "Fred, I want to do what you did for Brian and ‘the boys.’ " "You mean you want to record a "live" album in Sacramento," I asked. "Yes," Jan said. "We love that city and the girls scream their asses off up there," Jan replied. Then he added, "work out all the details with Lou (Adler) and let's get started."
Jan & Dean recorded their ‘live’ album on October 24, 1964. I introduced popular Los Angeles deejay (and a Brian Wilson/Jan Berry co-writer) Roger Christian, who, in turn, introduced Jan & Dean:
"Fella’s hold on to your girls; girls–just ‘hold on.’ Here’s America’s #1 duet, Jan & Dean." Since the duo often lipsynched at shows, they had me assemble a band for this particular concert. Hal Blaine on drums, Steve Berry on bass, Phil (PF) Sloan on keyboards, and another popular LA session player, Glen Campbell, on lead guitar.
The Sacramento concert was combined with tracks from "The T.A.M.I Show," and "Command Performance" was born.
"And now," as Paul Harvey would say, "you know the rest of the story."
Have a great week, Bob. Always great to get your daily mail.
Fred Vail
Treasure Isle Recorders, Inc., Nashville, TN
===>Click headline, scroll down to read Dean Torrence's reply to Fred . . .
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