Dead Man's Curve (song)
Encyclopedia
"Dead Man's Curve" is a 1964 hit song by Jan and Dean
detailing a teen street race gone awry. It reached number eight on the Billboard Hot 100
singles chart.
According to the song, the race starts at Sunset and Vine between a Corvette Sting Ray
and a Jaguar XKE
, traveling on West Sunset Blvd. going west, passing North La Brea Ave., North Crescent Heights Blvd., and North Doheny Dr. The original Schwab's Drug Store
was located just east of Crescent Heights on Sunset. The North Whittier Drive curve, an almost ninety-degree right turn traveling west on Sunset Boulevard just past North Whittier Drive, is dead man's curve. Jan Berry, of Jan & Dean, would later have a tragic near-fatal incident in 1966 when he crashed his own Sting Ray
into a parked truck on North Whittier Drive outside a house once owned by Roman Polanski
and right near dead man's curve.
Co-songwriter Roger Christian wanted the song to end with the racers finishing in a tie but Jan Berry insisted it end in a fiery crash. It's regarded as a teenage tragedy
, one of the most popular of all time. The song ends with the driver of the Sting Ray relating his last memories of the ill-fated race to a doctor. Crash-like sounds as well as screeching brakes are heard in the song. Deadman's Curve
was used as the title for the 1978 biographical nationally televised movie about Jan and Dean.
* Version #1: Original version from the 1963 Drag City album
* Version #2: Single "hit" version with added horns, strings, additional backing vocals and sounds of a car skidding and crashing; from the 1964 Dead Man's Curve/The New Girl In School" LP.
* Version #3: An earlier rejected studio mix from the 1966 Filet Of Soul album.
Live versions appear on the 1965 Command Performance and 1971 Anthology albums
There are a few minor lyrical differences between the versions #1 and #2 listed above:
Version #1 - "my frenched taillights," "the strip was deserted" and "pulled her out and there I was"
Version #2 - "my six taillights," "the street was deserted" and "pulled her out and there we were"
The song was covered by The Carpenters
as part of their oldies sequence on their album Now & Then. This song has also been covered by the bands Blink-182
, Nash the Slash
, and the Belljars, whose version plays over the closing credits of the 1998 film, The Curve
.
The B-side "New Girl in School" was covered by Alex Chilton
on his 1995 album, A Man Called Destruction
.
Jan and Dean
Jan and Dean were a rock and roll duo, popular from the late 1950s through the mid 1960s, consisting of William Jan Berry and Dean Ormsby Torrence...
detailing a teen street race gone awry. It reached number eight on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
singles chart.
According to the song, the race starts at Sunset and Vine between a Corvette Sting Ray
Chevrolet Corvette C2
The Chevrolet Corvette , also known as the Corvette Sting Ray, is a sports car produced by the Chevrolet division of General Motors for the 1963 through 1967 model years.-Origin and development:...
and a Jaguar XKE
Jaguar E-type
The Jaguar E-Type or XK-E is a British automobile, manufactured by Jaguar between 1961 and 1975. Its combination of good looks, high performance, and competitive pricing established the marque as an icon of 1960s motoring...
, traveling on West Sunset Blvd. going west, passing North La Brea Ave., North Crescent Heights Blvd., and North Doheny Dr. The original Schwab's Drug Store
Schwab's Drug Store
Schwab's Pharmacy was a drug store located at 8024 Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, California, and was a popular hangout for movie actors and movie industry dealmakers from the 1930s through the 1950s...
was located just east of Crescent Heights on Sunset. The North Whittier Drive curve, an almost ninety-degree right turn traveling west on Sunset Boulevard just past North Whittier Drive, is dead man's curve. Jan Berry, of Jan & Dean, would later have a tragic near-fatal incident in 1966 when he crashed his own Sting Ray
Chevrolet Corvette C2
The Chevrolet Corvette , also known as the Corvette Sting Ray, is a sports car produced by the Chevrolet division of General Motors for the 1963 through 1967 model years.-Origin and development:...
into a parked truck on North Whittier Drive outside a house once owned by Roman Polanski
Roman Polanski
Roman Polanski is a French-Polish film director, producer, writer and actor. Having made films in Poland, Britain, France and the USA, he is considered one of the few "truly international filmmakers."...
and right near dead man's curve.
Co-songwriter Roger Christian wanted the song to end with the racers finishing in a tie but Jan Berry insisted it end in a fiery crash. It's regarded as a teenage tragedy
Teenage tragedy song
The "teenage tragedy song", also known as death rock, "tear jerker" or a "splatter platter", is a style of ballad that was most popular between the late 1950s and early 1960s...
, one of the most popular of all time. The song ends with the driver of the Sting Ray relating his last memories of the ill-fated race to a doctor. Crash-like sounds as well as screeching brakes are heard in the song. Deadman's Curve
Deadman's Curve
Deadman's Curve is a 1978 made for TV film based on the musical careers of Jan Berry and Dean Torrence. Developed from a 1974 article published in the Rolling Stone magazine by Paul Morantz, who also helped write the screenplay.-Plot:...
was used as the title for the 1978 biographical nationally televised movie about Jan and Dean.
Versions
Three versions of "Dead Man's Curve" were released:* Version #1: Original version from the 1963 Drag City album
* Version #2: Single "hit" version with added horns, strings, additional backing vocals and sounds of a car skidding and crashing; from the 1964 Dead Man's Curve/The New Girl In School" LP.
* Version #3: An earlier rejected studio mix from the 1966 Filet Of Soul album.
Live versions appear on the 1965 Command Performance and 1971 Anthology albums
There are a few minor lyrical differences between the versions #1 and #2 listed above:
Version #1 - "my frenched taillights," "the strip was deserted" and "pulled her out and there I was"
Version #2 - "my six taillights," "the street was deserted" and "pulled her out and there we were"
The song was covered by The Carpenters
The Carpenters
Carpenters were an American vocal and instrumental duo, consisting of sister Karen and brother Richard Carpenter. The Carpenters were the #1 selling American music act of the 1970s. Though often referred to by the public as "The Carpenters", the duo's official name on authorized recordings and...
as part of their oldies sequence on their album Now & Then. This song has also been covered by the bands Blink-182
Blink-182
Blink-182 is an American rock band consisting of vocalist and bass guitarist Mark Hoppus, vocalist and guitarist Tom DeLonge, and drummer Travis Barker. They have sold over 27 million albums worldwide since forming in Poway, California in 1992...
, Nash the Slash
Nash the Slash
Nash the Slash is a Canadian musician. Though a multi-instrumentalist, he is known primarily for playing electric violin and mandolin, as well as harmonica, keyboards, glockenspiel, and other instruments .Nash worked as a solo artist beginning in 1975, then founded the progressive rock band FM in...
, and the Belljars, whose version plays over the closing credits of the 1998 film, The Curve
The Curve
The Curve is a 1998 thriller starring Matthew Lillard, Keri Russell and Michael Vartan. It is also known as Dead Man's Curve, but was changed to The Curve to avoid confusion with the film Dead Man on Campus, a comedy with a similar Pass by catastrophe premise about two college roommates who try to...
.
The B-side "New Girl in School" was covered by Alex Chilton
Alex Chilton
William Alexander "Alex" Chilton was an American songwriter, guitarist, singer and producer, best known as the lead singer of the Box Tops and Big Star...
on his 1995 album, A Man Called Destruction
A Man Called Destruction
A Man Called Destruction is an album by the American pop-rock musician Alex Chilton, released in 1995.The album consisted of six songs written by Chilton, and six cover versions including Jan and Dean's "New Girl in School", which had featured as the B-side to their "Dead Man's Curve" single."It's...
.