Berry was also known as a gift producer and worked closely with the Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson prior to the car crash. 

Berry met his musical partner Dean Torrence at University High School in West Los Angeles, where they were both members of the football team. They first teamed up musically in the doo wop group The Barons. It was also during that early period that Berry began learning his way as a producer with a studio he set up in his garage.  The Barons parted ways but Berry kept at it. He began working on a song with Torrence and another member of the The Barons, Arnie Ginsburg, in 1958 called “Jennie Lee." 

Joe Lubin of Arwin Records heard the song and offered to buy it. 

Torrence was called up to serve in the Army so it fell on Berry and Ginsburg to record the song for Arwin Records. The single was release in 1958 and was credited to Jan & Arnie. It shot to No. 8 on the charts and earned the duo a spot on American Bandstand. When two follow up singles failed to have as much success, Ginsburg quit the duo and that was where Torrence reentered the picture as his six months of Army service was drawing to an end. The first single, "Baby Talk," from the new duo, Jan & Dean, hit No. 10 on the charts and started slow their climb to stardom. 

The climb finally hit full stream in the mid sixties as the duo produced a string of hits but just as they were climbing to the heights of their fame, ready to transform their fame onto the big screen and film a television pilot, tragedy struck. In April 1966, Berry was driving his Corvette Stingray when he hit a parked truck. The accident was so severe that the first police on the scene believed that Berry was dead. He suffered major brain damage and was left partially paralyzed. 
His road to recovery was a slow one, he had to learn how to walk and talk all over again, but he eventually was able to return to composing and singing. 

Preview and purchase music from Jan & Dean
 
 

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