“Surf City” is part of a proud tradition of songs about imaginary party utopias. It belongs in the same lineage as “Funkytown” and “Love Shack” — starry-eyed dreams about places where everyone is ...

“He was driven,” says Dean Torrence of singer, songwriter and producer Jan Berry — his best friend and the other half of the best-selling surf-rock and hot-rod-pop duo Jan and Dean. “He always knew ...

In The Number Ones, I’m reviewing every single #1 single in the history of the Billboard Hot 100, starting with the chart’s beginning, in 1958, and working my way up into the present. “Surf City” is ...