When We Get to Surf City: A Journey Through America in Pursuit of Rock and Roll, Friendship, and Dreams

Bob Greene takes fans of 60's music through an insightful story from behind the scenes as he tells of his travels with Jan and Dean. His observations as one of the back up musicians reveal little known things about musicians and how concerts work. He also has many anecdotes about Jan and Dean after Jan's "recovery" from his terrible accident. Some of them are humorous and some rather sad. Reading this book led me to buy other books by Greene that I hadn't read so far in addition to buying another book about Jan and Dean. A good read.

I admit up front that I am a great admirer of Bob Greene's writing. I have enjoyed his prose for many years, starting with his columns for the Chicago Sun-Times and staying with him when he switched to the Chicago Tribune. I have not read all of his books, but I have read most of them. I guess what I like most about his writing is his ability to reach out and touch you, usually somewhere in the area of your heart. He has a way of capturing in words those sweet moments in life that we all experience and want to hold on to and he does it with such clarity and style that it leaves a bit of a sweet ache afterwards. I have always thought that the Beatles music would be the perfect sound track for my life. That is why I adored Bob's last book "And You Know You Should Be Glad" so much. But good music has been and always will be the sound track of all our lives and Bob's chronicle of his years touring with Jan and Dean is pitch perfect. There is something about the innocence and soft lyricism of the beach music scene that so perfectly captures that era and this is a sweet walk down memory lane.

This is the first Bob Greene book that I have read. I saw the jacket cover and title and was immediately attracted to the book. What an awesome read!!! Bob Greene takes you on a wonderful journey as a backup singer for Jan and Dean. You will feel as though you are travelling with them too! It is a very poignant story and will capture your heart!! Simple America at it's finest....they tour all over our country to fairs, stadiums and festivals. I have already ordered another Bob Greene book. I wish I could buy a few more.....but most of them are out of print.

Bob Greene's books make me nostalgic for a past that I never knew. He brought the Homefront to life in Once Upon a Town: The Miracle of the North Platte Canteen. His novel, All Summer Long, made me want to take off across country. And, he manages to bring the music world of the 1960s to life in When We Get to Surf City: A Journey Through American in Pursuit of Rock and Roll, Friendship, and Dreams. In 1992, Greene opened a letter from Gary Griffin, another reader who was caught up in his book, Be True to Your School. Griffin, who made his living as a musician with Jan and Dean's touring band, noticed an entry in that diary of 1964 about Greene's purchase of one of their albums. He invited Greene to meet the band, and suddenly, Greene's life, and his summers, took a dramatic change. For the next fifteen years, Bob Greene spent his summers meeting up with Jan and Dean, and their band, so he could first watch, and then perform, with them. In midlife, Greene found himself living a dream. Each summer, he escaped with a group of "Lost Boys," men who lived to play and sing on stage, and enjoy their own company. In fine detail, Greene discusses life on the road, the good and the bad. He met the idols of his teen years, the Beach Boys, Jerry Lee Lewis, James Brown, the Everly Brothers, and, of course, Jan and Dean. He tells the tragic story of Jan Berry, his car accident, and the changes in his life and career. At the same time, Greene observed Jan's courage, and his determination. Every time I read Bob Greene's books, I feel as if I'm reading my husband's past. Greene is about the same age, and shares similar memories of rock and roll, small town Ohio, and growing up in the fifties and sixties. Greene and my husband could both be "Lost Boys," still searching for their youth. Bob Greene is able to bring that past vividly to life. He's also unashamed to talk about the small details of male friendship, something most men never talk about. In all of his books, and, When We Get to Surf City is no exception, Bob Greene "captures the freedom and the exhilaration and the blithesome mornings of our world."