Jan Terri
Jan Terri is a former outsider musician from Chicago. Her recordings of country, blues and other styles include the albums High Risk and Baby Blues.
Early years
Terri graduated from Columbia College in 1983 with a degree in broadcast communications and arts and entertainment management. While at Columbia, she interned at a recording studio in Hillside run by a country bar band called the Windy City Cowboys. Terri became their backup singer, performing at the Melrose Park honky-tonk, The Possum Pub, as well as at various weddings. She was referred to as the hairspray goddess with locals. The name stuck and she became a spokesperson for Aqua Net.
By 1992, Terri was working as a limo driver when she planned to return to making music. She recorded a collection of songs, and eventually had several music videos filmed to help promote them. Still working as a limousine driver, Terri would give copies of the videos to her clients in an attempt to drum up interest in her fledgling singing career. These became cult favorites in advertising and marketing circles for Terri's earnest but unschooled singing style and the videos' amateur production Quality.
The hair says it all
In the late 1990s, Terri's career finally enjoyed an upswing. A copy of the video eventually made its way to rocker Marilyn Manson, who was intrigued. He had Terri perform at one of his parties, and was impressed enough with her sincerity to allow her to open for one of his concerts. Some footage of her can be viewed in Manson's God Is In The TV collection. Terri's full-length debut, High Risk, was finally released around this time, and she enjoyed a cult following in Chicago for a few more years.
Jan Terri's music videos, originally filmed in 1993-94 and circulated on VHS, have found a new audience with the advent of high-speed Internet and video sites such as YouTube. Although a somewhat honest effort is given to their production, the results resemble something one might find on late-night public access television, which provides for Unintentional humor for many viewers. Videos include "Losing You", "Baby Blues" and Halloween novelty tune "Get Down Goblin".
Terri's last significant public appearance was on The Daily Show in 2000.