Weird Scenes Inside the Canyon is a book that suggests that the music scene in Laurel Canyon, Los Angeles in the late 1960s was “engineered” by the CIA to dissuade rebellious youth from anti-war sentiment. The book argues that the CIA was influencing the Laurel Canyon music scene, affecting several prominent musicians who grew to prominence in the area.
Laurel Canyon was a hilly Los Angeles neighborhood located north of the Sunset Strip that was home to a chill, open-door music scene that ushered in a rock transition from rock to rock. In 1981, Launius, DeVerell, Lind, and McCourt committed a brutal home invasion and armed robbery at Eddie Nash’s nightclub. The book also presents a thorough investigation of the L.A. music scene of the ’60s and ’70s, revealing that criminal activity in the neighborhood, including drug distribution, was controlled by the Wonderland Gang (named for a Laurel Canyon thoroughfare).
The book argues that rock musicians who lived in Laurel Canyon in the 60s and 70s constituted a sort of 5th column in the culture. The conspiracy theory alleges that U.S. intelligence purposefully divided the working class from the left through a multi-pronged attack. The Laurel Canyon conspiracy starts with the sinister lineage of counterculture superstars, Zappa.
The book suggests a grand conspiracy involving musicians, cultists, the government, and random serial killers who all just happened to be in Laurel Canyon at one time. Despite the lack of concrete evidence supporting conspiracy theories like CIA-created bands and MKUltra mind control, Weird Scenes Inside the Canyon is a true story of the dark underbelly of a hippie utopia.
📹 California Cults and The Laurel Canyon Conspiracy
What is the famous street in Laurel Canyon?
Love Street, also known as Laurel Canyon Drive, is a site of considerable historical significance in the context of the music industry. It encompasses a number of notable locations, including the Canyon store, Houdini’s house, Frank Zappa’s residence, and the homes of various families. As a result, it represents an ideal destination for a drive, offering insights into the area’s rich musical heritage.
Who are the members of Laurel Canyon?
The group, comprising Grammy Award-winning writer/producer Mark Hudson, Hall of Fame Songwriter Gary Burr, and singer/songwriter Mark Mirando, evokes memories of the Laurel Canyon, California, days of palm trees and sunshine, during which some of the most significant musical works in history were created.
Is Laurel Canyon expensive?
The housing market in Laurel Canyon exhibited a 26% increase. There has been a four-year increase in median listing home prices, reaching $2. 4M in August 2024 and a median price per square foot of $1. 2K.
What is Laurel Canyon like now?
Laurel Canyon, located in Hollywood Hills, is a tranquil oasis that blends lush nature, a storied artistic past, and a welcoming sense of community. The neighborhood is surrounded by the Santa Monica Mountains, offering an escape from urban life while maintaining connectivity to the city. The topography is defined by winding roads, dense foliage, and tranquil canyons, creating a peaceful haven surrounded by the city’s charm.
Real estate in Laurel Canyon offers a variety of architectural styles, from mid-century modern to Spanish Revival and contemporary designs, seamlessly integrated into the hillside terrain. Many properties are tucked away, offering privacy and breathtaking views of the canyon and the city below.
Laurel Canyon’s character is attributed to its vibrant history, which saw the neighborhood attract musicians and artists like Jim Morrison, Frank Zappa, and Joni Mitchell, who made their homes in the area during the 1960s and 70s. This has contributed to the legendary Laurel Canyon music scene.
Where did Houdini live in Laurel Canyon?
In 1919, Houdini rented a cottage in Los Angeles for making movies for Lasky Pictures. His wife occupied it after his death, and it is said that Houdini practiced his tricks in the pool at 2400 Laurel Canyon Boulevard. As of 2011, the cottage site was vacant and up for sale. The main mansion building was rebuilt after being destroyed in the 1959 Laurel Canyon fire and is now a historic venue called The Mansion. While Houdini did not likely live at the “mansion”, his widow may have.
The “Houdini Estate” is a rebuilt version of the “Houdini Estate”, which was purchased in 1908 and is now called Morningside Heights, New York City. The “House of Houdini” is a former Houdini home that displays artifacts.
What is the most expensive street in Hollywood Hills?
Rodeo Drive is a two-mile-long street in Beverly Hills, California, known for being one of the most expensive streets in the world. Its southern segment is in Los Angeles, and its northern terminus is at its intersection with Sunset Boulevard. The street is commonly used to refer to the three-block stretch between Wilshire Boulevard and Little Santa Monica Boulevard. The term “rodeo” refers to cowboy sports and can be pronounced with stress on the first or second syllable.
In Beverly Hills, only the latter pronunciation is used, while the former pronunciation refers to Rodeo Road in Los Angeles, which has been renamed Obama Boulevard. The street is a popular destination for tourists and locals alike.
Did the doors live in Laurel Canyon?
The Laurel Canyon area, known for its rock era musicians, was home to notable figures like The Doors, Joni Mitchell, Frank Zappa, and members of various bands. Jim Morrison and his girlfriend Pamela Courson lived at 8021 Rothdell Trail, the street that inspired The Doors’ song “Love Street”. The house, which was restored after a 2011 fire, was sold in 2015 for $1, 625, 000. In 2018, The Doors became the first band to be honored by the City of Los Angeles with a cultural marker recognizing one of their songs. The house is conveniently located near the Canyon Country Store, a popular destination for rock and roll royalty during that time.
Where do most celebrities live in Hollywood?
Beverly Hills, known for its gated communities like Trousdale Estates and Beverly Park, offers privacy and security for high-profile individuals. Celebrity sightings are common in this prestigious area, where stars can enjoy their lavish mansions away from public scrutiny. Beverly Hills is also known for its high-end experiences, with Rodeo Drive offering designer boutiques and upscale stores for fashion enthusiasts. These perks make Beverly Hills a sought-after destination for those in the spotlight.
What’s it like living in Laurel Canyon?
Laurel Canyon, a beautiful neighborhood in Los Angeles, California, is known for its lush vegetation, rolling hills, and charming bungalows. Despite its rich history, it offers an escape from city life with its proximity to major movie studios. When considering a home buying search, factors such as demographics, nearby schools, amenities, and local community can influence the choice of place.
Laurel Canyon’s demographics can be a good indicator of its ‘neighborhood’, as 77 of its households are renter-occupied. Quality of life in Laurel Canyon is subjective, and some prefer a walkable city with ample activities, while others prefer the suburbs with tranquil streets, peace, and nature. Some may find car-dependence unacceptable, while others find a reasonable drive time to their favorite weekend hangout a dream come true.
In summary, Laurel Canyon offers a unique blend of quality of life, amenities, and proximity to major movie studios, making it a popular choice for celebrities and movie stars.
What celebrities live in Laurel Canyon?
Laurel Canyon, a popular neighborhood for artists, musicians, and actors, has a home with a star-studded roster of owners and overnighters. The house, an enclosed English Country cabin, was the site of decadent parties, songwriting sessions, pool days, and shady drug deals. Initially viewed as a remote, private location in the hills, it began attracting Hollywood luminaries in the early 1920s. By the 1950s, it became the home of hippest actors in Hollywood, including Marlon Brando, James Dean, and Dennis Hopper. Natalie Wood’s Laurel Canyon house solidified the long lineage of Hollywood and counter culture heavyweight addresses changing hands that persists to this day.
📹 What led to the DEMISE of Laurel Canyon’s Freewheeling Society of Sex and Rock n Roll?
What led to the DEMISE of Laurel Canyon’s Freewheeling Society of Sex and Rock n Roll? Imagine living in a dreamy place …
The soundtrack of my life. I was 20 in ’67, born and raised in LA, a student not a groupie, running around Laurel Canyon having fun with young musicians. Met so many of these future famous when all of us were young. Troubador, Ash Grove, Whiskey A Go Go. Viet Nam, Manson, thousands marching in the streets, all in the near future. I never talk about it because I barely believe it myself as I look at 80!
An interesting but sad article. In 1971, I walked the street of Haight-Ashbury, then went to fight in the Vietnam War. On my return from the war, a changed young man, I ended up for a short time on the east coast near DC. I spent many late afternoons in a cafe drinking coffee, smoking cigarettes listening to Jackson Browne’s ‘Doctor My Eyes’ and Don McLean’s ‘American Pie’. Great music, indeed. But, it was the incredible music by the Moody Blues I credit for getting me through that tumultuous period of my life, enabling me to stay away from smoking weed and from excessive boozing and to finish college to graduation. Praise to the Lord God Almighty. Now, in 2024, I’m an old man long retired from two careers that involved global travel. From my experiences and education and from living and working with people smarter than me, it is clear (to me) that history virtually repeats itself, and that the more we learn, the less we know. (Bring it on)
Wow. A very powerful account. As an American, I’m ashamed of how people returning home from Vietnam were treated, and now by the VA’s failure to take care of the current Iraq/Afghanistan veterans. People like you remind me that being cynical is not an accurate way to view this country. It’s full of people who, in whatever theater, answered the call to serve your country, be the ethics behind the policy right or wrong. It is indeed highly admirable and, I’m afraid, a dying set of morals. But your story is indeed inspiring and I wish you nothing but the best.
…once again, I sense that Cass Elliot was an important figure in the Laurel Canyon scene, and not only for the contribution she’d made with her own music. She seems a friendly and open soul who’d had a talent for bringing other creative people together. As with others from the music field in the late sixties she’d passed away far too young. Her energy and good will, sorely missed.
I was in LA in 1967, just back from Vietnam on my first ship, USS Waddell, DDG-24, home ported in Long Beach. That music which welcomed us home in April, 1967, became the sound track of my young adult life. I was hanging out in Glendale at the home of one of my Navy buddies whose family welcomed me to stay there on weekends. I loved the music and the scene and met my first wife there, but I did not know how close I was to the Laurel Canyon scene. If I had known, I might have explored those quaint, convoluted Hollywood Hills with my California girl soon-to-be wife and we might have had a brush with fame. As it was, we did go to Griffith Park and enjoy the hippie scene there, which was pretty wild for a Minnesota boy far away from home for the first time in his life. I still love that music of the sixties and seventies and I still believe it was the best soundtrack for a life that I could have asked for. After I was discharged from the Navy in 1969, my California girl wife and I moved back to Minnesota, but the marriage did not last. We were so young, too young to be married in those chaotic times. I was a Vietnam vet trying to get back on track in college, and the campuses were hostile to Vietnam vets in those days. We were the first military veterans to not be welcomed home. My marriage failed, my career path changed, and almost nothing turned out as I had expected it to. That’s when I learned the truth that life is what happens while you are making different plans. American culture was changing, and not for the better.
I really enjoyed this. I lived there on Kirkwood with my mother and her drug dealer boyfriend around 1970-71. I was a latch key kid and wandered around the neighborhood and explored the hillsides. I remember buying candy at the country store. Jim Henson also lived there and was part of the team that developed Sesame Street. I remember staying home sick from school one day and I got to stay in my mom’s bedroom and listen to records. They had a mirror above the bed. I listened to Frank Zappa Just Another Band from LA, James Taylor Sweet Baby James, Carole King Tapestry. I still have those albums. I don’t think I realized at the time they were our neighbors. I have the most wonderful memories of that area.
I was Bonnie Raits driver few years back for a show here in NZ. Not familiar with her music set up a chair by the sound desk to watch the show. Started crying before the end of the first song and truly did not stop for the entire set. Felt like I had just been told I was going to enter the kingdom of heaven after all.
This was a fantastic podcast. I’m a 72-year-old guitar player who just lost his kitty of 16 years and I needed this. Thank you! I am so glad I grew up during that era. In 66 I started high school & my first band. I’ve been playing guitar ever since. The music from the 60s and the 70s was pure Flippin magic. I remember in high school ruining three wheels of fire albums. Trying to figure out the guitar part to crossroads. Lol I play it every night I’m on stage.
The amount of talent and great songs that came out of this single square mile over 4 years is almost impossible to comprehend. The Byrds, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Joni Mitchell, Graham Parsons, The Mamas and the Papas. The Doors, Linda Rhonstad, The Eagles, The Byrds, Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt, Frank Zappa. Literally incredible.
I was born in 1951 in Pasadena Ca (a semi-suburb of LA). In the late 60’s I was in my late teens and still lived there — and all these people were ‘just people’ to me. They had great sounds and I marveled at how talented they were — but they were ‘me’. We would often drive into Hollywood and cruise these streets, be ‘part of the scene’. I still shed a tear when I recall the Manson horrors, and that with the war in VietNam seemed to be the time when everything changed. This article brings much of it together and leaves me with a sigh and another tear…. It has been a wonderful life, and I am feel fortunate to have been a small part of this period in time.
The 60s were one of if not the best era of music in United States. You have the folk rock California rock sound, You also had the British invasion, You also had psychedelia from San Francisco. And Motown all happening and prospering at the same time. That’s why this music will never die. The 60s then slid into the 70s which was another great era of rock You had More experimentation Harder edge sound, etc. I am so glad I was old enough to experience it and enjoy it and still do to this day. Many many people say I’m stuck in the 60’s and 70’s, and I’m happy with that lol
Every major cultural movement breaks down simply to a time and a place never meant to last. Be it Laurel Canyon late 60’s, Manchester UK in the 80’s, Seatle in the 90’s, Brooklyn in the mid-late 00’s. Current trends in culture/society have me wonder where/when the next one will be, if theres a next one at all.
I lived in a house on a street one block east & parallel to Laurel Canyon Blvd in the San Fernando Valley from 1953-1973. I was hiking in the Hollywood Hills in the canyon part of Lauryl Canyon 2 days before the nearby Manson murders. It still gives me the willies to recall it by perusal this documentary today, more than 50 years later. I barely missed all this music history in Laurel Canyon & Hollywood by about 2 years because I was only 12-15 when most of the stuff in this article was occurring. I didn’t know most of this stuff – only 10-20 miles from my house, until now. WOW.
I’ve been in L.A. since mid 80s. What has really changed things is the replacement of actual artists, with people who are quasi artists, but mainly focused on being rich and famous. Art used to be the focus, with the rich and famous part just being coincidental. But as the years went by, the goal switched more and more to just the rich and famous part. People came here just for that. The financial separation between “artists” and average people, became greater and greater. Living in the Hollywood Hills started being considered a ‘D Lister’ thing around the 90s. The pilgrimage west began. Malibu became the ultimate destination for most people who could afford it. Places like Laurel, Venice, and Santa Fe area downtown, went from being actual artist areas… to gentrified “artist districts” that only high income people could afford. Downtown was my personal area for many years, until the gentrification started. You can talk to people who went to Al’s and other downtown places back in the day. It was a true warehouse living, art culture… Replaced by expensive lofts that Paralegals rent. The best days of L.A. are gone. Glad I was here to see the last best days.
Thank you for this article. You actually got most of it right! I lived nearby and went to the Log Cabin twice in 1968. I gave a ride to an acquaintance and had no idea what a nexus of Sixties Rock Musicians the canyon was, in the spring of that year. I got a tour of the house and after about an hour, I was more than ready to go back to planet earth. Back in those days, and earlier in the 1950’s, the Canyon was a bucolic, quiet place. To have a functioning bohemia, you need an abundant supply of affordable housing and under-the-radar jobs that allow creative people to pay the rent and still have energy left over to work on their art. When these disappear, bohemia disappears. The drugs ultimately claimed the sanity, physical health and lives of the musicians who lived there. Thanks for accurately portraying this.
Excellent distillation of that uniquely magical place and time. I’ve seen several longer form docs on Laurel Canyon, but you really put a lot of “meat on the bone” in 30 minutes! It’s really amazing how many great artists lived up there in such close quarters. Their music was astounding and has stood the test of time. We all got swept away by it, many of us naively thought that this music could “save the world”. We got that totally wrong, but thankfully we still have the music to enjoy.
I had a friend who lived in HALF a shack, it was actually a falling down garage, that used to be connected to the house the Byrds owned on top of Laurel Canyon. The house had burned down, and the property was bought by a very young sitcom star in the 1980’s. The guy who played SKIPPY on FAMILY TIES. He had enough money to buy the property, but NOT enough to rebuild the house. So he lived in front of the ruins of the house, in a silver trailer parked in the driveway. It overlooked a cliff and all of LA. The view at night was SPECTACULAR!! He told me two great stories about the house. 1- The drive to the top of the hill was TREACHEROUS! The road was very winding, and caving in on both sides. You had to make several sharp turns. There were a series of THREE sharp turns that came quickly one after another. He said when the Byrds drove up that hill, they would all sing their hit song as they drove “Turn, turn, turn!” Then to the next series of sharp turns ” Turn, turn, turn!” 2-Donovan came over for an afternoon party and sat on the grass, smoked some grass, and looked out at the view. From that vantage point, you can see all the way across LA county, all the way to Orange County…where there is a large mountain. When it’s clear, you can see that mountain. When the haze blows in from the ocean, you can’t see it. Sometimes this effect changes quickly. So Donovan wrote his hit song there ” First there is a mountain, then there is no mountain, then there is. “
I left Queen of Angels hospital in August 1950, a 7lb. 14oz bundle of joy, to my first home, on Kirkwood Dr, just before Ridpath. The house was a wedding gift from my grandparents, who had built a house next door, and owned 2 lots. Rode the schoolbus to Bancroft Jr. High School from 1963-1965, went to Fairfax High School until 1968. We moved from Kirkwood to Woodrow Wilson Dr. in 1967. Strangely, I never ran into any of the more famous rock stars, although I was aware of their presense. I did date a French girl, who was Frank Zappa’s au pair, and my high school love was a good friend of Pam Courson, when they lived behind Bill’s Canyon Country Store… All of this as a bit of background, to establish at least some credibility, when I say that, of all the many cronicles that have been made about Laurel Canyon, yours is, by far, the best. I was really glad to see that you refrained from sensationalizing it, and just presented, unembellished, what it was actually like. I think you treated the people with respect, and as honestly as would be possible. The photos really touched me, and brought me home. I live far from there now, but whenever I am in LA, I always cruise those narrow winding roads and think of what happened there before those million-dollar homes were planted. (In 1967, ours sold for ~$30K; the new one, on Woodrow Wilson, was ~$87K, lol) Thanks for all the effort it must have required to put this together. It made my night…
I lived through this time in the UK. It’s so original to hear about their entwined lives, not the usual check list style of who did what when. This brings them all to life, as I remember them. It was about the people just as much as the music. It may look smooth now but it was an emotional rollercoaster, the old social rules broken. Free love was just as painful as any other kind of love can be. Great documentary ❤🙏🏻
Man, this article just spilled out my soul. I was born in Venice Beach in 1950 so the music and people scene was what I was raised on. Those times are gone now, but I have spent the last 50 years looking for them. I think I’m about as close as I’ll ever be. Chillin in a small wooded village 30 minutes outside of Santa Fe, New Mexico surrounded by pine trees and hopeful memories. AMEN
Sometimes things just come together in a time and place and it’s magical. You might not realize how extraordinary it is at the time. It’s just life.. Then you wake up one day and it’s gone. It’s over. Everyone has gone their separate ways. And if you’re lucky enough to experience it more than once in your life you recognize it when it’s happening. But, you know it won’t last. You just enjoy it while it’s happening.
’52 boomer, old hippie chick, still here. We were for real, for free, and the 60s are forever in our hearts. Our cherished mantra indeed was LOVE. Love ❤️ of each other, freedom, and music. Too early, it all came crashing down due to the slow drift from weed and mushrooms, to hard drugs like coke. As long as we tripped on psychedelics it was all cool and peaceful. Music was everything then.
I met Joni Mitchell in Iraklion, Crete, sitting in an open cafe with her traveling companions, in the spring of 1970 after she had broken up with Nash – she had just gotten her dulcimer, shown in one of the pictures in the article above, and was working on tunings and experimenting. I had just come from Madrid, where I’d been studying classical Spanish guitar, so we talked music for a bit. We all migrated down to a place called Matala on the South shore, which was an international hippie/musician community. That’s where Joni met Carey, a friend I hung out with; he was a colorful character who’d just come back from Afghanistan, and strolled about in a white bournous and sandals with an Afghani Shepherd’s crook – in the hot Cretan weather as if he were still in the hills of Afghanistan. I’d spent some time living in the Spanish Sahara, so we had stories to share, and hit it off right quick. Joni wrote him into a song she composed on her dulcimer while there, that she published on her album Blue. Caves carved into the face of a cliff there were effectively a free high-rise apartment building au naturel – mine was up on the 3rd level – and gatherings with music, retsina at the Mermaid Cafe, splashing in the tarry water, and walks to the magic valley to enjoy the pageant of flower colors in the springtime sun under the influence were how the days and nights were spent. I took up with a British girl working at the Mermaid, and we all left to go back to Athens at Easter time, crossing paths a few times again at concerts – Isle of Wight was one.
GREAT article!! Was living in Laurel Canyon during that time across the street from Inger Stevens. Remember the day the ambulance came for her. Unbelievable as she was drop dead gorgeous. We had the same midwife as Carole King. Had a Fiat 600 painted iridescent lime with floral upholstery which people would point to – even on Sunset Blvd. No other car brought as much a smile to my face as racing up (not down) Laurel Canyon and not missing a shift. The Fiat only had 21 horsepower and if you missed a shift it would bog down to nothing. NOSTALGIA: paid $64 for a set of FOUR NEW Michelin tires and could fill the tank for under $1.50 most of the time (gas was often $0.19 a gallon).
I watched a different documentary on Laurel Canyon a couple years ago. Must have been absolute magic to live there, in that era. Listening to the crap that our youth is listening to now, makes me so sad. I’m 70 and have been heavily into Progressive Rock since King Crimson arrived. A different genre of music from Laurel Canyon but the lengthier songs, layers of sounds, drew me in. As sad as it is to get old, growing up in that era, was a true treasure.
OMG, this was one amazing article! The time frame, the music, the people. It’s heart breaking that Laurel Canyon is now all mega million dollar homes. Of course, it IS in California. This was such an amazing time period of my youth, and being young, you just figure it will be like this forever. And how wrong we were. Thank you for this goose bumpy/revisit!
There needs to be a TV anthology series like American Horror Story, but instead of being a different horror genre each season, it’s a rise-and-fall story of artist movements throughout history, so you can see how the strange serendipity of all these talented people meeting up create pop culture history. The Laurel Canyon Scene could be an entire season altogether given that it’s from 1963-1969, with an epilogue for the early ’70s. Maybe Richard Linklater could produce it.
I lived in Laurel Canyon from 1979 to 1981 – i was there when the Cat n the Fiddle opened & started up.. there were still PLENTY of infamous and famous musicians hanging around – it was very interesting times and interesting people .. the various tunes and sounds echoing in the canyon kept me wide awake on many a night.. some was great and most not so great…whats left of it today is all based on Money and who you know.. I wouldn’t necessarily call that progress – those days people much more genuine and sincere… it was all about the music and not so much about the musician… its shame it’s now the reverse..
Jim Morrison’s father was the admiral and commander of the aircraft carrier and flagship of the carrier group that was ‘attacked’ in the Gulf of Tonkin in 1965, a false flag incident that got America much more heavily involved in Vietnam than it already was. Let that one sink in. Many of these Laurel Canyon luminaries had parents who were in some prestigious positions in the military, during WW2 and well after, working in areas like psychological operations and related fields. None of these Laurel Canyon luminaries were ever drafted. Very curious. Aside from that, it was a band of very proficient studio musicians known as ‘the Wrecking Crew’ that performed almost all of the music you hear in American 60’s/early 70’s American pop music.
The Doors came to my high school in the late 1960s ! Jim was wearing those bird wings. Cream did, too. My brother sat on one of their speakers! Eric Clapton lived in my town later on. Roll the camera forward; my husband designed a house for Bono and Edge on the French Riviera. We went to the Filmore East every weekend back then. Miles, Tony Williams, and lots of Jazz in NYC. Jefferson Airplane was my favorite band. My progressive grandmother, a proper Russian woman, let us crash in her living room. I enjoyed this article. Thank you!! I also loved reading the comments of those who grew up in the Canyon.
Living on Lookout Mountain in a sweet hillside cabin built by the first LA Chapter President of the Ziegfeld Follies Girls was magical. We’d remodel a room or open a wall and inside we’d find newspapers, wallpaper, gift wrap even as insulation! So many rich stories and fascinating neighbors even in 1989 when we moved into the Canyon. I’ve been in many of the houses❤️ Thank you for this excellent documentary full of information and history. Groovy, Baby.
My mom had the ‘bamboo house’ on the canal in Veniece beach and a home in Laurel Canyon. She was a doctor that had a practice there. She knew all of these people well. Jim Morrison lived w/ his GF a few doors down on the canal. lm adopted and met her at 20 years old when the Doors movie came out at the theater. Me being a musician you can imagine how learning about all this floored me.
Thanks Freewheeling for a fantastic tour of the music and artists of Laurel Canyon. What a great facility You Tube. Reading some of the comments here, it is apparent many viewers were not even born back then, but thanks to YT and folks like Freewheeling we can all get to enjoy the music of a great time in history.
I was there. The era was ushering in the New Age energies as well as the generational energy ruled by Neptune in Libra – influencing peace, love, brotherhood and harmonious relationships. I observed these beautiful energies become warped by distortions of reality caused by drugs, alcohol and the Vietnam War. I observed those “down with the establishment” become the establishment. It appeared a portion of the generation that was once motivated by love and understanding became seduced by materialism and greed. The once great state of California was abandoned by those of us who could not tolerate the invasion of destructive energies.
I was 12 in ’66. Wrote my first song that year. Was too young for the folk/rock and rock scene so it passed me by. I came to my paradise existence many, many, years later; around 2016. No affairs, no heavy drug use, no competition, no fame or fortune. Just a small coterie (30-50) of really sweet songwriters gathering at a little lounge on the outskirts of Pgh, Pa. They come and go on their way up or down and I enjoy the heck out of it. I’ve written a couple hundred songs, got a steady roster of 31 keepers (some written as late as this year) plus 70 or so covers strong enough to raise eyebrows. The really nice thing about it is my association with five generations of writers . . . and all of them, young and old, have positive things to say about me as a writer, a performer, and a person. What I learned that these guys had not (at the time time) is that, wherever you go- there you are. We bring our problems and troubles with us everywhere we go. Rather than treating others as toys, it is incumbent upon artists to treat each and every new person as a potential patron. Mutual respect trumps the race for the “next big thing”. Because of it, I sleep well at night, I’m never too high, and, when I perform, I am considered a legitimate rock star on a shoestring by other talented folks who would love to be so perceived. And the owner of the little lounge (a promoter and booker, who’s booked over 6000 bands) tells associates in public that “this guy? He’s the most talented guy in the world”.
I called Joni crazy last summer in a comment on her Facebook page. “The chick is twisted”, I said, “Crazy! Boop-shoobie!” Forgot all about it. Months go by. Mid-November I get a notification: “Joni Mitchell likes your comment”. I know it might have just been somebody who manages the page for her, but just to be safe I haven’t washed my clicking finger since.
I used to work in urban planning in the 1990s and the mantra was follow the artists. They know where the cheapest land is that can be bought, developed and sold for millions. It’s vulture capitalism that mostly kills artistic communities by co-opting and gentrifying them. Which begs the question; where does art thrive when everything is sold?
At the time these musicians had their impact I was completely swept up in their music and was a sort of pseudo hippy but definitely an activist against war and violence before I ever tried LSD which enhanced the whole love and not war attitude but I didn’t do free love or even smoke much pot simply because I didn’t like it. I could barely draw as I usually did on it and felt paranoid. I thought I was the weird one but a lot of people got that reaction. It did make music interesting but I would drink to get drunk so I didn’t feel that way anymore. How smart was that? Ruined decades came after. It was great in the beginning though and I love the peace not war take away. I still feel very strongly about that. I do love a hero so all the shows glorifying war were a part of growing up all the soldiers being strong and heroic but such a horrible way to take care of disagreements. You know? Well things haven’t really gotten better….. grieving about one war or another ever since and I’m 71. Between electric guitar starting in the 30’s and now the music revolution has been very influential in my life. To be taken away from reality with all the riffs and melodies and hard rock…..oh and alcohol. Too much alcohol. If I had it to over I’d never touch the stuff nor try to stop my obsessive compulsion tendencies with cigarettes. I quit the cigs and much much later quit the alcohol but by then the most productive years of my life had passed. And reality is a drag
Back in 1968 I was paying for college with a delivery job for a supplier for the Canyon Country Store. I’d drive every couple of weeks to this little general market and stock hardware items stepping around and over long hair hippy types who were lounging around drinking coffee. I was young and fairly aware of the LA music scene, the Troub, the Whiskey et al, but I didnt really know these guys. Maybe I’d recognize a face on occasion but I wouldn’t have hung a name or even a song on it. I remember they were always kicked back and anxious to be helpful, nothing like I’d encounter at other deliveries in LA. Later I found out who McGuinn, and Jackson Brown, Glenn Frey were. Gob smacked that I’d been around them. Hell they’d even hold the door open for me.
I grew up nearby but was too young to be aware of this music until I hit my early teens in the mid 1970s. It was transformative and shaped my life going forward – the soundtrack of my forever. My heart occasionally experiences a pang of longing when I hear a song by one of these amazing souls and wonder (illogically) why this magical moment in time had to end.
If you’re talking about the area – Laurel Canyon – it’s been swallowed up by what has destroyed the dreams of millions of Californians. The corporate greed shared by the real estate industry and banks, who caused what was called “the bubble” to burst and actually caused a world wide economic slump. Those 2 industries were more than happy to set people up with adjustable rate mortgages that they had NO business getting involved in. This and greed caused real estate values to exceed their actual values – and the banks and real estate people were more than happy – as they earned huge profits even when the loans failed – and those less fortunate who would like to purchase real estate – are swept under the rug.
I went to the pop festival in Monterey just a few miles from Pacific Grove, where my grandmother lived. I had a press pass. I could get in backstage, to where the press area was and there was a bar next to it where all the musicians were. I thought it was strange that the Mamas Papas put on the the festival with Lou Adler. It really marked the demise of the Mamas and the Papas after that. so many stars. I’ve never been to an event that had Jimmy Hendrix and Simon & Garfunkel, and in the bar a upcoming Tiny Tim before he hit the TV. It was a strange event. It had Mickey Dollins in a full Indian chiefs outfit, including a suit of Latigo leather, plus feathered headress. Janis Joplin in a pantsuit, as she was trying to make herself more appealing to a broader audience. She went on twice because she didn’t like her first performance . Jimi Hendrix, coming on after the Who destroys their instruments. He set his guitar on fire with some lighter fluid he had with him. So many people from Laurel Canyon that were there living at the time 1967 made that short trip up from LA. The first and best pop festival ever. 💪🏼💪🏼💪🏼
Excellent distillation of a significant era in music where seeds were planted that flowered in the 70s. I loved the photographs you’ve used showing those moments not often seen. I was a kid from a village in India, growing up in 60s/70s England and when we got a record player, one of the first albums my brother bought was Tapestry. It spoke to me immediately. I discovered Joni Mitchell and James Taylor for myself at university. Those few studio shots of CK, JT and JM reminded me there has indeed been a common thread running through my musical life. As Jung would say, “Synchronicity!”
The problem with youthful indiscretions is that you don’t stay young forever & one day you have grow up & face life on life’s terms. Fornicating, taking copious amount of drugs, getting drunk & overall being an irresponsible youth has been, & always will be, a receipt for a disastrous adulthood! Reminds me of the Price song “1999”..l “I was dreaming’ when I wrote this, So sue me if I go too fast” “Life is just a party, And parties weren’t meant to last”!
This was brilliant. I was born in ’69, so i wasnt around for any of this, but i was introduced by my parents to the singer songwriter period just afterwards, which I love. Even though I’m a republican, this was the type of community i always dreamed of. A place where everyone can keep their doors unlocked, and friends can just come over unannounced and the laid back vibe of it all. Too bad those days have gone. I would have loved to live it.
People here who want to wake up to a new/missed movement in music should youtube Australian hits of the 80s or Australian bands of the 80s. This was OUR golden era culturally & musically. We had some amazing bands that never made it in USA because as such a young country and due to our isolation, we weren’t considered important then! Try..Great Southern Land, by Icehouse. Solid Rock, Goanna. Under the Milky Way, & Unguarded Moment by the Church. Eagle Rock by Daddy Cool. Anything by Australian Crawl, The Sports, The Models, The Divinyls Prepare to be blown away.
Gazzarri’s, the Whisky a Go Go, the Roxy, Pandora’s Box . . all on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood. Best mile and a half for music in the country. Spent a night on the Strip showing my government teacher ( from the east coast) life on the Strip. Looked at the papers the next morning and discovered I had left a half hour before the riot’s.
Reason Clapton might have been quiet…Many English musicians said at that time when visiting California they noted the difference between musicians in England and California. In England they noted that there was fierce competition to make it and be “Top of The Pops” and that the music press could be merciless. Observed that in California there was more camaraderie and encouragement…even more so around the San Francisco scene at the time.🍀
You want to know about 1960s Laurel Cyn? Read the book “Weird Scenes in the Canyon.” It didnt happen organically, all those musicians were the kids of Military Royalty (ie Jim Morrisons dad was Admiral of the ship that started the Viet Nam war by saying they attacked his ship, which has been proven a lie) who were raised on military bases. The LA music scene was put together by the CIA, they had a huge Lab/movie studio there in Laurel Cyn, which had 99 directors & designers and MANY sound stages. Dont miss that book, its a gem!
Don’t forget the social and cultural impact of Operation Intercept in 1969, when Nixon directed the DEA and border patrol to disrupt the supply of marijuana. The response was that dealers switched to heroin, barbituates, amphetamines and other chemicals, which were easier to smuggle and offered a higher margin of return. The entire scene when from happy hippie peace-and-love to something much more dark, sinister and edgy.
I was born in the late 50s, the music, bands, and musicians that came out of Laurel Canyon have consoled me, lifted me, relaxed me, and driven me, my entire life. As Pat Bennatar sang, We belong to the light, we belong to the thunder, we belong to the sound of the words we’ve both (all) fallen under. So is the story of musicians from Laurel Canyon.
I live in Calgary Canada where Joni Mitchell lived for a couple of years when a student at the art college here in the early 60s just before she split to California …& just researched her brief time here & I can say with 100% confidence w/o getting confirmation from Joni that finding oneself suddenly in Laurel Canyon California w/all those amazing musical talents & the whole blossoming hippie love scene all under that warm california sun would have felt like one just won a back stage pass to an Artist Utopia on another far away planet after the minus 30 degree days busking for change outside a new generic shopping mall in between waitressing gigs serving draft beer & fries with lumps of gravy to drunk wheat farmers and greasy oil field workers trying to pinch your ass in a then small conservative prairie city with two or three places to play your music at most all while stressing out what to do with that new baby getting increasingly bigger inside of you…Laurel Canyon must have seemed a beautiful new day after the long cold night of Calgary for Joni – well at least for a year or two anyways.
these were my teenage years… where I partied with John Kay and his Steppenwolf band at John’s place (where his studio was). So much fun partying at the Troub and the Whiskey where I was invited to parties with Elton and where Mick passed out in one of the booths and they just closed the bar on him without waking him up. the good ole days…..
The same thing that happens in every idealistic society people’s emotions get in the way, free love breeds jealousy and jealousy breeds violence. Also in order to “give” something to someone you have to take it from someone else, or at least deny someone else. Then there’s the feeling that someone isn’t contributing as much as everyone else. No, we are much better off when we have to earn what we get and we tend to take better care of it once we earn it.
As an Englishman now in my 70s I grew up listening to the music of John Mayall, Eric Clapton, The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. Their music introduced me to several Californian bands and tv introduced me to The Monkees. This was an interesting film as John Mayall produced Blues from Laurel Canyon and within the songs I travelled with him to Laurel Canyon. Much of the music produced there is in my collection and is often played bringing great memories back. A wonderful time and I think I was lucky to live with it in the day.
Got to Laurel Canyon in August of 1971 in a school bus turned into motor home.Met a lot of people and experiences; way too much to mention here. It was an odd place with a seeming tradgedy for all the fun stuff. Later on I’d become freindly with the origonal AliceCooper band(sub par musicians at best) I wont say anymore about that. John Philips was my neighbor in Old Greenwich Ct. In the late 70s. He was in horrible condition at that point. All those guys told me great stories about the canyon back in the day.before I saw it. So much history in that place but so much tradgedy. I don’t want to think about Wonderland Ave. It was all so great and so horrible at the same time. At 19 I swore I,d never live in LA and I never did.I’ll stay in NYC or south Florida. (Where it’s safe) Yeah Right!!!
At 78 this is my generation. I think I understand them well because at the time I didn’t understand myself and I could see that we were all in the same boat. They went for the music — I listened to it and became a Zen monk. What an amazing adventure that was. The music was in the background of my thoughts along with my yearning to see my true nature. We were all together searching for meaning yet we went our own way. I can see us all in the Buddhist heaven Svarga, children of the light (jyoti). As I prepare to leave this old body behind and return home—I am filled with wonder and bliss.
In the late 60’s, Laurel Canyon was a crucible of musical innovation, echoing with the strums of guitars and the harmonies of a generation poised on the brink of change. It was a time when music was more than sound—it was a movement, a revolution, a wild dance through the flames of history. I met some wonderful people around Sunset Blvd, and worked my way up Mulholland Drive. The Beach Boys’ harmonious ballads of surf and sun gave way to Buffalo Springfield’s gritty anthems of protest and change, capturing the spirit of an era that was as turbulent as it was transformative. I took my cheap camera and pretended to be an official photographer, so I could get backstage at Buffalo Springfield concerts. The air was electric, charged with ideas and melodies that would shape the course of music for decades to come. It was an unforgettable journey through the heart of rock ‘n’ roll, where every chord told a story and every song was a testament to the times.
I was 7 years old and lived a couple of miles away in the S.F Valley just over the hill from Benedict Canyon and i remember how terrified everyone in our neighborhood was.The stories of what happened in that home got bigger and more embellished every day (every hour) . No one left their windows or doors open .I even remember my favorite song that summer (In the year 2525 ~ Zager and Evans)) and the ominous lyrics made it even more creepy. Everyone and i repeat everyone was terrified all August for those of us that lived near that area. When someone mentions Benedict Canyon it still gives me the creeps 55 years later
Success and fame attract many moths with predators quickly following. Camelot never stays the same. In an infinite universe, star nurseries eventually exhaust themselves and society changes like a supernova. Creativity springs forth and expresses as an amalgamation of nature, nurture and self. But seriously, how many kids wanted to be like their parents?
Wasn’t all that great a time, I know. We had our President and others assassinated (even though we knew our government was involved somehow). I was only an 18 yrs old young girl when I joined the USN during Vietnam. I was the only female in our Avionics division training squadron. A long hard 4 years. I made through it all. It did make me stronger but it was rough back then. Because of the anti-Vietnam feeling we couldn’t wear our uniforms in public in our own country or we’d be spit on. I remember the song protesters sang “Hey hey LBJ How many kids did you kill today?” Kind of like “Lets Go Brandon” I didn’t talk about that time until I was in my 50s. Not a great time except for the music. Best music ever 60s-70s. I did wonder how all those musicians avoided the draft!
The hippy era had a dark side: women were abused and exploited, people with addictive personalities got into drugs they couldn’t handle, people would pretend to be into peace and love in order to manipulate the others who actually were. My ex sold the Oracle newspaper on Hollywood Blvd. at age 12 to buy pot from the local ice cream truck. His family spent thousands (if not a million) on repeated trips to rehab for him.
ALL these superstars were handled by military intelligence- Tavistock style. It wasn’t “happenstance” that these people all lived near each other. It’s the same today. The mega-stars do what their told, when they’re told to do it. Born into the right family blood lines, or having the right psychology/talent combo that is useful to the psychopaths who control this realm. They know who they work for and stick together. The masses need to stop worshipping these social engineers and wake up to their own power.
It was a time of innocence, believe it or not. Pot was the big drug, and LSD sometimes. But nothing stronger, compared to today 2023. Most people respected God and the bible. One girl in my high school of 2,500, got pregnant and everyone knew her name! She was a big deal. No violence, no crime. We respected our parents and teachers. I would gladly trade my life now to live back then.
LAUREL CANYON WAS A COOL PLACE FOR MUSIC AND PEOPLE OF TURN ON TUNE IN AND DROP WAY OF LIFE.UNTIL IT ENDED IN HORROW WITH MANSON CLAN LIVING OUT OF GARBISH CANS AND LIVING ON OTHER PEOPLES CHARITY FOR GRANTED.DESTROYED AND KILLING THE LIFE OF SHARON TATE AND FRIENDS AT HER HOUSE AND OTHERS ON LAURON CANYON FOUND DEAD BY MANSONS COMMAND.SO LAUREL CANYON OF PEACE MUSUC AND LOVE WAS NO MORE ALL BECAUSE OF A MOMENT OF CHARLES MANSONS SO CALLED MADNESS OF DRUGS.REST IN PEACE TO SHARON TATE AND THOSE WHO DIED BY MANSONS ANGER OVER THINKING HE WAS BETRAYED .BUT THERE WAS NO NEED FOR WHAT HE ORDERED HIS FOLLOWERES OUT OF IT ON ACID HIGH AS KITES 🤯😳😳😳..ALL BECAUSE OF WHAT HAPPENED THE PEACE OF LAURAL CANYON WAS NO MORE 🙏🌹🌹🌹🕊🕊🕊🕊🕊🦋🦋🦋🦋🙏.WHAT A PITY.
This is a great insight into that magic time. For some reason my mind was singing that Monkees song “Just Another Pleasant Valley Sunday” through the whole show. I was born in ’61 and my sister was born in ’58. She was a big Monkees fan as well as the Osmond Brothers and many many others. Her music was eclectic and I always heard all kinds of the newest rock music coming from her room. That was the main reason I became a musician. I miss that lady.
Gee too bad you left out all the information about the involvement of the CIA/MK Ultra in the music and entertainment industry. NONE of the musicians involved were ‘just guys’. They were the children of military intelligence officers, or other government involved parents. This information is readily available. One just wonders why you chose to omit it!
What a great time we all had and the great music! Now we’re all old and getting ready to cash it in!! I have seen a few websites where young people are starting to discover the music now, which is cool. Times certainly have changed and I noticed some mentioned the money that ended up in the scene! Seems like that has ruined a lot of things!! The all mighty dollar has soured a lot of things and it’s to bad!! But remember the music that still goes on!! Peace brothers and sisters!!
I was born in 1975 and by the time I was a teenager I had read a bunch about the scene in California and had felt sad over missing it in my youthful idealism. One thing which I had right though was that some of the greatest music of our modern times came from that era. I feel sad when I look at modern-day culture, especially at what is called music these days and perhaps foolheartedly long for days which I never experienced but only dreamt about.
You can’t have an end unless you have a beginning. – I was born in 1961 in St. Louis and, oddly, I purchased and owned multiple albums from every artist mentioned in this documentary. Today, music seems to be more of a product and back then music seemed to be more of an art form. Each to their own…
I graduated high school and turned 18 in 1966 and was set free! Living in the SFV I would travel through the Canyon into LA all the time and saw many of them live… the Doors, Love, and the Byrds. But my favorite was seeing the greats of the Blues at the Ash Grove… Lighting Hopkins, Big Mama, Willie Dixon, and many more.
Learned a lot. I wish some of this information about American Music History was shared in college courses. Music professors tend to avoid discussing Laurel Canyon and the weaponization of the music at this time. How the political pressures influenced each band is also quite fascinating, and the amount of free love and drugs, accompanied by a lot of drama and misfortune. I think that if given the opportunity to study this time period with sober clarity, our country could learn much about itself and why the music industry today, has evolved the way it has.
I lived in the canyon in 80–82, first in the big white mansion up the hill (incredible place)–the owner was renovating it until he died from a heart attack), then in the house on the water, described in the film, that Zappa lived in. They called it the Tom Mix cabin, after the old Hollywood cowboy actor who supposedly lived on the site. There was a tree that grew right through the middle of the house. I think the reason Zapp eventually left was because of all the mosquitos and other insects that the water attracted. That’s what made it an untenable situation for me. I worked at the Country Store for a short bit. Lots of great weed, still had an artistic vibe, jam sessions at my place and at friends’, but not quite the same pulsing, communal one of a decade before. I remember a crazy guy–who seemed pretty normal when I saw him sober one day in the store–but when inebriated, he’d tear up and down the canyon at night in his beat-up car, gunning his loud engine, then stop and bang on doors (I heard I was not the only one whose house he approached), then get back in his car and continue his drag race. This happened a number of times, and I don’t know if the cops ever stopped him.
Excellent documentary. I always considered the Monkees as a joke, but now realize they were somewhat influential in the rock scene of the 60’s and 70’s. Many memories of this era came flooding back. It’s amazing how music can transport you back to the days of your youth, and revive the feelings of living in that era. Music shaped our lives and how we looked at the world in the most amazing period of the century. Thank you for the trip back!
I have a family member who l used to visit with in Laurel Canyon about 20 years ago. I was a 21 yo budding songwriter, so to my absolute joy – awoke one day to a beautiful drum being played next door…a bongo or conga I believe. My cousin simply said, “oh, that’s one of the original band members of Jefferson Airplane.” …..Like, so casual….me: star struck.
This is an excellent historical account showing us the mosaic of relationships evolving and the unique music that defined its place in time through an atmosphere of open collective spiritual creativity. Like Greenwich Village being the heart and soul of early 1960’s Folk music, Laurel Canyon would be the center of the universe for the unparalleled music the world would be given.
The music was really special then, AND IT STILL IS. All these people saying music is dead are wrong. You just have to look around. There are some spectacular artists doing great things. It’s radio and the record industry that are dead, but now we have everything at the tip of our fingers. I’m an old hippy myself, but I haven’t given up on new music. My jam is mostly the new funk movement.
I feel so blessed to have been there from 1971-1979 and then again from 1984-1994. It wasn’t this era, but there was a lot of cool music and artists at my time as well. I fondly recall going to the forum to see Led Zeppelin, Alice Cooper, and others. Then, thrifting and finding clothing for so many of the glam metal rock bands of the 80’s who were just the boys of the neighborhood. Good times!
My parents bought our home in Laurel Canyon in 1948 when I was 3 years old. I grew up there in the midst of the famous… Rock Hudson lived two doors down. This was before all the rock stars and hippies discovered the area. My parents paid $5,000 for our tiny i bedroom, 1 bath house, sold it 12 years later for $30,000, now it’s worth over $1million. Someone added a second story and expanded the floorplan. I wish my parents had kept it.
Fascinating article and great photos, giving an insight into this remarkable place. One wonders though who bought and furnished all these houses and rented them out so cheaply to all these young musicians and allowed them to have the party lifestyle – must have been fairly lenient landlords. It is either a charitable thing or was there a darker side to it ?
Joni was petty for that 😂 but it is lovely that they all made beautiful art from their escapades, and just their lifestyle then seemed magical besides the hard drugs except grass. Just seemed more liberating, now you can barely go outside or to travel because there is too much shit to worry about (Im sure it was then), but it seemed more free
There was magic in the air and I thank them for giving me the best music( Beatles gal am I: number 1..) music of this time called life. Unless one lived it.. and felt that vibration in the air? How can I explain? But to experience is to know and..I am glad that u posted so that the youth can understand our beautiful history!! Thank u!! 😀🥰👍🙏😘
Thumbs up because I can grew up with family who were, even if briefly, in that world. One old Uncle is still alive and I learned there actually is just a handful of these musicians still living and yes they still own a handful of little places and/or visit. Some are surprisingly preserved as they were in 1965. My relations, over the years, this is often the story “everything was like a dream, (one wrote a song about it) and they always talk about how it went away. What a lot of people DO NOT mention is that a good many of these artists, many from Canada, UK and of course across the USA, many of them were not quite ‘silver spoon rich kids’ but they were what we call ‘Trust Fund Kids’ and had family or some inheritance or some lucky-in-life lotto way they could afford to dick around from 18-28 being free and groovy, drinking and smoking weed or whatever they wanted AND they could spend 18 months writing songs while not need-needing to go hustle for gigs and being at those jobs on time and so on. Some others say they got there just too late. This lifestyle, this ‘scene’ had swept the Anglosphere and already thousands were showing up but not just Laurel Canyon but trying to make ‘versions’, copies, emulations all over California. Yes, by that 1969 era, whatever call it the ‘end of the 60s’ (meaning the cultural hippy boomer peak youth culture) and by 1973 it was absolutely over but for the echoes and even those ‘leftover hippies’ had actually moved far out of that world to whatever weird commune or somewhere else.
As someone who was born in Hong Kong in 1969, so has no direct connection to Laurel Canyon at all, I can tell you it was the epicentre of the most important cultural event of the 20th century. The Doors. Joni Mitchell. CSNY. Zappa. Extraordinary. The list goes on and on. Guns n Roses and Elton John both also have stories to tell of their times in the canyon.
This article has potential but there’s so much context missing. Read “Weird scenes inside the canyon” by Dave Mcgowan and make a full length documentary about Lookout Mountain. There’s so many Laurel Canyon documentaries out there and none of them cover the full story. People would be shocked to find out the entire flower power hippie scene was scripted.
One thing about these ‘places’ that became hip to the Bohemian set of the day is that no one was from California…..they all (except Crosby) came from other states or countries and so created these enclaves as their own private “dream worlds” and lived without any regard to how the locals felt (also thinking of San Francisco here). Entitled people who came, trashed, and eventually left.
My brother, an incredible lead guitar player, moved to Laurel Canyon from Seattle where we were born and raised, in 1971 I think it was. He never got rich and famous, and by the time he went there the musicians were mostly gone. By then it was mostly actors, David Carradine lived right up the hill. I’m not sure I agree that it was the Charles Manson idiots, and the Rolling Stones at Altamont (also idiots), that led to the demise of the music scene there, or killed the 60s as it were, and is often stated. There was alot more going on and those were just touchstones. But I do know that my bro’ was a tad late to the party. I myself joined the Peace Corps.
If I had to describe the genius guitarist Eric Clapton, with just one word, beyond music, that word would be ‘shy’. He had that puppy dog, butterfly feeling attraction for Pattie Boyd, and no matter how big he was, he was like the rest of us males, he would painfully struggle to get the young ladies attention. This is the way I picture his whole life was like, that awkward, outsider, communicating thru his music.
Does history repeat itself? Most of the great organic music scenes grew out of places that artists flocked to for cheap rent. Realtors have figured that out, so any place that has any kind of art scene gets very expensive very quickly. It’s destroying art because no one has the space to so it in unless they are already wealthy. It’s like the middle ages when art depended on patronage to develop. How many great artists never even had the opportunity to pick up a brush? How many great musicians are busy working two jobs just to keep their slum apartment, and never have the time or money to buy instruments or rent practice space?