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Laurel Canyon: The Inside Story of Rock-and-Roll's Legendary Neighborhood
In the late sixties and early seventies, an impromptu collection of musicians colonized a eucalyptus-scented canyon deep in the Hollywood Hills of Los Angeles and melded folk, rock, and savvy American pop into a sound that conquered the world as thoroughly as the songs of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones had before them. Thirty years later, the music made in Laurel Canyon continues to pour from radios, iPods, and concert stages around the world. During the canyon's golden era, the musicians who lived and worked there scored dozens of landmark hits, from "California Dreamin'" to " Judy Blue Eyes" to "It's Too Late," selling tens of millions of records and resetting the thermostat of pop culture.
In Laurel Canyon , veteran journalist Michael Walker tells the inside story of this unprecedented gathering of some of the baby boom's leading musical lights--including Joni Mitchell; Jim Morrison; Crosby, Stills, and Nash; John Mayall; the Mamas and the Papas; Carole King; the Eagles; and Frank Zappa, to name just a few--who turned Los Angeles into the music capital of the world and forever changed the way popular music is recorded, marketed, and consumed .
In Laurel Canyon , veteran journalist Michael Walker tells the inside story of this unprecedented gathering of some of the baby boom's leading musical lights--including Joni Mitchell; Jim Morrison; Crosby, Stills, and Nash; John Mayall; the Mamas and the Papas; Carole King; the Eagles; and Frank Zappa, to name just a few--who turned Los Angeles into the music capital of the world and forever changed the way popular music is recorded, marketed, and consumed .
277 pages, Hardcover
First published May 1, 2006
300 people are currently reading
3353 people want to read
About the author
Michael Walker
3 books22 followersMichael Walker is a Los Angeles-based screenwriter, author and journalist.
His first book, LAUREL CANYON: THE INSIDE STORY OF ROCK AND ROLL'S LEGENDARY NEIGHBORHOOD (Farrar Straus & Giroux), spent seven months on the Los Angeles Times Book Review nonfiction bestseller list, is in its 16h printing and continues to receive worldwide acclaim. “A winding, inviting...portrait of a bohemian quarter that played a prominent role in the foundation of rock music,” the New York Times wrote in its review.
WHAT YOU WANT IS IN THE LIMO (Spiegel & Grau/Random House, 2013), was praised by Rolling Stone as “a reminder of why the world would eventually need punk rock.” Film rights were purchased by Johnny Depp’s Infinitum Nihil productions.
DELTA LADY, his collaboration Grammy-winning singer and songwriter Rita Coolidge, was published in April 2016 by HarperCollins.
20th Century Fox and Paranormal Activity producer Jason Blum are developing his screenplay, "Anything, Anywhere, Anytime," based on his magazine feature about the world of cargo pilots.
Michael's reporting and writing about pop culture have appeared in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, Boston Globe, International Herald Tribune, Rolling Stone, Men's Vogue, Esquire, GQ, Billboard, the Hollywood Reporter and many other national and international publications. He has worked as an editor at the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times.
REPRESENTATION
Daniel Greenberg, Levine Greenberg Rostan Literary Agency * 212.337.0934
Marc Von Arx, Nelson Davis LLP * 424-214-4800
His first book, LAUREL CANYON: THE INSIDE STORY OF ROCK AND ROLL'S LEGENDARY NEIGHBORHOOD (Farrar Straus & Giroux), spent seven months on the Los Angeles Times Book Review nonfiction bestseller list, is in its 16h printing and continues to receive worldwide acclaim. “A winding, inviting...portrait of a bohemian quarter that played a prominent role in the foundation of rock music,” the New York Times wrote in its review.
WHAT YOU WANT IS IN THE LIMO (Spiegel & Grau/Random House, 2013), was praised by Rolling Stone as “a reminder of why the world would eventually need punk rock.” Film rights were purchased by Johnny Depp’s Infinitum Nihil productions.
DELTA LADY, his collaboration Grammy-winning singer and songwriter Rita Coolidge, was published in April 2016 by HarperCollins.
20th Century Fox and Paranormal Activity producer Jason Blum are developing his screenplay, "Anything, Anywhere, Anytime," based on his magazine feature about the world of cargo pilots.
Michael's reporting and writing about pop culture have appeared in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, Boston Globe, International Herald Tribune, Rolling Stone, Men's Vogue, Esquire, GQ, Billboard, the Hollywood Reporter and many other national and international publications. He has worked as an editor at the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times.
REPRESENTATION
Daniel Greenberg, Levine Greenberg Rostan Literary Agency * 212.337.0934
Marc Von Arx, Nelson Davis LLP * 424-214-4800
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 280 reviews
November 16, 2022
Laurel Canyon: The Inside Story of Rock-and -Roll’s Legendary Neighborhood by Michael Walker is a 2007 Farrar, Straus and Giroux publication.
During the 1960s a group of people who would later become household names, made their home in Laurel Canyon. The neighborhood then became legendary- but is mostly mythologized. It had a reputation for having a commonality, a peace and love, 'my door is always open' atmosphere.
Until...
The Manson family murders, that is.
Suddenly, all those open doors were slammed shut and locked up tight. The murders, along with the disastrous Altamont concert are often blamed for killing the mood in the late sixties, but as we look back, all that ‘brotherhood’ stuff was mostly an illusion to begin with.
As these musicians began to reap financial rewards, cocaine became a status symbol, without the accusation of having commercially sold out. Once the drug took over it was truly the end of an era.
This scene fizzled out eventually, as these things often do, when times and taste change- as well as the darker side of the lifestyle takes over, and goes too far, causing people to wake up - or in many cases, finally grow-up.
Still, Laurel Canyon, for many, remains romanticized and nobody dares to dispute that. It has its place in pop culture history, much the same as Haight-Ashbury, during the 1960s.
As to this book, though, it starts out strong, but continues far, far too long. The author moved out of Laurel Canyon before the halfway mark, it seems, and proceeded to explain how rock became bloated, how punk popped that bubble, and how all those early sixties artists had moved out, the famous landmarks closed, and cocaine, murders, and decadence burned it out, sometimes literally, leaving only idealistic, nostalgic memories in its wake.
Towards the end of the book, I was skimming over the material, because I’d either heard it before, or found it boring, or the author quoted people I’d never even heard of, didn't care about, or had nothing to do with Laurel Canyon, really- and because it had moved past the decades I had wanted to read about in the first place.
Eventually, the author returns to the Canyon to close the book with another infamous mass murder that killed any semblance of innocence that might have remained.
Most of this stuff can be found if one is willing to do the research, read a few biographies, or comb through the interviews given during this time. But, I'm not sure I'd ever much care about long forgotten rock groupies and most of the history presented here is not news to me, so ultimately, the book became a snooze-fest.
2 stars
During the 1960s a group of people who would later become household names, made their home in Laurel Canyon. The neighborhood then became legendary- but is mostly mythologized. It had a reputation for having a commonality, a peace and love, 'my door is always open' atmosphere.
Until...
The Manson family murders, that is.
Suddenly, all those open doors were slammed shut and locked up tight. The murders, along with the disastrous Altamont concert are often blamed for killing the mood in the late sixties, but as we look back, all that ‘brotherhood’ stuff was mostly an illusion to begin with.
As these musicians began to reap financial rewards, cocaine became a status symbol, without the accusation of having commercially sold out. Once the drug took over it was truly the end of an era.
This scene fizzled out eventually, as these things often do, when times and taste change- as well as the darker side of the lifestyle takes over, and goes too far, causing people to wake up - or in many cases, finally grow-up.
Still, Laurel Canyon, for many, remains romanticized and nobody dares to dispute that. It has its place in pop culture history, much the same as Haight-Ashbury, during the 1960s.
As to this book, though, it starts out strong, but continues far, far too long. The author moved out of Laurel Canyon before the halfway mark, it seems, and proceeded to explain how rock became bloated, how punk popped that bubble, and how all those early sixties artists had moved out, the famous landmarks closed, and cocaine, murders, and decadence burned it out, sometimes literally, leaving only idealistic, nostalgic memories in its wake.
Towards the end of the book, I was skimming over the material, because I’d either heard it before, or found it boring, or the author quoted people I’d never even heard of, didn't care about, or had nothing to do with Laurel Canyon, really- and because it had moved past the decades I had wanted to read about in the first place.
Eventually, the author returns to the Canyon to close the book with another infamous mass murder that killed any semblance of innocence that might have remained.
Most of this stuff can be found if one is willing to do the research, read a few biographies, or comb through the interviews given during this time. But, I'm not sure I'd ever much care about long forgotten rock groupies and most of the history presented here is not news to me, so ultimately, the book became a snooze-fest.
2 stars
March 30, 2009
Midway through "Laurel Canyon," I realized that I was reading the literary equivalent of a VH1 "Behind the Music" episode: It's fun and breezy and there are lots of famous people mentioned, but after a while you realize that it's fairly poorly constructed and that there's no there there. The book is purportedly a profile of a neighborhood in which lots of incredibly creative musicians--Joni Mitchell, CSN, Frank Zappa, Jackson Browne, the Eagles, the Mamas and the Papas--lived and worked, but the author never really manages to go into much depth with any of the people or the place itself, so this reads like a series of unrelated celebrity profiles. Half the time, Walker seems to be trying to link a particular sound with a particular place, but since not all the "California sound" musicians lived anywhere near Laurel Canyon, he gets kind of stuck. In later chapters, he seems to run out of connection to the Canyon, and instead focuses on various clubs NEAR it, various musicians who visited or played on the Strip during the 1970s, or random industry folk he interviewed for the book, many of whom say conflicting things that the author doesn't really bother to address or qualify. This is light reading if you're interested in how things will get worse for Ozzy after the commercial break, but if you're looking for a real history of a place and a time, search elsewhere.
July 23, 2022
The problem with this book is that so little of it is actually about Laurel Canyon and its residents; there are a few big names that author Michael Walker barely even mentions and notable albums, such as Jackie DeShannon's album Laurel Canyon (which was even named after the place!) is only namechecked because its cover in is the famous Country Store. I realise that context is important, and believe me there is plenty of that in here, but at one point the author actually needlessly goes into a long explanation on the history of cocaine and another time tells us the history of the Midwest town that one of Laurel Canyon's one-time residents came from. Also, although I understand the importance of the Manson family murders, which occurred in nearby Benedict Canyon, and the effect it had on the residents and the whole hippie scene, the infamous Wonderland murders, which actually happened within Laurel Canyon itself, aren't delved into as deeply for some bizarre reason. At the end I wished there were more interviews with people who actually lived there and were part of the scene and just a little less about groupies (who seem to be given more respect than the hugely influential Cass Elliot) and their favourite L.A. nightclubs. Overall, very disappointing.
December 29, 2012
I've been listening to this book in my car to and from work and found it interesting for the most part. I'm not a big fan of CSN, The Byrds, Joni Mitchell and the gang from the L.A. mid-sixties folk/rock scene, but do appreciate their place in pop-culture history. There is some padding in the book, with asides about Altamont, Woodstock, Charles Manson, cocaine and Led Zeppelin groupies. Groupies as a whole do not make for interesting subject matter and the ones sourced for this book seem to have an overly-inflated sense of importance on what influence they might have had. More on the business side of the music industry would have been nice. The only musician/artist who seems to have seen through the fog of spoiled self-indulgence for what it was is Frank Zappa, who lampooned the whole scene in WE'RE ONLY IN IT FOR THE MONEY and other records from that era.
August 9, 2022
Stel je een vriendengroep van adolescenten voor waar zowat iedereen geweldig kan zingen en een instrument bespeelt. Vrienden die in hetzelfde huis/buurtje samenwonen om muziek te maken en met drugs en free love te experimenteren. Stel je voor dat al deze vrienden één voor één uiteindelijk wereldfaam zullen verkrijgen. Geschift, maar echt gebeurd…
Ik heb het over de artiesten die tussen 1964 en begin jaren 70 in één specifieke woning in het Californische Laurel Canyon rondhingen en die uiteindelijk -deels samen en deels apart- de wereld zullen veroveren: Joni Mitchell, David Crosby, Stephen Stills, Graham Nash, Neil Young, Carole King, frontlui van Jefferson Airplane, Grateful Dead, The Doors, The Eagles, The Byrds, The Mama's and the papa's. Zij vormden de kern. Maar rond die inner circle had je even grote namen: Frank Zappa woonde om de hoek, Eric Clapton, Janis Jopin, Jimi Hendrix circuleerden geregeld. Jim Morrison schreef er het liedje Love street over, John Mayall maakte een heel album als eerbetoon. Heeft er ergens meer talent of faam samen vertoefd dan in dat ene huis? Welke fabuleuze muziek is er op nachtelijke jams unrecorded gebleven?
Gelukkig is er dit goed gedocumenteerd boek over deze unieke unie
Ik heb het over de artiesten die tussen 1964 en begin jaren 70 in één specifieke woning in het Californische Laurel Canyon rondhingen en die uiteindelijk -deels samen en deels apart- de wereld zullen veroveren: Joni Mitchell, David Crosby, Stephen Stills, Graham Nash, Neil Young, Carole King, frontlui van Jefferson Airplane, Grateful Dead, The Doors, The Eagles, The Byrds, The Mama's and the papa's. Zij vormden de kern. Maar rond die inner circle had je even grote namen: Frank Zappa woonde om de hoek, Eric Clapton, Janis Jopin, Jimi Hendrix circuleerden geregeld. Jim Morrison schreef er het liedje Love street over, John Mayall maakte een heel album als eerbetoon. Heeft er ergens meer talent of faam samen vertoefd dan in dat ene huis? Welke fabuleuze muziek is er op nachtelijke jams unrecorded gebleven?
Gelukkig is er dit goed gedocumenteerd boek over deze unieke unie
August 19, 2015
I would read a book about tax accounting if Michael Walker were writing it. Luckily, he writes about stuff I'm already obsessed with. In Laurel Canyon, Walker thoughtfully lays out how an idyllic canyon rising incongruously from grimy Sunset Boulevard became legendary in shaping the music industry of the '60s and '70s. Largely chronological, he starts with how LA's thriving earnest folk scene of the late '50s/early '60s became an earnest, but flashy and druggy rock scene as the decade progressed, first pot and acid with the mellow festival rock of Crosby, Still and Nash, the Byrds and Mamas and Papas and then heroin and coke, with the eventually jaded Eagles. The venues of Sunset, the groupies and scenesters, executives and producers, and the "everyday people" that made the scene (one of whom I was surprised to realize I happen to know currently)are often affectionately and poetically constructed here. Along the way, Walker provides essential background info on how the canyon, from the early days of Hollywood, became a haven for the artistic and eccentric. Walker, himself, lives there, too.
August 26, 2015
I really enjoyed this, even though I wasn't familiar with about half the players (record execs, mostly.) It follows the history of the canyon from about The Byrds in the early 60s to the Wonderland murders in 1979, with a teeny bit about 80s and 90s. It was so decadent, now I am interested in learning more about the groupies, from Pamela des Barre to Sable Starr. I can't wait to carve out some time to listen to my Joni Mitchell and CSNY albums again. Hey did you know Peter Tork was a party animal?
November 4, 2015
This book would have made an excellent long article in a magazine like Vanity Fair or The New Yorker but as a book it disappoints. There simply isn't enough subject matter to make a book. The author is really stretching at times, including pretty random stories that are only tenuously related to the subject. There were a few interesting stories told in the book but not anything you couldn't find somewhere else.
March 4, 2012
What I enjoyed most about this was book was how it put the legendary Laurel Canyon music scene in context – not necessarily within the world at large, but within itself. The evolution of, and (in more detail) the demise of, the brief, geographically-confined era that gave the world some of its most beautiful folk/rock music is explored in a variety of interesting ways. Walker focuses on the scene through numerous lenses, from groupies to drugs (the latter particularly well-done for its look at why pot gave way to cocaine, and how cocaine was a symptom of the end of the era, as much as it was part of the cause). While the book hopped around and also repeated a little too much in my opinion, it's a must-read for an understanding of how such a unique cultural phenomenon occurred. I think it's also important to note that while Walker is clearly fascinated by his subject (after all, he wrote a book about it!), he doesn't seem to idealize or demonize it. This book manages to remain fair while still revealing page after page of fascinating insider tidbits.
October 13, 2016
I have previously done much research into the whole Laurel Canyon phenomenon, with Zappa, Mamas and Papas, Jim Morrison and especially Charles Manson. The book does not go into the the full depth of the "rabbit hole" that was Laurel Canyon" ... too much is left out that is known fact if you've done your research prior to reading this. If not, then its an "interesting" read at best. If you already know about LC, then this is just book that points out many coincidences but never delves into what they mean and why they happened and who made them happen.
October 3, 2012
I drive through Laurel Canyon everyday and I have a new appreciation of what an amazing history it has. I loved reading about the musicians that gravitated here. It's a quick read and thoroughly enjoyable. If you have a chance to read THE WRECKING CREW as well, they make terrific companion pieces.
August 23, 2020
As a baby boomer who grew up in Los Angeles, of course I would be interested in the history of Laurel Canyon --- the birthplace of folk rock. Yet, I was pleasantly surprised that the author, Michael Walker, had researched every inch of this iconic place and its revolutionary times. Couple this vast research with an exceptionally good writer and you have a damned fine book. As a writer myself, I am more impressed with a writer's talent more often than I am with the theme and content; but, Michael does both. He gives the reader plenty of content painted with a plethora of colored words, not the least bit redundant. I thoroughly enjoyed this read.
I was busy working two jobs to put myself through a state college during this era of groundbreaking music; however, I visited the canyon a time or two to see my brother, an L.A. rock music engineer. I remember the bucolic feel of the Crosby, Stills and Nash days when people sat around low coffee tables smoking pot and playing music. Everyone was welcome to enjoy this creativity without judgment or competition. And, just as Mr. Walker describes, once the psychedelic 60's and 70's morphed into the late 70's and 80's, cocaine, money, and sex exchanged the peace and love existence for a sort frenzied drive to succeed, at all costs. I watched my brother change through these trends as well. I moved to Santa Monica when the Sunset clubs became punkish and dangerous. I had just missed the Troubadour hey days. Therefore, I steered clear of the seediness, which may have saved my life.
Michael Walker weaves a glowing nostalgia of a time when music found its voice, a time that the great folk bands will never forget as their best times, with something akin to the fall of the Roman Empire. Inevitably, hard drugs, too much money, and human greed will always spoil the magic. Throughout this important retrospective of modern times, Michael shares stories from the people who lived those years in the canyon. Their tales are riveting and transparently authentic. I gained a whole new appreciation for Frank Zappa --- for his musical influence and his ability to retain his value system in the middle of Sodom and Gomorrha. Conversely, there were lunatic fringe characters whose lives ended up tragically because they threw caution to the storms of hedonism (even to the detriment of their children). This is a pop culture tome of great importance to the history of Southern California and the rock music business in general.
If you like history, music, and masterful writing, Laurel Canyon is the perfect storm.
I was busy working two jobs to put myself through a state college during this era of groundbreaking music; however, I visited the canyon a time or two to see my brother, an L.A. rock music engineer. I remember the bucolic feel of the Crosby, Stills and Nash days when people sat around low coffee tables smoking pot and playing music. Everyone was welcome to enjoy this creativity without judgment or competition. And, just as Mr. Walker describes, once the psychedelic 60's and 70's morphed into the late 70's and 80's, cocaine, money, and sex exchanged the peace and love existence for a sort frenzied drive to succeed, at all costs. I watched my brother change through these trends as well. I moved to Santa Monica when the Sunset clubs became punkish and dangerous. I had just missed the Troubadour hey days. Therefore, I steered clear of the seediness, which may have saved my life.
Michael Walker weaves a glowing nostalgia of a time when music found its voice, a time that the great folk bands will never forget as their best times, with something akin to the fall of the Roman Empire. Inevitably, hard drugs, too much money, and human greed will always spoil the magic. Throughout this important retrospective of modern times, Michael shares stories from the people who lived those years in the canyon. Their tales are riveting and transparently authentic. I gained a whole new appreciation for Frank Zappa --- for his musical influence and his ability to retain his value system in the middle of Sodom and Gomorrha. Conversely, there were lunatic fringe characters whose lives ended up tragically because they threw caution to the storms of hedonism (even to the detriment of their children). This is a pop culture tome of great importance to the history of Southern California and the rock music business in general.
If you like history, music, and masterful writing, Laurel Canyon is the perfect storm.
August 23, 2020
I picked this book up a few years ago on a trip to the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles. At the time the museum was featuring a special display on the Laurel Canyon section of Southern California and it's relationship to the Los Angeles music scene. The book starts with the close-knit community of folk and rock artists living there in the sixties. Then transitions to how the music scene and drug culture changed in the seventies, eighties, and to the current day. Side trips are taken to Woodstock, Altamont, and what was happening musically in San Francisco. Of course the West Hollywood clubs such as the Troubador, and Whisky a go go are frequent settings as well.
I would have given the book four stars, but sometimes the writing seems to get a bit jumbled. Walker uses personal interviews with several people living in the area at the time, and who were associated with the clubs as well as living in the canyon. The chapters are written in a way that reminds me of a series of articles that would appear in a magazine such as 'Rolling Stone'. If you are interested in the evolution of music in Los Angeles this book is worth your time.
I would have given the book four stars, but sometimes the writing seems to get a bit jumbled. Walker uses personal interviews with several people living in the area at the time, and who were associated with the clubs as well as living in the canyon. The chapters are written in a way that reminds me of a series of articles that would appear in a magazine such as 'Rolling Stone'. If you are interested in the evolution of music in Los Angeles this book is worth your time.
June 5, 2011
While I liked the content material of the book and the stories involved I thought the vocabulary was way too high for the average reader. How wonderful this book would have been if it was written so you could devour the tales and imagine the comings and goings of all the stars as they traveled through their lives in Laurel Canyon. Instead, you needed a dictionary beside you or just glossed over fancy words hoping to get the gist of it. But I doubt that was the author's intention. What author writes so that his readers only get the gist of it?
Words from just one page: soupcon (add french language icon below the 'c'), surfeit, exemplar, appended, swaths, cloche, pansexual
Words from just one page: soupcon (add french language icon below the 'c'), surfeit, exemplar, appended, swaths, cloche, pansexual
April 21, 2013
A fascinating look at the LA music scene from the early 1960's through the end of the 1970's. I initially saw this book at the Getty Center in LA. This book provided reference material for an exhibit at the Getty on the LA music scene.
While the book "Summer of Love" by Joel Selvin covers San Francisco's Haight Ashbury neighborhood, this book covers Los Angele's Laurel Canyon. Many notable people lived in Laurel Canyon including Jodi Mitchell, Crosby Stills Nash and Young, Frank Zappa. The author presents three basic story lines, that of the musicians, that of the club owners (on nearby Sunset Ave.) and promoters, and lastly that of the groupies.
While the book "Summer of Love" by Joel Selvin covers San Francisco's Haight Ashbury neighborhood, this book covers Los Angele's Laurel Canyon. Many notable people lived in Laurel Canyon including Jodi Mitchell, Crosby Stills Nash and Young, Frank Zappa. The author presents three basic story lines, that of the musicians, that of the club owners (on nearby Sunset Ave.) and promoters, and lastly that of the groupies.
October 4, 2012
I liked it but I've read a few books now on this topic and topics like it and you're basically reading it for gossip on musicians and celebs although in this one it's not so much gossip as the feeling of the Laurel Canyon area and how it transformed and morphed over the decades into something different and yet, pretty much the same. The biggest changes for Laurel Canyon and Los Angeles in general were the Manson murders and cocaine. After those introductions everything had a different tone. It's interesting that Laurel Canyon has always been funky going back to the early 1900's and is still pretty funky - albeit not cheap!
November 7, 2011
I read in another review that this book was mostly gossip - that would have been an improvement. It turned out that this was mostly a look at the sociology of LA in the '60s and '70s. That was an era when some of the best rock music of the last several decades was produced, but instead of a book about the music and the musicians who produced it, we were treated to a shallow look at the culture of the time. Not really worth the time it takes to read it unless you are seeking an advanced degree in sociology.
April 16, 2011
Read as background for a current paper project. This is mostly a celebrity group bio. It turns out that lots of groovy people lived in Laurel Canyon and they did a lot of coke which fucked them up big time. Gosh. I seriously doubt that anyone I know would be tempted to read this. But if you are, don't. Look at Barney Hoskins' Waiting for the Sun instead.
September 23, 2024
As other reviewers have pointed out, it’s more of an overview of the west coast music scene in the 60s and 70s. If that’s your bag then you’ll enjoy this book. I definitely learnt a few things, although a fair few areas that he writes about are quite well known.
June 18, 2021
A good history of the '60s & '70s in Laurel Canyon...worth a read.
March 19, 2021
As a teenage Doors fan (albeit in the nineties rather than when they were actually happening), Laurel Canyon has long loomed large in my imagination. A few minutes drive from the Sunset Strip and cheap, the canyon was home to a feast of late sixties/early seventies music legends (although really, at the time they were just starting out), and always seemed to me like such a cool and collaborative community.
Reaching middle age has changed my idea of how much I’d actually enjoy living in such a place - more than a few people is way too much people, I’d really rather you called before you pitched up on my doorstep no matter how well you can sing, and seeing the scene through older eyes made the second class status of women much more obvious, but reading Laurel Canyon was still a fun whistle stop tour through the decade when it seemed that anyone who was anyone lived there.
Once the talent was installed in the Canyon, others followed - the producers and managers, the groupies, and the dealers - and Walker talks to a few from each category, slowly showing how the scene changed once success arrived, bringing with it tons of cocaine. As well as the drugs, Walker also gives nods to other events that changed the vibe of Laurel Canyon - the Manson Family murders, which took place nearby and the Wonderland murders at the beginning of the eighties - although it doesn’t delve too deep.
There are certain people’s tales that Walker follows more closely than anyone else, and there are a lot of people missing from his talking heads so at times it can feel a little more like the adventures of Graham Nash rather than a book about the scene, but that’s a minor quibble in what was ultimately a light and nostalgic few days of reading which led to me busting out a lot of my old vinyl.
**Also posted at Cannonball Read 13**
Reaching middle age has changed my idea of how much I’d actually enjoy living in such a place - more than a few people is way too much people, I’d really rather you called before you pitched up on my doorstep no matter how well you can sing, and seeing the scene through older eyes made the second class status of women much more obvious, but reading Laurel Canyon was still a fun whistle stop tour through the decade when it seemed that anyone who was anyone lived there.
Once the talent was installed in the Canyon, others followed - the producers and managers, the groupies, and the dealers - and Walker talks to a few from each category, slowly showing how the scene changed once success arrived, bringing with it tons of cocaine. As well as the drugs, Walker also gives nods to other events that changed the vibe of Laurel Canyon - the Manson Family murders, which took place nearby and the Wonderland murders at the beginning of the eighties - although it doesn’t delve too deep.
There are certain people’s tales that Walker follows more closely than anyone else, and there are a lot of people missing from his talking heads so at times it can feel a little more like the adventures of Graham Nash rather than a book about the scene, but that’s a minor quibble in what was ultimately a light and nostalgic few days of reading which led to me busting out a lot of my old vinyl.
**Also posted at Cannonball Read 13**
January 11, 2023
I went to school at Wonderland Avenue Elementary, which is profiled a small amount in this book, and have therefore had a permanent connection to the Laurel Canyon neighborhood. There are few neighborhoods that have such a major place in the history of counterculture and music as the Canyon, and the author of this text connects to residents from famous musicians to Sunset Strip groupies to reminisce with fondness about their youth. Though it's unclear how much this book would resonate with someone not already familiar with the classic music figures within, a fan of classic rock will no doubt be excited to hear behind-the-scenes tales of famous musicians, even if many of the stories are not given that much more than a superficial level of detail.
Just as the book captures the Canyon's golden age, it dissects the myths behind it, with a particular focus on the misogyny relating to gender issues and often-creepy sex. The journey through history culminates with the notorious Wonderland Murders, a true crime mystery in our city's history that is fascinating and yet gone through fairly quickly by the author. Though I find the book is a little too hard on a neighborhood that continues to be wealthy and beautiful, ignoring all of the many talented creatives who remain today, this is an easily-readable history that will appeal to fans of rock music and the ghosts that still haunt the hills of Los Angeles.
Just as the book captures the Canyon's golden age, it dissects the myths behind it, with a particular focus on the misogyny relating to gender issues and often-creepy sex. The journey through history culminates with the notorious Wonderland Murders, a true crime mystery in our city's history that is fascinating and yet gone through fairly quickly by the author. Though I find the book is a little too hard on a neighborhood that continues to be wealthy and beautiful, ignoring all of the many talented creatives who remain today, this is an easily-readable history that will appeal to fans of rock music and the ghosts that still haunt the hills of Los Angeles.
February 2, 2024
If I had a dime for every time the author used dashes in the middle of a sentence--he then made the sentence inside the dashes too confusing to understand the rest of the intial clause--I would be a RICH MAN. I'm not exaggerating, he once used dashes THREE TIMES IN ONE PARAGRAPH. 3 stars is far too generous. I should give it 2.5-2.75, but I loved reading some of the history of Joni Mitchell (because she is a Goddess) and CSN(Y) and all the other folk/folk-rock/rock stars. The other highlight chapters of the book were the Frank Zappa cabin and the Manson murders. But near the end of the book, there was an entire chapter on the history of cocaine and how everyone in the Canyon did it (as if I was shocked...it was LA in the 70s). An ENTIRE CHAPTER. I can't emphasize this enough, it was fully 30 pages on which people did cocaine. It started to lose the common thread of the Canyon a little over halfway through the book, and started to expand into LA lore that somewhat included Laurel Canyon. The part that was most enjoyable was the interviews and quotes from all of the figures in the scene, but that wasn't even the author's own writing. It wasn't a very well written book but I did enjoy the content and stories so I'm being nice about it. Overall, I wouldn't recommend but I still had a good time.
Coloring the sunshine hours, they are the ladies of the canyon. (Long story short, Joni Mitchell should have just written her own book about this, honestly).
Coloring the sunshine hours, they are the ladies of the canyon. (Long story short, Joni Mitchell should have just written her own book about this, honestly).
May 20, 2020
I gave this 3 out of 5 stars because 3/5 of it was good. I enjoyed hearing about the history and all the crossing paths of musicians back in the day. Having lived in LA for 11 years, I knew the areas and it was fun to read about. Loved hearing about the history of the Troubador, especially being an Elton fan.
Then, OMG, there was no need for an entire chapter on drugs - they not only killed the Laurel Canyon vibe, they also killed the book's vibe. And then nobody needed to hear interviews with a 16-year-old slut-to-the-stars in a whole chapter on her and her fellow groupies. What the heck?
Okay, so if you read this book (and yes, you'll enjoy it), after the history of the Troubador, check out the pics, then skip all the way to the Epilogue and you'll give this book a higher rating. In reading the two pointless chapters and the two later non-redeeming chapters, I have done the suffering for all of your sakes. :-)
I still, however, look forward to the soon-to-be-released documentary based on the book. I just hope there's no groupies chapter in that.
Then, OMG, there was no need for an entire chapter on drugs - they not only killed the Laurel Canyon vibe, they also killed the book's vibe. And then nobody needed to hear interviews with a 16-year-old slut-to-the-stars in a whole chapter on her and her fellow groupies. What the heck?
Okay, so if you read this book (and yes, you'll enjoy it), after the history of the Troubador, check out the pics, then skip all the way to the Epilogue and you'll give this book a higher rating. In reading the two pointless chapters and the two later non-redeeming chapters, I have done the suffering for all of your sakes. :-)
I still, however, look forward to the soon-to-be-released documentary based on the book. I just hope there's no groupies chapter in that.
August 21, 2021
Brilliant!!
I'm a avid reader of selective autobiographical offerings which ether have personal Interest or have been recommended, on this occasion I came across this book totally randomly and I'm so glad I did.
This book defines a decade around 1968, culture, music and a focus on the impact Laurel Canyon , Los Angeles inhabitants had on the music of that time and much much more. If you have any interest in Joni Mitchell, Crosby Stills and Nash or the evolution of the LA strip and the symbiotic relationship it had with creating overnight musical superstars you really do need to read this.
I'm a avid reader of selective autobiographical offerings which ether have personal Interest or have been recommended, on this occasion I came across this book totally randomly and I'm so glad I did.
This book defines a decade around 1968, culture, music and a focus on the impact Laurel Canyon , Los Angeles inhabitants had on the music of that time and much much more. If you have any interest in Joni Mitchell, Crosby Stills and Nash or the evolution of the LA strip and the symbiotic relationship it had with creating overnight musical superstars you really do need to read this.
June 26, 2024
This book was just ok for me. So many names mentioned that I had never heard of and the ones that you knew, and are alive, were not interviewed.
I kept wondering who was telling stories throughout because I would lose interest and who are these people anyway?
Interviewing groupies wasn’t that interesting or compelling in my opinion.
The book was too long and since everyone seemed to be on drugs, how accurate are the stories, aside from the famous ones that hit the news?
I kept wondering who was telling stories throughout because I would lose interest and who are these people anyway?
Interviewing groupies wasn’t that interesting or compelling in my opinion.
The book was too long and since everyone seemed to be on drugs, how accurate are the stories, aside from the famous ones that hit the news?
January 21, 2023
Quite a read. Hard to encapsulate, but it was rather surreal to be reading this book the same week David Crosby passed away, since he was such an integral part of Laurel Canyon history.
One thing I've never been fond of is when an introduction oversummarizes the book and reveals too many details. This book does that, but I still found it to be intriguing and a worthwhile read. I'd give it a 4.25.
One thing I've never been fond of is when an introduction oversummarizes the book and reveals too many details. This book does that, but I still found it to be intriguing and a worthwhile read. I'd give it a 4.25.
March 22, 2018
Interesting if occasionally nostalgia-tinted tour of the LA music scene in the 60s and 70s. Some bits drag or go a little far afield from the stated topic, and there are a few people interviewed where I was thinking, "Do I really care what this person has to say?" Overall though, it was a reasonably engaging portrait of a fascinating time and place.
October 5, 2019
A pleasant, but not outstanding read. A good look at an aspect of rock'n'roll history, with a lot of stuff I didn't know about stuff I thought I did know.
December 1, 2021
An interesting and nostalgic look at the residents of Laurel Canyon in Los Angeles in the 1970’s – Joni Mitchell, Jim Morrison, Graham Nash, Cass Elliott, Carole King, Don Henley, and David Crosby - as music turned away from the Brill Building in New York City to the performer/composer in California. Full of inside tidbits and inside stories. A fun read.
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