If you were to ask me what I new about Laurel Canyon, California before this week, I would have said, "Not much." I heard the Manson murders had something to do with the place. That's about it. This week we watched a two-part documentary series about the canyon. It highlighted a specific time in the canyon's history, mid-1960s to mid-1970s, and it focused on music.
There's a lot to learn about the place.
About the time young talented musicians began filling the nooks and crannies of Laurel Canyon is about the time I came into the world. As I grew up, the music of the Byrds, the Flying Burrito Brothers, Love, The Doors, The Eagles, The Monkeys, Crosby Stills Nash and Young, and even Frank Zappa were filling the airways (okay, maybe not Zappa...). Their songs played on AM radio station across the country. It was the music that I heard growing up even before I knew what a rock band was. I'm too young to equate certain songs with certain events, but the series made me realize just how important this community in the foothills of L.A. meant to our culture and the music world in general.
The documentary pointed out how that place at that time changed society. It was as important to music as Paris is to fashion, or Maranello is to race cars.
It's a little rough, language-wise. I found it fascinating, but I'm sure they only scratched the surface as to the stories and histories that are found carved into the mountainsides of the famous canyon. If you're a fan of the 1960s/1970s Southern California music scene, you must watch this series. It's on Epix.
There's so little I knew about the place before I began watching the series. I know a little bit more now.
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