A SPECIAL TIME AND PLACE...

LAUREL CANYON PART 1
LAUREL CANYON PART 2

Just last week, I finished reading a rather interesting book entitled “Laurel Canyon: The Inside Story of Rock and Roll’s Legendary Neighborhood,” by Michael Walker (see americanhitnetwork.com if you wish to read my review of this book). Besides providing a few spicy tidbits of information about Graham Nash, Frank Zappa, Cass Elliot and many others, the book did a great job of providing a backdrop for some of the most interesting and/or influential music from the ‘60s and the ‘70s. A few of my own personal favorite musicians appear in the pages, and I always had a curiosity about what it would have been like to have David Crosby, Micky Dolenz and Joni Mitchell for neighbors. This book provides a substantive portrait of those times, and I figure that a good portrait of this musical location and era ought to be accompanied by some of the music that was spawned there, and then.
So, today’s show features music written by artists who were influenced by their surroundings in Laurel Canyon. Some songs mention it by name, others only imply it. Either way, there is common ground to be found here, so here is our own humble offering of a soundtrack to accompany a rather fascinating book about a fascinating era in a now fabled location.

The Songs;
(backdrop) – Mr. Tambourine Man – The Byrds
1) I’ll Set You Free This Time – The Byrds
2) On the Way Home – Buffalo Springfield
3) Hungry Freaks Daddy – The Mothers of Invention
4) Elenore – The Turtles
5) Laurel Canyon Boulevard – Van Dyke Parks
6) Creeque Alley – The Mamas and the Papas
7) Maybe the People Will Be the Times or Between Clark and Hilldale - Love
8) You Don’t Have to Cry – Crosby, Stills and Nash
9) Ladies of the Canyon – Joni Mitchell
10) Our House – Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young
11) Take It Easy – The Eagles
12) Revolution Blues – Neil Young