Lots Of Buzz About "The Sounds Of Laurel Canyon" Exhibit At The GRAMMY Museum

One of the things that I love to do is show properties up in the Hollywood Hills. The area is home to some of the most amazing architecture and breathtaking scenery on the West Coast, with views that stretch from downtown LA out to the Pacific Ocean and Catalina Island. But the real allure for many is the history of this exclusive neighborhood where every street is named after a bird such as Oriole, Blue Jay Way, Nightingale, Robin, or Thrasher. Some of the greatest actors, writers, artists and musicians of the last 100 years have lived and created their world-renowned works there and, from now through November, the GRAMMY Museum Downtown is celebrating the Hill's Laurel Canyon scene of the 60's and 70's with its California Dreamin’: The Sounds of Laurel Canyon, 1965 - 1977.

Most people probably think of Laurel Canyon these days as a shortcut from Hollywood to the Valley, but in the mid-1960s to 1970s, the area was home to some of the greatest musicians of the rock era, including Joni Mitchell, Jim Morrison, Frank Zappa, and members of The Mamas & The Papas, The Byrds and Crosby, Stills & Nash. Musicians flocked to Laurel Canyon because of its idyllic setting, as well as the cheap rent and proximity to Sunset Strip clubs such as the Whisky A Go Go, The Roxy and The Troubadour. The GRAMMY exhibit captures the sights and sounds of the canyon and its narrow, serpentine streets that were home to the creation of some major rock and roll history.

The California Dreamin' exhibit looks so interesting because it documents one of the more overlooked periods in American music history. At the the same time the Laurel Canyon scene was thriving, the Folk scene in New York City and the Psychedelic scene in San Francisco were getting most of the attention. This exhibit shows just how influential (and, in many ways, even more important) what was coming out of the Hollywood Hills truly was. By emphasizing that country-rock was basically invented there, singer/songwriters like James Browne, James Taylor and Linda Ronstadt wrote songs that are classic of the 70's there, and showing that since the emergence of the core Laurel Canyon musicians Los Angeles has been the music capital of the world, the exhibit really drives home the importance of that special time and place.

So, this is definitely on my "to do" list and if anybody has been to see the exhibit I would love to hear your thoughts. And, since I am sure some of the people reading this must have some great stories of their own about the Hollywood Hills, or L.A. as a whole, music scene from that period, I would love to hear those as well!