Jim Ladd and Elliot Mintz were great radio personalities! Thanks Billy i love history and the history of music and Laurel Canyon. The early history was very intersting cause people were learning as they went on. But THE BYRDS perfect example that practice makes perfect!!!! Love it. You could see it in their first hit Mr. TAMBORINE MAN! The harmony and the music beautiful!
Billy, you have done an extraordinary job of delving into a space and time that has previously been a maze of convolution. You've made this information easily digestible. By being on-site and providing the in-person experience, you've made each story all the more real. You've also done a masterful job of pulling all of the phenomenally famous personalities out of the ether, back down to earth, making them relatable (as much as that's possible(. Thank you for your many hours of labor filming, editing, research and scripting this series, Thank you as well as for your highly entertaining delivery. And finally thank you for sharing your skilled musicianship that pays wonderful homage to many of those you shared about. ❣
We are essentially the same age and on December 8, 1980 I was in 8th grade and a neighborhood friend told me John Lennon had died and the mood around the city turned grey and nothing like I had ever experienced. I admit I didn’t know the names well of the Beatles as I had only just heard the White Album 2 years before and had never really looked at their pictures much. Over the next 20 years they became my favorite band and then John’s death really hit me. The senseless crime. However, I later found out about his days in LA but you really have given a tremendous amount of insight on John’s life through the Laurel Canyon series. Enjoyable. Thank you.
“Weird Scenes Inside the Canyon” by David MacGowan is a very interesting book about all the people that became famous musicians and lived in Laurel Canyon in the 1960’s. Check it out.
I'm from Long Beach and radio station was on Signal Hill, 1 mile away. I remember Jim Ladd so we'll and tried to get every show of his. I thought I was so special to be able to get his broadcast Which didn't go very far. Long Beach was a hippie rich environment. I just wish I had traveled to Laurel Canyon more. The L A underground paper used to publish things about parties, get together, etc. I didn't get a car till 69. But I actually took the bus up to sunset Blvd and walk around. Wish I was just a little more aware. Oh well...a great time in the world
I think I got a couple years on you but I remember the Beatles from my earliest childhood memories. I adored them. This series is magnificent. Thankyou.
Thank you so much and your comments are very much appreciated. My earliest childhood memories are hearing the Sgt. Pepper's album being played in the living room on my father's old Pioneer turntable. I was probably about three.
I know I am late on the scene, but this docuseries has been excellent. Very well done. However, growing up in suburbs of Houston, I cannot imagine living that close to folks, much less on a cliff! Isn't anybody asking how that RV got up there?! 🙄
Wow, first comment. This whole series on Laurel Canyon was excellent. Not sure why you are re-editing but, OK ill watch it again. I thought it was THAT good.
I really like your vids. I have always been a huge fan of, probably, every artist and group that lived in this magnet of a neighborhood Back Then. This is history. American history and I love it.
We love it too and we get the same enjoyment talking about it and listening to the music associated with that time and the whole area. Not sure if there will ever be another time and place that had so much energy all at once like that. Thanks so much for watching and thanks for your kind comments!
Fantastic series, thank you. Interesting fact about the 'Lennon house'. It was also recently owned by Ian Thorpe, a famous Australian swimmer - Australia's version of Michael Phelps.
amazing how these young kids had houses to live in at such a young age look at it now young people can;'t even rent a shed also we are looking at people who got promoted by the music industry who get session musicians like the wrecking crew who were well employed at the time all successful bands are products and are worked to death in many cases its the contracts that they sign which makes them go insane with work and schedules that they have to comply with and thus there private lives suffer
Wow. That is a lot of watching! Glad to hear that you like this series so much. We had a lot of fun being out there and making these videos. Thanks, Carol!
I,ll tell you something about John Lennon which not everyone is aware of. Lennon was not a drinker, at least not in the sense of Ringo, Harry Neillson or Keith Moon who drank himself to death. Lennon didnt like drink because as with some people, it made him aggressive. Lennon has said this in many interviews. There are people who can handle their booze and those who cannot. Lennon knew he could not handle his booze and kept away from it mostly. When he goes to California and meets the big boozers like Keith Moon, Alice Cooper,Ringo(at the time) and others. Phil Spector ect. They were a drinking club but Lennon couldnt keep up. It was poisonous to him, he knew but the silly macho side of him took over. If Yoko had have been there, the Lennon bender would not have happened. We have all seen it amongst our friends. The one who has a totally different personallity change after a couple of drinks. That was John Lennon and he knew it. It's sad to watch. Most people know how to drink but some like Lennon do not. I have a friend who starts to get drunk after 2pints of beer, after 3 he starts to fall asleep. He's very Lucky. There is no anger or aggression, just sleepiness. We have all seen it. Most people can drink but not all. Also, most get away with just a bad hang over but the aggressive drunk has to make a long list the next day of people, known and unknown who they have to apologise to. That's the ups and downs of booze unfortunately.
I'm like this. Specially on hard liquor. My body can't handle it and I become agressive wich is the opposite of my usual self. Needless to say I don't drink hard liquor very often
I didn't realise that there were so many houses....I always pictured the canyon as just a narrow road with houses on each side....not hanging precariously off the cliff face. Also, for an area that millionaires live in, the roads are in a shocking state.
San Francisco has many billionaires and the streets are worse than Baja. Estimates say every car suffers over $1,000 damage to tires/suspension every year in SF.
I just want to say that I am new to your channel and I love watching your mini series, I have always been in to the Sixties music and Laurel Canyon history! You really know your stuff, so I just want to say keep up the good work!
Can’t believe peace loving, violence hating John Lennon would go through such a dark period such as this. He even chased his beloved Yoko away. Late sixties/early seventies they were inseparable! What a fuhrickin shame! John was always my favorite Beatle. With all his fame and fortune I wish his life was happier. I know he got his life together by the time of his death except for the relationship he had with his son Julian, who Paul McCartney wrote the song Hey Jude for, but still wish he lived a happy peaceful life that he sang about “all those years ago.” Proven fact money can’t buy you love or happiness! Great video Billy, as always! I enjoy your videos so much, this is my second time watching!❤
Thanks again, Cathy. Always appreciate your comments. John certainly had an interesting, albeit short, life that was filled with a lot of ups and downs. I would never wish that kind of fame on anyone!
Fact, till the end of he’s days he was OK, but if he had a drink or three he was quite a nasty bugger. A session drummer on Double fantasy album stated that fact
Your series was a find” on my feed,joyously! I was born in 1961. Loving the sixties since I’ve been in my 40s this style” 1960s style music! I think it’s very well done written,reaserched, must’ve taken plenty of patience as well. Billy,you are a true music lover yourself! Ta. For all that all you do/ done for us wannabe or whatever hippies” …..I use that term loosely , musically . Not politically. I knew the Lennon story poor May Pang! Poor waitress back then ! Glad he mended his ways….. Now of course RIP every Dec 8 John Lennon my fave Beatle……😊
My strange uncle and cousins live in Pasadena. Visits with them were very brief. I didn't get the chance to look around the city and beyond so thanks, for sharing. You'd think everyone would be always falling off the cliffs. Risk if they have a drink or two and off they go into the air - lots of broken bones.
Yes, you have a great point there about the houses up on stilts and built right up on the hillsides. One big earthquake and they're all coming down. Pity those that live down below them as well.
Growing up in the 60s and 70s, I always had a feeling that Lennon was a terrible person. I didn’t even know about the Troubador incident back then. In vino veritas. FWIW, I consider Lennon a great songwriter, and Revolver, Sgt. Pepper, Abbey Road, some of the best albums ever made. And I still recall exactly where and how I learned of his murder, as one of the worst tragedies of my lifetime. But art is one thing, and character another.
Man i feel you about the beatles i had a box set that had the fab fours pictures on front in four squares and had all the great beatles hits on 33 lp vinyl and i played those records over and over i really liked the ballad of john and yoko alot for some great reason i remember really grooving and digging that track .daytripper the guitar licks on that song paperback writer back in ussr great great band the beatles i really like the rolling stones the altamont concert was some hardcore guitar boogie from mick and keith the whole band rocked i noticed it alot on sympathy thanks again i love your channel great great content
There's no shortage of people in general, that's for sure. It's crowded and dense just like the rest of Hollywood and LA but ALL of the old-school musicians from that era are all long gone. Joni Mitchell still apparently owns her old house on Lookout Mountain but she hasn't lived in it since about 1972-ish.
Most of them are dead! Steve Perry lives in Hollywood hills and lots of musicians live in and around, didn’t you see what a fantastic place to live it is, it isn’t lonely up here, it’s a different world which is fantastic and if you want drop down to Hollywood it’s 10 min and then back to piece of mind. Chris Hillman stayed in California and lives around Ventura, Crosby around Santa Barbara, where he died. McGuinn went to Florida to save on state income tax,
Wow Gene, Chris, David and Roger and Michael as THE BYRDS were young SUPERSTARS! AT THE TIME. So sorry that happened to Chris. Started listening to the music of the mid 60's a decade ago. I was a baby in 1964. Love Bob Dylan remake of Mr. TAMBORINE MAN. and Eight Miles High!Music changing so THE BYRDS were waning so they split up true Billy. David really became popular when he met Graham Nash and Stephen Stills and became Crosby, Stills, and Nash in 1969!!! I remember their music since I was 5 really getting into music by then by ear. I could hear certain notes but wasn't ever trained.
Haha, yeah he's a cool guy and seems really smart. I just hope he never sees me doing an impression of him on a UA-cam video. That was straight off the cuff too. LOL.
@@memoryfield As an old pro he'd probably view it as wonderful flattery and embrace it. BTW, i heard that back in the day John the house husband at the time was so proud of the loaves of fresh bread he was producing he decided to put an assistant on a NyC to LA flight with a fresh warm loaf to hand deliver to his 'good friend' in LA. If true, I'm surmising that must have been Elliot. Ask him will ya if you see him around the hood?.
Very good episode, and a fantastic series: thank you! A couple points worth mentioning : although the Byrds didn't play on their initial single, that was the only time they didn't play on their records; they played on the entire debut album, and everything after that. I would disagree with calling Sweetheart their finest work: bold, maybe but certainly not their finest, and at that point it was hardly the Byrds anymore.
Hi Billy - thanks for the great series. My daughter - who would have been 4 years old at the time - remembers me crying when I heard about Lennon’s death. I have much clearer memories of JFK’s death coming over our radio here in Australia.
Thank you for sharing that experience with us, Judy. We appreciate you watching and for your comments. I wasn't around during JFK's time but I certainly was here in 1980 when John Lennon died and I will always remember it very vividly. Very sad and senseless, really. 😕
I'm reading "'I'm With the Band" by Pamela Des Barres, wherein she talks about her crush on Chris Hillman, among other musicians, lol. Looking at him as was back then as you show him, I guess I would've had to've been there to get the attraction. And everyone has different tastes. Thanks, Billy, to you and your crew - you folks are super-super!
Jim Ladd, Petty wrote about him Last DJ...he recently passed away, and boy do we miss him.. Ladd was something...Ladd gave an interview, regarding this home, he said. "he knew it when he saw it". He was reading a book about "knowing" where you are supposed to live..supposed to "be". It isn't a big house, but oh, he said he knew it..and I can sure see why.
People who see these would really be impressed if you went to Toronto and scanned stomping grounds of Alex , Geddy and Neil .... you wouldn't even have to prepare anything. You could wing it just from your 40 year knowledge ! Rush's #1 Fan nerd from College Park !!!
I have been in johns shoes 2 times in my life as far as terribly unhappy divorce loss , and i drank to get over it but i didnt get as bad as that, i had to drive a logging truck 16 hours a day , hard days
Thanks for sharing that with us, Rick. Glad that it seems like you made it through those times and can talk about it now. Some of these folks can't do that because they just lost control of it all and death came suddenly for them.
Oh but to have followed my heart in the summer of’78. 😢 a lifetime time later and the Bi -Polar Express has taken my will to live. Music is my shelter, the world is still a natural wonder. People have evolved into opinionated beings without factual information. We are obsessed with putting others down and helping one another is frowned upon. God has nothing to do with Religion. And won’t in the future.
This has been such a fascinating series to watch. Thank you so much - have really appreciated your research. The Cass Elliott episode was done with such dignity and respect too. Laurel Canyon is an amazing place - so close to the city yet so countrified, and so secluded between neighbours too. It seems like it was fairly cheap to rent and buy there in the sixties. I imagine it is seriously expensive and exclusive now? It also seems so quiet - was this because you were filming during the pandemic?!
Awesome, thank you! Yes, apparently it was one of the more affordable areas of north Hollywood and still close enough to the nightclubs on Sunset that it was the perfect place for up and coming musicians and the lesser known actors of the time period. This series was definitely made right during the height of the Pandemic but don't be fooled, it was packed and noisy back in there especially in the area right around the Canyon Country Store and Jim Morrison's place. The traffic was heavy and loud. It didn't get quiet until you got way up there at the top of Lookout, or like up around the old Roger McGuinn house, or the former Elliot Mintz house. Joni Mitchells house was on a busy street and so was the old Tom Mix/Zappa property. Cass Elliot's house was nice and quiet because it was on a dead end street. And yes, you would pay an arm and a leg to own any of these homes now in Laurel Canyon. Even the smaller and older ones. Way out of my price range, for sure.
IMHO The time that John Lennon was with May Pang were his most creative in music since the Beatles broke up. He was far from being lost, he just coined that phrase whenever the press asked him about that time away from the Dark Tower - aka the Dakota. It was all Yoko's fault when she moved him to NYC and they hung around with Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin. Nixon had those two in his sight because of their protests, etc.Yoko wanted to get rid of John for many reasons but while he was with May Pang, Yoko had the hots for session musician Dave Spinoza. She liked the money and taking a chunk of his fame. So many of his fans wished he had stayed with May Pang because she was good for him and encouraged him. He was always unsure of his talents, especially his voice. John admitted in an interview years late that he didn't really like Mintz and he didn't trust him because he was spying for Yoko. John was right to think that. John continued to see May Pang after he went back to the Dark Tower....Your video should have named the woman that made John feel whole again, MAY PANG!
I’m watching a 2nd time its so good. Beautiful production and your musical accompaniment is amazing. All my band mates are now watching it. Just an excellent A+++ series and your narration is phenomenal. Now about the fire at the Hillmann house, since the McGuinn house is quite a bit downhill I don’t see how Roger could have filmed it from his house. Maybe he could see/smell the smoke but more likely Chris drove to Rogers house and said “holy shit my house is burning” and perhaps they hopped in the car with the camera and drove back up the hill to film it?
Thanks for the compliments on the music. It's always fun to have a good enough reason to record your favorite songs written by other people, lol. I really don't have an answer about the location where Roger filmed the fire and I would imagine that those details may have become clouded over time in their memories. I saw a recent interview with Chris Hillman once and someone was asking him about this old house, and Laurel Canyon and also the fire. He remembered some of the details about the motorcycles, the gas and the water heater, getting burned and losing all of his stuff but when the interviewer asked him where the house had been, he couldn't remember the name of the street (Magnolia Drive). Then he said that he hadn't been in the area for so long that he claimed he wouldn't even have been able to find the old site of the house even if he tried. Remember, this was literally 57+ years ago. These guys are getting old!
Found something interesting about the Hillman property. This person in another video said that the guy that played 'Skippy' on Family Ties' bought it, but didn't have enough money to rebuild there, and he's the one that moved that trailer there and lived in it for a time. Too much, huh? That view from there is awesome. I rarely revisit stories, but these are so good I had to. especially after seeing that other video I referenced above. Peace. LedHed Pb 207.20 🎶 🎸 🎹
Yes. That's who he said. I just rewatched that video and I got it a little wrong. It was a commenter to the video that said that. And he said it was a friend of his who knew Marc, and would sometimes visit him there. Also, he says the trailer that Marc brought there was a silver trailer, and that in your video seems to be a motor home. So that must have gotten there later. It just blows me away that there is nothing built there since the fire. That lot is iconic. Maybe after I get through with my bank after what they pulled on me, I just might be able to buy it and do something really cool with it. Time will tell. Edit : I see that is indeed a trailer. But it is not the one described by the commenter. I have first hand knowledge how Chris Hillman felt, as I lost everything but my guitars in the 2018 Camp Fire. And a few other things. LedHed Pb 207.20 🎶 🎸 🎹
Almost all of them were renting the houses and they often didn't stay in one place for long. Joni Mitchell owned her own home and Cass Elliot owned a home. Denny Doherty owned a home there for a while too.
Hello..just finding and enjoying these vids..did you have to get permissiin to access these areas? You seem to walk freely in secret nooks and crannies. Im a hippie from way back, I truly miss the good 'ol days!
My Japanese friend, Satoru Tamaki, was the manager of Japan’s first successful hard rock band called Oz. After their first album was a success, they talked the recording company into sending them to Hollywood to record their second album… This was during John Lennon’s “Lost Weekend”. My friend’s band was recording in another studio in the same building as Harry Nilsson was recording, and John Lennon was hanging out in the lobby of the building. The first video game, Pong, had just come out, and they had one in the lobby. Satoru and Lennon started to play Pong with each other… This event had a great effect on Satoru. He got an English biography about John Lennon, and began to make a translation of the book, got it published in Japan, and was very successful. Satoru went on to become a successful translator of English books and video game scripts into Japanese… .
Yes, agreed on that. It seems like John had a life filled with a lot of ups and downs and that maybe that level of fame just isn't healthy for anyone to have to endure.
I'll never forgot I was practicing for a Nativity play we used to do with real animals near DC monument in 1980 when news of his death came..we were stunned, dazed & confused.
I never thought of anything you said about Michael Clarke as "insulting". You were instead, just laying out the history of a bunch of Folk and Bluegrass, moving to Rock n Roll and making due with what they had, and making some of most important music of the 60s.
Some people took what I said about his lack of musical experience on the drumkit as a personal insult directed at him. So I felt like I needed to clarify my earlier comments. If he was inexperienced as a musician back in those days, he would not have been the only one to hit the big time anyway regardless of his musical accomplishments at such a young age. I'm sure he learned his craft as he went along and no doubt he probably worked hard at it. Thanks for watching!
Most of their music was considered underground rock at that time. Mamas and Papas was more mainstream although I can see that they really were not at heart.
31:23 If they're not going to do anything with that land after all this time they should just sell it. It's worth a fortune now. PS: Half the time your voice sounds very much like actor Ron Livingston
Your videos,are very well done. Love old photos, but it would be better if you just told us instead of covering images with text, we want to see them!! Great stories.
I'm in my mid 50s and I've been a big Beatles fan since I was 10 years old. In my opinion Lennon was a genius but was kind of quirky and I think he could be pretty difficult at times. He wasn't very nice to his first wife and I don't think much of that.
I think I would have to agree with you about John. My opinion on him has varied over the years. Love his musical talents, but yeah, a troubled individual who had a sad childhood in many ways. Lost his mom at a very young age.
John Lennon was a flawed and complicated person, as so many original and great artists are. There's no point in trying to sugarcoat his deeds and misdeeds; so it's perfectly OK to document both. The point is to be balanced and fair about it, which this documentary certainly is. I'm sure John would agree with that. None of us can honestly predict how we might behave if we suddenly attained super-wealth plus global super-fame. Given those, even the finest of us could easily go badly astray for awhile.
He was indeed a very complicated soul and it's widely known that he suffered from some really bad childhood trauma that caused him problems throughout the rest of his life. I try to cut him a bit of slack because of that. Thanks for watching!
Sorry that John Lennon was not feeling well due to alcoholism. He was alone for sure witjout Yoko. He really did get better and his career was reinvented who knows what he wouldve done if he hadnt been murdered!
I wonder what it was like to navigate those roads while snockered.
Not easy, or police been told. 😎
I'm transported back in time with your videos. I want to stay there.
RIP Jim Ladd..an icon who was a big part of my life growing up.
Agreed. He was a very important part of the music scene for a very long time.
Jim Ladd and Elliot Mintz were great radio personalities! Thanks Billy i love history and the history of music and Laurel Canyon. The early history was very intersting cause people were learning as they went on. But THE BYRDS perfect example that practice makes perfect!!!! Love it. You could see it in their first hit Mr. TAMBORINE MAN! The harmony and the music beautiful!
This is the absolute best series on Laurel Canyon I've ever seen. Thank you! I love it and can't wait for more. ❤
Thanks again for saying so. Not sure about being the best... but we're trying really hard to make it all worthwhile!
Billy, you have done an extraordinary job of delving into a space and time that has previously been a maze of convolution. You've made this information easily digestible. By being on-site and providing the in-person experience, you've made each story all the more real. You've also done a masterful job of pulling all of the phenomenally famous personalities out of the ether, back down to earth, making them relatable (as much as that's possible(.
Thank you for your many hours of labor filming, editing, research and scripting this series, Thank you as well as for your highly entertaining delivery. And finally thank you for sharing your skilled musicianship that pays wonderful homage to many of those you shared about. ❣
I love those houses that had mining car elevators. So cool.
Superb telling of extraordinary histories.
So nice of you to say so. Thank you very much and thanks for watching!
We are essentially the same age and on December 8, 1980 I was in 8th grade and a neighborhood friend told me John Lennon had died and the mood around the city turned grey and nothing like I had ever experienced. I admit I didn’t know the names well of the Beatles as I had only just heard the White Album 2 years before and had never really looked at their pictures much. Over the next 20 years they became my favorite band and then John’s death really hit me. The senseless crime. However, I later found out about his days in LA but you really have given a tremendous amount of insight on John’s life through the Laurel Canyon series. Enjoyable. Thank you.
Thanks for sharing that story with the rest of us. We appreciate you being here and for joining in.
“Weird Scenes
Inside the Canyon”
by David MacGowan
is a very interesting book
about all the people that became famous musicians and lived in Laurel Canyon in the 1960’s. Check it out.
EXCELLENT book
Weird Scenes... is great read. Also check out Chaos: Charles Manson, the CIA, and the Secret History of the Sixties
You have done a lot of research, invested a lot of time and love into this excellent product/passion of yours. Thank You!
Much appreciated! Thank you for your comments.
I am loving this series; Well done! Commenting on this particular episode because I live near where Neil Peart grew up.
I'm from Long Beach and radio station was on Signal Hill, 1 mile away. I remember Jim Ladd so we'll and tried to get every show of his. I thought I was so special to be able to get his broadcast
Which didn't go very far. Long Beach was a hippie rich environment. I just wish I had traveled to Laurel Canyon more. The L A underground paper used to publish things about parties, get together, etc. I didn't get a car till 69. But I actually took the bus up to sunset Blvd and walk around. Wish I was just a little more aware. Oh well...a great time in the world
ONE MORE TIME Billy, I really enjoyed this wonderful tour!
Thanks again, Danny. Glad to hear from you, as always.
Billy you have done such a good job i am watching them all again
So glad to hear that. Thanks again, and we appreciate you!
Well done, my friend... this series is absolutely brilliant and you tell it all so well!
Thank you so much 😀
Great job Billy, thank you for the "education" on this iconic area ..and time. :)
Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for watching!
Very very cool & so very interesting ❤
This has been a great series, thank you.
You're very welcome. And thank you for watching!
Love the Byrds as well! Look at those cool sunnies! 😊😊😊
Great video,Rest In Peace Jim and John.
I think I got a couple years on you but I remember the Beatles from my earliest childhood memories. I adored them. This series is magnificent. Thankyou.
Thank you so much and your comments are very much appreciated. My earliest childhood memories are hearing the Sgt. Pepper's album being played in the living room on my father's old Pioneer turntable. I was probably about three.
Thanks you for sharing this video this is very inspiring and interesting
I know I am late on the scene, but this docuseries has been excellent. Very well done. However, growing up in suburbs of Houston, I cannot imagine living that close to folks, much less on a cliff! Isn't anybody asking how that RV got up there?! 🙄
Wow, first comment. This whole series on Laurel Canyon was excellent. Not sure why you are re-editing but, OK ill watch it again. I thought it was THAT good.
12 minutes of new material added to the original version. Thanks for watching!
Elliot Mintz is the most interesting gentleman from LA.
👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
He is certainly one cool cat.
Just some great R&R history all located in one small area. Very well done.
Glad you enjoyed it. Many thanks!
I really like your vids. I have always been a huge fan of, probably, every artist and group that lived in this magnet of a neighborhood Back Then. This is history. American history and I love it.
We love it too and we get the same enjoyment talking about it and listening to the music associated with that time and the whole area. Not sure if there will ever be another time and place that had so much energy all at once like that. Thanks so much for watching and thanks for your kind comments!
Jim Ladd was the MAN of KMET. He played the best music in the 70’s
Hi from New Zealand!🇳🇿Love your video’s!🎤🎸🎹🎧🥁
Thank you so much for saying so. Glad you found us from so far away over there on the other side of the world! 😄
I still want to be there to experience the weather and the sites.
Love this series, Billy!
So very glad to hear that. Thanks for watching and for your comments!
Fascinating, thank you!
Glad you think so. We had fun making these!
Great tour Billy,aloha
Great Video and well narrated. Good Job!
This is really, really cool. And very well done. My first episode.....now I have to go watch all the rest.
Cool, man! Use this playlist function and everything will stay in order for the entire series. ua-cam.com/play/PLMGnMaveEzfma6qiSlhb0EOmvKyNSpg2c.html
Fantastic series, thank you. Interesting fact about the 'Lennon house'. It was also recently owned by Ian Thorpe, a famous Australian swimmer - Australia's version of Michael Phelps.
amazing how these young kids had houses to live in at such a young age look at it now young people can;'t even rent a shed also we are looking at people who got promoted by the music industry who get session musicians like the wrecking crew who were well employed at the time all successful bands are products and are worked to death in many cases its the contracts that they sign which makes them go insane with work and schedules that they have to comply with and thus there private lives suffer
Great houses were less than $300/ month some even less.
This a great series on laurel canyon this episodes he tals about Jim ladd
My 20th time watching. I love your videos. Thank you!
Wow. That is a lot of watching! Glad to hear that you like this series so much. We had a lot of fun being out there and making these videos. Thanks, Carol!
Thanks for this, it’s timely!
You're so welcome! And thank you for watching.
I,ll tell you something about John Lennon which not everyone is aware of. Lennon was not a drinker, at least not in the sense of Ringo, Harry Neillson or Keith Moon who drank himself to death. Lennon didnt like drink because as with some people, it made him aggressive. Lennon has said this in many interviews. There are people who can handle their booze and those who cannot. Lennon knew he could not handle his booze and kept away from it mostly. When he goes to California and meets the big boozers like Keith Moon, Alice Cooper,Ringo(at the time) and others. Phil Spector ect. They were a drinking club but Lennon couldnt keep up. It was poisonous to him, he knew but the silly macho side of him took over. If Yoko had have been there, the Lennon bender would not have happened. We have all seen it amongst our friends. The one who has a totally different personallity change after a couple of drinks. That was John Lennon and he knew it. It's sad to watch. Most people know how to drink but some like Lennon do not. I have a friend who starts to get drunk after 2pints of beer, after 3 he starts to fall asleep. He's very Lucky. There is no anger or aggression, just sleepiness. We have all seen it. Most people can drink but not all. Also, most get away with just a bad hang over but the aggressive drunk has to make a long list the next day of people, known and unknown who they have to apologise to. That's the ups and downs of booze unfortunately.
I'm like this. Specially on hard liquor. My body can't handle it and I become agressive wich is the opposite of my usual self. Needless to say I don't drink hard liquor very often
Great great great...
Thank you thank you thank you!
I didn't realise that there were so many houses....I always pictured the canyon as just a narrow road with houses on each side....not hanging precariously off the cliff face. Also, for an area that millionaires live in, the roads are in a shocking state.
San Francisco has many billionaires and the streets are worse than Baja. Estimates say every car suffers over $1,000 damage to tires/suspension every year in SF.
That's how they keep the Riff-Raff out. 😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅.
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That's how they keep the Riff-Raff out.😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅.
LedHed Pb 207.20 🎶 🎸 🎹
Your videos are just awesome. Thank you.
Glad you like them!
I just want to say that I am new to your channel and I love watching your mini series, I have always been in to the Sixties music and Laurel Canyon history! You really know your stuff, so I just want to say keep up the good work!
Thank you so much for your comments and we're so glad you found us here. Come back again! :)
Except Roger McGuinn
This is a very well done series. I love it!
Thank you very much and so glad you have enjoyed the series. We had a lot of fun making the videos.
But for all the wires! John Lennon should had bought a sailboat and gone sailing everyday. Fresh air and sunshine will trump drug’s every time.
You don't know
Can’t believe peace loving, violence hating John Lennon would go through such a dark period such as this. He even chased his beloved Yoko away. Late sixties/early seventies they were inseparable! What a fuhrickin shame! John was always my favorite Beatle. With all his fame and fortune I wish his life was happier. I know he got his life together by the time of his death except for the relationship he had with his son Julian, who Paul McCartney wrote the song Hey Jude for, but still wish he lived a happy peaceful life that he sang about “all those years ago.” Proven fact money can’t buy you love or happiness! Great video Billy, as always! I enjoy your videos so much, this is my second time watching!❤
Thanks again, Cathy. Always appreciate your comments. John certainly had an interesting, albeit short, life that was filled with a lot of ups and downs. I would never wish that kind of fame on anyone!
Fact, till the end of he’s days he was OK, but if he had a drink or three he was quite a nasty bugger. A session drummer on Double fantasy album stated that fact
Your series was a find” on my feed,joyously! I was born in 1961. Loving the sixties since I’ve been in my 40s this style” 1960s style music!
I think it’s very well done written,reaserched, must’ve taken plenty of patience as well. Billy,you are a true music lover yourself!
Ta. For all that all you do/ done for us wannabe or whatever hippies” …..I use that term loosely , musically .
Not politically.
I knew the Lennon story poor May Pang!
Poor waitress back then !
Glad he mended his ways…..
Now of course RIP every Dec 8 John Lennon my fave Beatle……😊
Great video's man 👍
_Most excellent videos!_
Glad you think so!
My strange uncle and cousins live in Pasadena. Visits with them were very brief. I didn't get the chance to look around the city and beyond so thanks, for sharing. You'd think everyone would be always falling off the cliffs. Risk if they have a drink or two and off they go into the air - lots of broken bones.
Yes, you have a great point there about the houses up on stilts and built right up on the hillsides. One big earthquake and they're all coming down. Pity those that live down below them as well.
Growing up in the 60s and 70s, I always had a feeling that Lennon was a terrible person. I didn’t even know about the Troubador incident back then. In vino veritas.
FWIW, I consider Lennon a great songwriter, and Revolver, Sgt. Pepper, Abbey Road, some of the best albums ever made. And I still recall exactly where and how I learned of his murder, as one of the worst tragedies of my lifetime.
But art is one thing, and character another.
Man i feel you about the beatles i had a box set that had the fab fours pictures on front in four squares and had all the great beatles hits on 33 lp vinyl and i played those records over and over i really liked the ballad of john and yoko alot for some great reason i remember really grooving and digging that track .daytripper the guitar licks on that song paperback writer back in ussr great great band the beatles i really like the rolling stones the altamont concert was some hardcore guitar boogie from mick and keith the whole band rocked i noticed it alot on sympathy thanks again i love your channel great great content
Great series man!
Well thank you so much for saying so. Glad you are enjoying it!
Do any of the old musicians still live in the canyon, it seems if nobody is around anymore it would be really lonesome around there
There's no shortage of people in general, that's for sure. It's crowded and dense just like the rest of Hollywood and LA but ALL of the old-school musicians from that era are all long gone. Joni Mitchell still apparently owns her old house on Lookout Mountain but she hasn't lived in it since about 1972-ish.
I must be getting old , that place would seem really lonesome without any off the old crew
I was wondering the same.
I think Ringo, Jeff Lynne, Morrissey live in LA. It's mostly Brits I think. All the original LA musicians are gone.
Most of them are dead! Steve Perry lives in Hollywood hills and lots of musicians live in and around, didn’t you see what a fantastic place to live it is, it isn’t lonely up here, it’s a different world which is fantastic and if you want drop down to Hollywood it’s 10 min and then back to piece of mind. Chris Hillman stayed in California and lives around Ventura, Crosby around Santa Barbara, where he died. McGuinn went to Florida to save on state income tax,
Wow Gene, Chris, David and Roger and Michael as THE BYRDS were young SUPERSTARS! AT THE TIME. So sorry that happened to Chris. Started listening to the music of the mid 60's a decade ago. I was a baby in 1964. Love Bob Dylan remake of Mr. TAMBORINE MAN. and Eight Miles High!Music changing so THE BYRDS were waning so they split up true Billy. David really became popular when he met Graham Nash and Stephen Stills and became Crosby, Stills, and Nash in 1969!!! I remember their music since I was 5 really getting into music by then by ear. I could hear certain notes but wasn't ever trained.
Personally, I found your Elliot impression just fine. A plus was the words describing his vocal style in his vocal style. A deft touch. ;-)
Haha, yeah he's a cool guy and seems really smart. I just hope he never sees me doing an impression of him on a UA-cam video. That was straight off the cuff too. LOL.
@@memoryfield As an old pro he'd probably view it as wonderful flattery and embrace it. BTW, i heard that back in the day John the house husband at the time was so proud of the loaves of fresh bread he was producing he decided to put an assistant on a NyC to LA flight with a fresh warm loaf to hand deliver to his 'good friend' in LA. If true, I'm surmising that must have been Elliot. Ask him will ya if you see him around the hood?.
I'm stopping the video to say thank you, Billy. the way you these stories are so compelling. going back to the vid now.
Thanks again and so glad you're enjoying the vids!
It's trash day here, too, while I binge watch the whole series.
Very good episode, and a fantastic series: thank you! A couple points worth mentioning : although the Byrds didn't play on their initial single, that was the only time they didn't play on their records; they played on the entire debut album, and everything after that. I would disagree with calling Sweetheart their finest work: bold, maybe but certainly not their finest, and at that point it was hardly the Byrds anymore.
Hi Billy - thanks for the great series.
My daughter - who would have been 4 years old at the time - remembers me crying when I heard about Lennon’s death. I have much clearer memories of JFK’s death coming over our radio here in Australia.
Thank you for sharing that experience with us, Judy. We appreciate you watching and for your comments. I wasn't around during JFK's time but I certainly was here in 1980 when John Lennon died and I will always remember it very vividly. Very sad and senseless, really. 😕
I'm reading "'I'm With the Band" by Pamela Des Barres, wherein she talks about her crush on Chris Hillman, among other musicians, lol. Looking at him as was back then as you show him, I guess I would've had to've been there to get the attraction. And everyone has different tastes. Thanks, Billy, to you and your crew - you folks are super-super!
Jim Ladd, Petty wrote about him Last DJ...he recently passed away, and boy do we miss him.. Ladd was something...Ladd gave an interview, regarding this home, he said. "he knew it when he saw it". He was reading a book about "knowing" where you are supposed to live..supposed to "be". It isn't a big house, but oh, he said he knew it..and I can sure see why.
People who see these would really be impressed if you went to Toronto and scanned stomping grounds of Alex , Geddy and Neil .... you wouldn't even have to prepare anything. You could wing it just from your 40 year knowledge ! Rush's #1 Fan nerd from College Park !!!
Ok, so then maybe the Meat Men!!!
valshallarecords.com/product/meatmen-were-the-meatmen-and-you-suck-lp-used/
I have been in johns shoes 2 times in my life as far as terribly unhappy divorce loss , and i drank to get over it but i didnt get as bad as that, i had to drive a logging truck 16 hours a day , hard days
Thanks for sharing that with us, Rick. Glad that it seems like you made it through those times and can talk about it now. Some of these folks can't do that because they just lost control of it all and death came suddenly for them.
Interesting.... 8 miles high is a great tune 🙂
Yep. Very cool!
These videos are awesome. I’m enjoying the shit out of them!
The Byrds records were recorded by the LA Wrecking Crew and Michael Clark most likely didn’t play drums on those recordings
Oh but to have followed my heart in the summer of’78. 😢 a lifetime time later and the Bi -Polar Express has taken my will to live. Music is my shelter, the world is still a natural wonder. People have evolved into opinionated beings without factual information. We are obsessed with putting others down and helping one another is frowned upon. God has nothing to do with Religion.
And won’t in the future.
Darrell Lance Abbott of Pantera was also shot several times on December 8 but he was playing guitar on the stage.
Wow. I didn't know that you are from Houston!
Yes sir. Born and raised up to age 19 and then back again to Austin from 1994 to 2000.
I was born in Houston, raised in Conroe and then moved to Houston in 1970.
This has been such a fascinating series to watch. Thank you so much - have really appreciated your research. The Cass Elliott episode was done with such dignity and respect too. Laurel Canyon is an amazing place - so close to the city yet so countrified, and so secluded between neighbours too. It seems like it was fairly cheap to rent and buy there in the sixties. I imagine it is seriously expensive and exclusive now? It also seems so quiet - was this because you were filming during the pandemic?!
Awesome, thank you! Yes, apparently it was one of the more affordable areas of north Hollywood and still close enough to the nightclubs on Sunset that it was the perfect place for up and coming musicians and the lesser known actors of the time period. This series was definitely made right during the height of the Pandemic but don't be fooled, it was packed and noisy back in there especially in the area right around the Canyon Country Store and Jim Morrison's place. The traffic was heavy and loud. It didn't get quiet until you got way up there at the top of Lookout, or like up around the old Roger McGuinn house, or the former Elliot Mintz house. Joni Mitchells house was on a busy street and so was the old Tom Mix/Zappa property. Cass Elliot's house was nice and quiet because it was on a dead end street. And yes, you would pay an arm and a leg to own any of these homes now in Laurel Canyon. Even the smaller and older ones. Way out of my price range, for sure.
IMHO The time that John Lennon was with May Pang were his most creative in music since the Beatles broke up. He was far from being lost, he just coined that phrase whenever the press asked him about that time away from the Dark Tower - aka the Dakota. It was all Yoko's fault when she moved him to NYC and they hung around with Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin. Nixon had those two in his sight because of their protests, etc.Yoko wanted to get rid of John for many reasons but while he was with May Pang, Yoko had the hots for session musician Dave Spinoza. She liked the money and taking a chunk of his fame. So many of his fans wished he had stayed with May Pang because she was good for him and encouraged him. He was always unsure of his talents, especially his voice. John admitted in an interview years late that he didn't really like Mintz and he didn't trust him because he was spying for Yoko. John was right to think that. John continued to see May Pang after he went back to the Dark Tower....Your video should have named the woman that made John feel whole again, MAY PANG!
You don't really know its just your opinion .
@@russellnathans5606 Nope you're wrong. I do know the truth from at least one of the people involved...
I’m watching a 2nd time its so good. Beautiful production and your musical accompaniment is amazing. All my band mates are now watching it. Just an excellent A+++ series and your narration is phenomenal.
Now about the fire at the Hillmann house, since the McGuinn house is quite a bit downhill I don’t see how Roger could have filmed it from his house. Maybe he could see/smell the smoke but more likely Chris drove to Rogers house and said “holy shit my house is burning” and perhaps they hopped in the car with the camera and drove back up the hill to film it?
Thanks for the compliments on the music. It's always fun to have a good enough reason to record your favorite songs written by other people, lol. I really don't have an answer about the location where Roger filmed the fire and I would imagine that those details may have become clouded over time in their memories. I saw a recent interview with Chris Hillman once and someone was asking him about this old house, and Laurel Canyon and also the fire. He remembered some of the details about the motorcycles, the gas and the water heater, getting burned and losing all of his stuff but when the interviewer asked him where the house had been, he couldn't remember the name of the street (Magnolia Drive). Then he said that he hadn't been in the area for so long that he claimed he wouldn't even have been able to find the old site of the house even if he tried. Remember, this was literally 57+ years ago. These guys are getting old!
Found something interesting about the Hillman property. This person in another video said that the guy that played 'Skippy' on Family Ties' bought it, but didn't have enough money to rebuild there, and he's the one that moved that trailer there and lived in it for a time. Too much, huh? That view from there is awesome. I rarely revisit stories, but these are so good I had to. especially after seeing that other video I referenced above. Peace.
LedHed Pb 207.20 🎶 🎸 🎹
Marc Price? Seriously? That's crazy. And that trailer has to go. It looks like a meth lab.
Yes. That's who he said. I just rewatched that video and I got it a little wrong. It was a commenter to the video that said that. And he said it was a friend of his who knew Marc, and would sometimes visit him there. Also, he says the trailer that Marc brought there was a silver trailer, and that in your video seems to be a motor home. So that must have gotten there later. It just blows me away that there is nothing built there since the fire. That lot is iconic. Maybe after I get through with my bank after what they pulled on me, I just might be able to buy it and do something really cool with it. Time will tell.
Edit : I see that is indeed a trailer. But it is not the one described by the commenter.
I have first hand knowledge how Chris Hillman felt, as I lost everything but my guitars in the 2018 Camp Fire. And a few other things.
LedHed Pb 207.20 🎶 🎸 🎹
Drummers and musicians in the band may not have even played on most song recordings back then but would later rehearse their parts for live shows.
Unfortunately most of LA is junked out! Great video.
Tell me about it. No arguments here. Hollywood has really gone downhill in the last 5 years or so.
Great series. One question I have, who owned these houses you are visiting and discussing? Were the rock stars renting, leasing, or buying?
Almost all of them were renting the houses and they often didn't stay in one place for long. Joni Mitchell owned her own home and Cass Elliot owned a home. Denny Doherty owned a home there for a while too.
@39:20 which band member has his hand on David Crosby's left shoulder, with the middle finger *possibly* extended?
That would be drummer Michael Clarke.
@@memoryfield I thought so from the haircut. Also, he's got an interesting smirk on his face, lol.
Hello..just finding and enjoying these vids..did you have to get permissiin to access these areas? You seem to walk freely in secret nooks and crannies.
Im a hippie from way back, I truly miss the good 'ol days!
My Japanese friend, Satoru Tamaki, was the manager of Japan’s first successful hard rock band called Oz. After their first album was a success, they talked the recording company into sending them to Hollywood to record their second album…
This was during John Lennon’s “Lost Weekend”. My friend’s band was recording in another studio in the same building as Harry Nilsson was recording, and John Lennon was hanging out in the lobby of the building. The first video game, Pong, had just come out, and they had one in the lobby. Satoru and Lennon started to play Pong with each other…
This event had a great effect on Satoru. He got an English biography about John Lennon, and began to make a translation of the book, got it published in Japan, and was very successful. Satoru went on to become a successful translator of English books and video game scripts into Japanese…
.
It seems to me that after watching videos and seeing fires on the news that fire is most often the cause of destruction in California. Wow
You used to have every Part and episodes in order and now it is a mes to try and watch from the beginning
Use the Playlist function
Yoko....her album, the one at that time, is such a unique trip. His life took a such a twisty turn when he and Yoko got together.
Yes, agreed on that. It seems like John had a life filled with a lot of ups and downs and that maybe that level of fame just isn't healthy for anyone to have to endure.
I'll never forgot I was practicing for a Nativity play we used to do with real animals near DC monument in 1980 when news of his death came..we were stunned, dazed & confused.
I never thought of anything you said about Michael Clarke as "insulting". You were instead, just laying out the history of a bunch of Folk and Bluegrass, moving to Rock n Roll and making due with what they had, and making some of most important music of the 60s.
Some people took what I said about his lack of musical experience on the drumkit as a personal insult directed at him. So I felt like I needed to clarify my earlier comments. If he was inexperienced as a musician back in those days, he would not have been the only one to hit the big time anyway regardless of his musical accomplishments at such a young age. I'm sure he learned his craft as he went along and no doubt he probably worked hard at it. Thanks for watching!
My Brother had a similar type of accident. He was caught on fire while working on his face car and threw himself into his swimming pool!
Yikes! Sounds awful. Hopefully he recovered. Lucky he had a pool!
Most of their music was considered underground rock at that time. Mamas and Papas was more mainstream although I can see that they really were not at heart.
31:23 If they're not going to do anything with that land after all this time they should just sell it. It's worth a fortune now. PS: Half the time your voice sounds very much like actor Ron Livingston
Loved that guy in Office Space. 😁
@@memoryfield - Yeah he was too good in that haha. Also loved him in Band of Brothers
That lost weekend was Lennon's most creative post Beatles years - Hmmm?
Your videos,are very well done. Love old photos, but it would be better if you just told us instead of covering images with text, we want to see them!! Great stories.
all of this stuff was 57 years or so ago. and today that neighborhood is for the well monied only. 💰💰
Is there a reason why some of these streets and houses remind me of those in Spain?
I'd say that might have been, oh, December, 1980, after signing the wrong autograph for the wrong person.
I'm in my mid 50s and I've been a big Beatles fan since I was 10 years old. In my opinion Lennon was a genius but was kind of quirky and I think he could be pretty difficult at times. He wasn't very nice to his first wife and I don't think much of that.
I think I would have to agree with you about John. My opinion on him has varied over the years. Love his musical talents, but yeah, a troubled individual who had a sad childhood in many ways. Lost his mom at a very young age.
John Lennon was a flawed and complicated person, as so many original and great artists are. There's no point in trying to sugarcoat his deeds and misdeeds; so it's perfectly OK to document both. The point is to be balanced and fair about it, which this documentary certainly is. I'm sure John would agree with that. None of us can honestly predict how we might behave if we suddenly attained super-wealth plus global super-fame. Given those, even the finest of us could easily go badly astray for awhile.
He was indeed a very complicated soul and it's widely known that he suffered from some really bad childhood trauma that caused him problems throughout the rest of his life. I try to cut him a bit of slack because of that. Thanks for watching!
Sorry that John Lennon was not feeling well due to alcoholism. He was alone for sure witjout Yoko. He really did get better and his career was reinvented who knows what he wouldve done if he hadnt been murdered!
intro tune?
This is our own song "Manchester"! Here's a link to our music video.
ua-cam.com/video/QTpQNfRu4EQ/v-deo.htmlsi=ssxulg4MpfWv4b8T
@@memoryfield ❤️
Haven't you already thoroughly covered this content in previous, original Laurel Canyon episode vids.....???
There are twelve minutes of new material covered here.