Laurel Canyon has always had a mythic quality to it. To those who've never been there, it almost seems fictional, like West Egg in F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby." Only Laurel Canyon would be far more implausible, that is if it wasn't actually real.

After all, what imagination could dream up this Eden where artists such as The Doors, Carole King, The Turtles, Joni Mitchell, The Byrds and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, among others, crafted some of the most amazing music of all-time? It was home to some of Hollywood's biggest stars, and it has its own tales of mystery and intrigue to tell.






One of Laurel Canyon's residents has undertaken the Herculean task of detailing the locale's amazing history, in incredible pictures and words, and he's a longtime contributor to Goldmine. Harvey Kubernik takes readers back to the Laurel Canyon of the '20s and retraces his footsteps all the way up to the present, stopping off in the '60s and '70s to reacquaint us with the artists that made it famous, in his book "Canyon Of Dreams: The Magic and the Music of Laurel Canyon," published by Sterling Publishing.

Beautifully illustrated with more than 350 photographs — about 100 of which, never before seen, from the camera of famed photographer, and fellow Laurel Canyon resident, Henry Diltz — and other items of note, such as original fliers, posters, and ticket stubs, it's a deeply personal work for Kubernik. Through his unique multiple-voice narrative, he lets those who spent a good portion of their lives there tell the story of Laurel Canyon, not to mention the notorious Sunset Boulevard that crashes headlong into it.

Kubernik took time out to discuss his new book in a recent e-mail interview.

How long has this book been in the making?
Harvey Kubernik: It formally began about 16 months ago.

What made you want to write about Laurel Canyon?
HK: For over 35 years I have been writing and documenting Laurel Canyon and the musical legacy of Los Angeles and Hollywood. 

I had written the liner notes to the CD reissue of Carol King’s Tapestry album set in 2008, and around the same time received a phone call from a book packager who got my contact information from a Southern California-based radio DJ and music supervisor who is a big fan of my work and previous books. The book packager called this Laurel Canyon resident as the publishing company Sterling was seeking a writer for a Laurel Canyon project. Someone who could deliver original text, passionate never-published details and photos and visuals. I insisted on a multi-voice narrative structure. 

Reading "Canyon Of Dreams" I was struck by how interconnected Laurel Canyon artists and entertainers of different eras were. Was that something that struck you as well while researching the book?
HK: I really wasn’t struck by this fact since I always knew everything in Los Angeles and Hollywood is and was interconnected. I was born on the border of Los Angeles and East Hollywood yards from Sunset Boulevard — before the Sixties began on the calendar. I carry the lore and the lure of the Fifties for over a half a century ride on the pages. 

The musicians, producers and shakers of the 1950s’ entertainment world always informed subsequent movements, musical genres and album endeavors — many done 30 and 40 years ago but reissued this decade. That’s really obvious in my book. You can see that jazz cats like Don Randi, who played Sunset Strip night clubs, later would play keyboard on Phil Spector-produced recording sessions and the Brian Wilson-produced Pet Sounds. Or, drummer Hal Blaine would do the same clubs and later do albums for producer Lou Adler on his Jan & Dean and Mamas & Papas sessions.  

What's great about the book is that it isn't just a rehashing of the '60s . You go much further back in detailing the history of Laurel Canyon. Was that important to you, to not just focus on what happened in the '60s?
HK: I insisted this book not be the usual and obvious time-period magazine and newspaper article and some books about the region that concentrate on 1960-1979, or there was not going to be a book.

Over the last 10 years, I had a very loose concept and outline on a Los Angeles and Hollywood book and when the time was right, I had all the bases covered like no one ever in history. I saw The Doors, Seeds, Music Machine, Turtles, Buffalo Springfield and Poco in the ‘60s. Most people who document Laurel Canyon or Hollywood did not see these artists perform in person. They miss the context. I’m a native Angeleno. 

I also caught live jazz at the tail end of the ‘50s — Spike Jones and Julie London. And since 1957 I was glued to the local radio and TV for the R&B and jazz TV programs and the music shows of the ‘60s. 

Because I have played on a handful of recording sessions with “The Wrecking Crew” and covered the local music community in print since 1973 — my first record review was in 1974 in “The Los Angeles Times” was on the Beach Boys' Endless Summer double LP collection — I knew I had to cover the past and bring everyone into 2009. No book around has chronicled our melodic environment from the late ‘40s to 2009. That’s why we have a volume that features the legendary DJ and record label owner, Art Laboe, a Laurel Canyon resident since 1958, and multi-instrumentalist Jonathan Wilson, who has lived in the area the last few years. But his musical influences incorporate many of the earlier singer/songwriters of the neighborhood.       

It was not going to be a re-hash of the ‘60s and the “same 10 people or bands or cult groups” as Danny Hutton congratulated me on. Or a focus on a five-year subject specific period — 50 years, not 5 years.
 
Who was your favorite Laurel Canyon character?
HK: Danny Hutton. Because he has been in Laurel Canyon since the early '60s and stayed in the vicinity. He’s also a native Angeleno. Danny always nurtured and discovered talent for Three Dog Night albums and live shows when he was in a band that took it all the way to arenas and sports stadiums. He utilized local players on his solo sessions, too. He has a cool sense of community and gave many musicians early breaks in the studio. Plus, unlike 95 percent of the musicians who come to Laurel Canyon, Danny stayed in town and in the Canyon. Not like so many musicians and songwriters who hang for a year or two, get a hit record, suck the place dry, then they leave immediately to the beach or other cities or states.       

What drew so many artists and entertainers to the area, especially many of the counter-culture rockers of the '60s?
HK: The sense of freedom that always existed. Most of these musicians who came out to the West Coast or to Los Angeles and Hollywood failed in their own home towns and got a new start in my city. Some brought a lot to the table, so I’m OK with the transplant mentality. I made sure in this book the natives got a big taste.

To you, why is Laurel Canyon such an important locale in the history of music, and especially rock and roll?
HK: It’s important, and Don Randi, Glen Campbell, Bill Mumy, John Densmore, Robby Krieger, Henry Diltz, Jackie De Shannon, Slash and others all point this out that there was a plethora of recording studios five to 10 minutes away from Laurel Canyon — numerous music clubs and venues on Sunset Boulevard, dozens of major and indie record labels and all sorts of AM and FM radio stations. When the music business and the record labels started opening offices in Los Angeles and Hollywood in the late ‘50s and all through the ‘60s, it added to the show-business equation that was already established and in motion. Previously, going back to the late '40s and early '50s musicians and recording artists would always visit the area for radio and TV appearances, in addition to their live gigs. Now they could record, live and eventually reside in this world.

What did you learn about Laurel Canyon in the course of your research that you didn't know before?
HK: I found out many things about Laurel Canyon.

I knew Guns ‘N Roses were a part of the Laurel Canyon world but got further educated in the process. Slash grew up in Laurel Canyon and his mother, Ola Hudson, made clothes for the likes of Joni Mitchell and his father, Tony Hudson, did album covers for the area’s singer/songwriters. Slash really underscored to me in a lengthy conversation how his band rehearsed in Laurel Canyon or above Sunset Boulevard. He briefly went to Fairfax High School, maybe a long mile or two maximum from Laurel Canyon. He was very happy to discuss Joni Mitchell and Minnie Ripperton, as well as Graham Nash and The Doors — musicians that influenced his life and career. I saw the further link of the jazz musicians and the singer/songwriters that extended to the heavy metal world. 

What is the best story you heard about the Laurel Canyon of the '60s?
HK: I liked the way Mark Volman of The Turtles really described the block that he lived on. Members of Love were down the same street; record producer Paul Rothchild was around the corner. Mark went over to Paul’s house and heard the acetate of The Doors’ first LP before it was in retail release.

Think about hearing “Break On Through” before anyone else on the planet with the exception of The Doors, Rothchild and engineer Bruce Botnick. I like that story because they were all in on a special place and time, creating and bringing magic that would reach our ears.   

What is the area like now, and do you think we'll ever see another place like it?
HK: Some parts of the area remain the same. Many people and musicians who lived in the area in the ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s moved out many, many years ago. You have to have big bucks to live in Laurel Canyon these days. You pretty much need to own the home, not rent it. And the problem with parking and space for vehicles has ruined a lot of the attraction of Laurel Canyon. But as I discovered, there are new singer/songwriters and artists making music, going to the Canyon Store, recording at home so the music continues. And many of these musicians draw inspiration from the jazz cats and musicians from bands of the ‘60s and ‘70s.  

Visually, the book is stunning as well. Did you think that when you began this project it would turn out like it did?
HK: Thank you. I knew very early in the game that this was not going to be the usual handful of never-published or rare photos added to stock images or record label pictures. Nor was it going to be album covers and some fliers. I had my own stash and over many years, I had “my people” in place so when the opportunity would happen for a book about Los Angeles music, Hollywood and Laurel Canyon, I knew exactly where to go. Henry Diltz provided a large chunk of the color images, and I went back to some high school friends of 35 and 40 years ago ‘cause we always kept some posters, fliers and ticket stubs that have not been on display. Then word of mouth got out about this project. Everyone I knew or contacted always loved my writing and liner-note work. And they knew I would serve the music and the community and do it right for the first time. And it would be multi-cultural, like only a guy from Fairfax High School would know and realize. And the image providers always felt I was a true renegade maverick artist/writer and could bring it from a world that went back to the early ‘50s ‘cause I was there.

The Light Speed Press and Sterling Publishers book people did a damn good job on layout and design, paper stock and packaging. I knew it was gonna be good, but when I saw the people and musicians on parade in page galley form, I was really happy. The book works visually and in text. You will never view or listen to the music of Laurel Canyon or the Sunset Boulevard birthed and housed bands ever the same after you really spend time with this volume.

The hardcover book, featuring a foreward by The Doors' Ray Manzarek and an afterward by Lou Adler, is 384 pages, and it costs $29.95. To find out more about it, visit www.sterlingpublishing.com