Weird Scenes Inside the Canyon: Laurel Canyon, Covert Ops & the Dark Heart of the Hippy Dream Paperback (2014)
The
very strange but nevertheless true story of the dark underbelly of a
1960s hippie utopia. Laurel Canyon in the 1960s and early 1970s was a
magical place where a dizzying array of musical artists congregated to
create much of the music that provided the soundtrack to those turbulent
times.
Members of bands like the Byrds, the Doors, Buffalo Springfield,
the Monkees, the Beach Boys, the Turtles, the Eagles, the Flying
Burrito Brothers, Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention, Steppenwolf,
CSN, Three Dog Night and Love, along with such singer/songwriters as
Joni Mitchell, Judy Collins, James Taylor and Carole King, lived
together and jammed together in the bucolic community nestled in the
Hollywood Hills.
But there was a dark side to that scene as well. Many
didn't make it out alive, and many of those deaths remain shrouded in
mystery to this day. Far more integrated into the scene than most would
like to admit was a guy by the name of Charles Manson, along with his
murderous entourage.
Also floating about the periphery were various
political operatives, up-and-coming politicians and intelligence
personnel - the same sort of people who gave birth to many of the rock
stars populating the canyon. And all the canyon's colorful characters -
rock stars, hippies, murderers and politicos - happily coexisted
alongside a covert military installation.
Feel like checking out some Laurel Canyon mind programming? This video is a classic, Love, "7 And 7 Is" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtFM-a5Xf1M
