Back to The Magic Garden- Laurel Canyon and 1968

Can you recreate images in your mind after listening to some breathtaking music? What do you see? Are you able to "paint" your thoughts in chalk on a sidewalk, on canvass, or embroidered onto a tapestry? Would you love to do so and share the images here? 

I would like to take some time aside to talk about some popular music artists who have achieved such a feat. 

Jimmy Webb, a prolific songwriter rose to fame in the 1960s after creating top-notch material for popular artists such as The Fifth Dimension, Richard Harris, and Glen Campbell. He would remain relevant throughout the 70s and 80s, reaching new heights by collaborating with royalty such as Linda Ronstadt in 1989 (Cry Like a Rainstorm-Howl Like the Wind). Mr. Webb's "paintings" between 1967 and 1968 include "Up, Up, and Away" sung by The Fifth Dimension which prompts the listener to envision a beautiful hot air balloon "suspended under a twilight canopy" and MacArthur's Park sung by Richard Harris depicting the psychedelic symbolism of a cake being left out in the rain while the Los Angeles park melts in the dark, and "Galveston" sung by Glen Campbell painting the longing and loneliness of a displaced soldier walking on the beach.

A few miles away in Laurel Canyon, Joni Mitchell, the self proclaimed "artist who sings" was painting watercolors of earth mother life in the canyon. Her experiences and artwork would be displayed on the cover of the 1970 album "Ladies of The Canyon" in which songs describe the back to nature lives of her female contemporaries who escaped the far reaches of North America to commune in harmony. 

Within the same canyon, Carol King could be found sewing a tapestry that would adorn one of the best-selling albums of all time (Tapestry, 1971).

A comparison of three artists-primarily songwriters and secondarily singers paints a link between sounds and visions. One must ponder the draw that pulled so many young multitalented individuals to blend the aural  and visual senses. It can be deduced that Laurel Canyon of 1968 provided a cradle of warmth and reassurance during the turmoil of civil unrest, assassination, and the Vietnam War.

What do you see when you close your eyes to a musical feast? I'd love to hear-and see....