Rock 'n' Roll Billboards of the Sunset Strip - Hardcover

Landau, Robert

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1883318394 ISBN 13: 9781883318390

Publisher: Angel City Press, 2012

Synopsis

The Sunset Strip, circa 1967. Buffalo Springfield called it right: "There's something happening here...what it is ain't exactly clear." What was happening then is now absolutely clear. Rock 'n' roll and the kids who lived it were coming of age--right there on The Strip. And, as if to define the era, a few independent minds in the music industry posted giant, temporary monuments that said it all. Billboards. Bigger than life. Hand-painted homages to rock. The Doors led the way. It seemed that billboards would chronicle rock forever.

In Rock 'n' Roll Billboards of the Sunset Strip, author/photographer Robert Landau showcases these signs of the time, a time when rock was the most important music ever recorded, when youth, politics, and art merged to turn counterculture into mainstream culture.

Landau (watch his video trailer) was right there, a kid destined to be a professional photographer, shooting his first pictures. Decades later, he rediscovered his Kodachromes, the only extensive collection of photographs that document those iconic billboards. Impassioned, he interviewed the artists, record producers, and designers who shaped those placards, bringing fresh insight to the culture of the day and its lasting impact on the world. He tells it like it was, through the people who lived the music, the time, the energy...and the billboards.

A must for every rock lover, pop-art aficionado, and socio-culture freak, Rock 'n' Roll Billboards of the Sunset Strip is a coffee-table book to read and reread, view and review, a book with a beginning and, perhaps tragically, an end. Yes, the true rock 'n' roll billboard era ended, but Robert Landau has created a bound museum of its best artwork, a gallery that shows what was happening there. On the Sunset Strip.

About this title

From the Inside Flap

Dateline 1967, Sunset Strip, Los Angeles: Robert Landau was right there, a kid destined to be a professional photographer, shooting his first pictures. Decades later, he rediscovered his Kodachromes, the only extensive collection of photographs that document those iconic billboards. Impassioned, he interviewed the artists, record producers, and designers who shaped those placards, bringing fresh insight to the culture of the day and its lasting impact on the world. He tells it like it was, through the people who lived the music, the time, the energy and the billboards.

A must for every rock lover, pop-art aficionado, and socio-culture freak, ROCK 'N' ROLL BILLBOARDS OF THE SUNSET STRIP is a coffee-table book to read and reread, view and review, a book with a beginning and, perhaps tragically, an end. Yes, the true rock 'n' roll billboard era ended, but Robert Landau has created a bound museum of its best artwork, a gallery that shows what was happening there. On the Sunset Strip.

About the Author

Robert Landau was born and raised in Los Angeles and has spent the better part of his life documenting various aspects of his native city. Beginning with the Sunset Strip billboards in the Seventies, Landau has compiled a vast archive of images depicting the unique characteristics of L.A.'s urban landscape and reflecting the city's offbeat character. Rock 'n' Roll Billboards of the Sunset Strip marks Landau's fifth book; previous works include Outrageous L.A. (Chronicle Books, 1984) and Hollywood Poolside (Angel City Press, 1997).

Edition details

• Publisher: Angel City Press
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 1883318394
• ISBN 13: 9781883318390
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 208