California’s Laurel Canyon is one of rock’s most mythic neighborhoods: Where Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young first folded their voices into one beautiful harmony; where Zappa welcomed artists including Hendrix and Mick Jagger to parties at his infamous “Log Cabin” in 1968. Laurel Canyon was the inspiration for the Doors’ “Love Street,” the Mamas and the Papas’ “12:30 (Young Girls Are Coming to the Canyon),” CSNY’s “Our House” and an entire album by British blues legend John Mayall. It’s where music-business legends David Geffen, Jac Holtzman and Elliot Roberts helped build the recording careers of the singer-songwriters who defined the very essence of the Sixties California sound.

The music in the Canyon quieted in the Eighties, when rock stars sought greater privacy in places like Malibu and Topanga Canyon and hair metal took over the Sunset Strip. But since Jonathan Wilson started hosting jam sessions a few years ago, an expanding group of artists — including the Black Crowes’ Chris Robinson; the Jayhawks’ Gary Louris; Rilo Kiley’s Jenny Lewis and her boyfriend, singer-songwriter Rice — plus up-and-comers like the Entrance Band and the Whispertown 2000 have been reviving not just the old-school Canyon sounds but also that scene’s spirit of collaboration.

Click above for a tour of Laurel Canyon hosted by the Entrance Band, and below for our full feature:

• The Return of Laurel Canyon

Related Stories:

• The 2008 Rolling Stone Hot List

• Los Angeles: High Times on the Sunset Strip and In Laurel Canyon

• California Dreaming: Photos of Neil Young, The Doors, Joni Mitchell and More