In 1933, the intersection of 7th and Hope Streets offered a glimpse into a bustling downtown Los Angeles. Streetcars and automobiles competed for space while pedestrians filled the sidewalks, heading into offices, shops, and cafes. This corner was part of a growing financial and retail hub, where Art Deco architecture rose alongside older brick buildings. The Great Depression was still gripping the nation, but the city’s rhythm carried on with resilience. Downtown LA in the early '30s was a mix of commerce, ambition, and changing times.
1940, Union Oil Building, 7th and Hope Street, Los Angeles, CA. Thank you to Getty Images.
In the 1950s and 1960s, Nalbandian became a minor celebrity, making frequent appearances in (often live-streamed) commercials for his store and even on talk shows such as The Tom Duggan Show. In most of these commercials he would repeat variations on statements such as "Come on down to 5-4-6-7 Wilshire Boulevard" and that the suits at his store came in "cadet, extra short, regular, long, extra long and portlies". In one commercial, Nalbandian said of his low prices, "My friends all ask me, 'Eddie, are you kidding?' And I tell them no, my friend, I am not kidding." This inspired the Frank Zappa song Eddie, Are You Kidding? from the album Just Another Band from L.A. (1972), as well as Mark Volman's monologue to the audience in the track Once Upon a Time from the album You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 1 (1988).
1950s, This early photo of Hollywood offers a lot to see. The view looks northeast at the intersection of Cahuenga Boulevard and Yucca Street, where the Halifax Hotel stands on the corner. In the distance, the Capitol Records building is clearly visible. Several large signs stand out, including one for the Hotel Knickerbocker. At the lower left, a sign for Biff’s Coffee Shop points toward a lot adjacent to the corner Union 76 station. Interesting note: Although Tiny Naylor was best known for his Tiny Naylor’s restaurant chain, his first restaurant in the area was Biff’s—named after his son. Thank you to Jack Feldman.
Halifax was known for its gangster clientele in the 1930s and 1940s. Across the street, on the north side of Yucca (next to the Richfield station) was the apartment building where Ed Wood lived when he filmed most of his movies.
The cool Googie restaurant on the north side of Yucca Street was across from the Green Apartments, where Carol Burnett lived with her grandmother while attending Hollywood High School in the 1950s.
The title comes from a line of dialogue spoken by the character Colonel Kilgore, a US cavalry officer obsessed with surfing played by Robert Duvall in the 1979 film Apocalypse Now. His most famous quote from that film - "I love the smell of napalm in the morning" - perhaps also inspired the lyric "Charlie's gonna be a napalm star."
1978, "Lotta Love," Nicolette Larson. She's terrific in this 1980 Nitty Gritty Dirt Band song, "Make a Little Magic," 1980.
1980, Recorded in 1979, and released in 1980, Squeeze had a hit in the early 80s titled "Pulling Muscles from a Shell." We thought it was one of the coolest songs. Obviously, there was the British invasion of the 1960s, but there was also the psychedelic rock invasion of the British, too, with Led Zepellin and Hoco Param, but there was also the British invasion of the early 1980s with all of the new wave and Mod songs. Will never forget the concerts I attended with Roy Parker, Lance, Chris, Sally, and others to see the English Beat and then The Specials on Halloween night. Fantastic memory.
1981, Men at Work, "Down Under," 1981. I enjoyed taking Debbie Jordan from San Diego, who attended SDSU, home of the Aztecs. We attended a football game against Brigham Young. I was mildly impressed with that. I met her in a bar down in Solana Beach in 1983. Joe and Mike L. were with. We danced. We drank 1 or 2, then asked the gals if they wanted to walk on the beach. They did. We walked and talked. Joe went off with his date and kissed. I wasn't so lucky. But I did get Debbie's phone number and we went out on a date. It was nice. I met her mother. Later that summer I took her to a Men at Work concert at the Greek and had a blast. I also invited her to a Halloween party out at Sally's. Debbie's brother worked and lived in Pasadena, so she stayed with him.
1981, Will never forget how this Men at Work song, "Who Can It Be Now?," 1981, played on the radio frequently through the night at the Baldwin Park UPS hub where I worked from 1980 to 1983.
1982, Psychedelic Furs, "Love My Way." I was working at at UPS as a loader from 12am to 7am at the Baldwin Park facility, biding my time until my name on the list for drivers got called up. I'd get off at 7am, go home and shower then run over to Citrus for one to two classes. I think I took archery and golf. Anyway, this Psychedelic Furs song played all the time on the radio, like KROQ.
1985, "After the Fire," written by Pete Townsend. This analysis is pretty general but decent. The song is basically about growing up without surrendering the creative fires. The Matt Dillon line,"I saw Matt Dillon in black and white; there ain't no color in memories / He rode his brother's Harley across the TV while I was laughing at Dom DeLuise," is a reference to the 1983 Francis Ford Coppola movie, Rumble Fish, starring Matt Dillon.
1986, Eddie Money's, 1949-2019, song "Take Me Home Tonight," 1986, is great because of Ronnie Spector, 1943-2022, of the Ronettes, who sings that beautiful but powerful refrain, "Be My [Little] Baby," which is a tribute to her 1963 song of the same name. "Just like Ronnie sang, Be My Little Baby."
1988, Edie Bricknell's "What I Am" got good airplay too. She's the wife of Paul Simon of Simon and Garfunkel. I can't recall too many experiences with regard to this song, although it kind of made me think of
1998, "Iris," Goo Goo Dolls, 1998, sung by lead singer, John Rzeznik, who reminds me of Keith Urban. The first time I saw this music video was in 2011 or 2012, close to my time ending with the murderous mobs of LAUSD. And the singer and song made an impression on me that love seemed like everything, and it must because it's when we lose love that we feel isolated and broken.
2001, "In the End" by Linkin Park. Like most songs of those years, I'd heard on the radio once or twice, couldn't identify the band, lead singer, or the title of the piece. Then when I was out on a date with Joanne to Musso and Frank's in Hollywood, Joanne and I were sitting in my parked car and this Linkin Park played, and I said "Let me just sit here and listen to this." And I couldn't believe the shattering voice of Chester Pennington, screaming for love, recognition, and gratitude for his sacrifices in his work. I miss you, Joanne.
2010, Foster the People--Pumped Up Kicks, 2010. My memory of this song makes me laugh because although it played regularly on the radio, I didn't quite hear the lyrics. So when I first heard that "you better run, better run faster than my bullet," it shocked me. LOL Made me think again how degraded our culture was becoming. The culture wasn't getting degraded. I was.
2011, "Somebody That I Used to Know," a duet by Gotye [that's the guy's name] and Kimbra. I was teaching at Jefferson New Tech, a small learning community, SLC, handed over to a pilot program under the helm of the incompetent gangbanging principal, Brenda Pensamiento
