Is it just me, or do (some of) the rooms look actually less dated than the clothes? At first I thought the picute of Zappa was some sort of montage.

But these houses aren't always the ones they grew up in. Clapton's house surely isn't. These are the houses Mom and Dad lived in after success hit. Crosby didn't grow up in Ojai.

Palmetto: yeah, that's the exact reason I changed some of the text to say it was their parent's homes, but not their childhood homes necessarily. But it's still interesting to see the generational gap.

I NEED the wallpaper in John's momma's apartment. Someone please tell me there is a reproduction floating around out there somewhere.

Aww, Donovan!

I think Elton John's mom might have inspired his fashion - check out her boots!

Grace's mother looks shell-shocked. So does Grace.

So cool, thanks for sharing! Sometimes I think these stars fell from the sky, it's nice to see they come from somewhere (w/the exception of Zappa) normal. Is it just me or is Grace Slick is so scary?

Grace was...

Where are the TVs?

The wallpaper in Elton's Momma's house is fantastic.

You kinda forget that those people actually had parents.

i like the gold record above donovan's parents fireplace. hurdy gurdy man?

Forget the gold record. They have a bronze bust of him next to it.

Thats pretty hardcore.

Hail atlantis! :p

1) That purple is in Zappa's home is FANTASTIC .
2) Crosby's couch is equally great.
3) Elton's mama is the best of them all!

I am so loving these. Hooray for this post!

Clapton's grandma is adorable. That's a sweet little tea party they're having. :)

HA! I remember this issue!

i love this! grace slick's momma has a fabulous blue chair.

THOSE BOOTS!! Love Momma-John's boots!

Elton's mom's boots match her blouse, which is no doubt crafted from the finest Quiana (TM)! Not a mystery where Elton got his fab style from. Damn.

gracie always looked that way, i lived across the street from their place in SF. lol i always thought that...

great pics...

This is a uniqe opportunity to "remember". Very cool. Elton''s table looks familiar too. Like looking into a time capsule. Thanks!

Crosby and his dad set off "and know they love you" playing in my head.

These are great! wanna see if there are more 70's icons with their parents..any of the Fabulous Todd Rundgren?

People - these are not real photos. They are computer enhanced and modified.

frommillvalley: Any evidence to support your claim? That would be lovely.

To me, the most amazing thing about the Frank Zappa photograph is the painting behind his head. The cover of Alice Cooper's first album, Pretties For You, which was released on Zappa's record label, is that painting centered on a field of purple. Pretty neat.

@lachaiseverte--thanks for the insight on the "Pretties for You" painting.

re: nazrd's "You kinda forget that those people actually had parents."...yup, as you and others hinted, these photos ran because of the frisson inspired by seeing counter-culture icons standing alongside their original authority figures. These days, with pop/rock so completely integrated into the world of commerce and the media, its easy to forgot just how radical people like Zappa and Slick seemed to the average Life Magazine subscriber. The summer of love was only five or six years past at this point. Today, five years ago and fifteen years ago are culturally almost indistinguishable, and rock hasn't seemed transgressive since the mid-eighties, if not longer than that.

The interiors which are so fascinating to us from this historical distance were mostly unremarkable to readers at the time, other than the fact that they represented a higher standard of living (and in some cases whimsy) than the average suburban dweller's homestead.

What a lovely collection.

Judes and Ohjodi - Elton's mother's boots were very fashionable at the time. They were snakeskin pattern with and made of possibly thin vinyl - well the leg part anyway - with elastic around the top. Probably caused varicose veins! The boots didn't last long and looked tatty after a while.

Weren't those picture hooks hanging from picture rails in Eric Clapton's photo awful! Most houses in Britain have done away with picture rails now.

Mr Dangerous - Crosby wore that jacket a lot; it's in loads of photos from the time - unless, of course, the photos were all taken on the same day.........

This google search says that it's Frank Zappa's house, not his parent's. It just has his parents in the picture.

I saw this first because LIFE magazine now has all their images available. See http://images.google.com/hosted/life

i love the purple walls, and (yes) the boots. and how about david crosby's dad's rug?!

Awwww! Eric Clapton's mum brought out the good silver tea service for the shot!

thanks for sharing....thhis was fun!

I missed them... pics were removed, due to copyright, I assume. Sucks.