Photos: Rock ‘n’ roll billboards of the Sunset Strip

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The Sunset Strip has long been a destination for bands who play LA. Think the Whiskey, the Roxy or the Riot Hyatt.

But the journey down the strip has also been a mecca for those bands – on billboards.

The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Donna Summer, Marvin Gaye, and many others.

Usually the billboards come and go with little fanfare. But one photographer decided to capture the often hand-painted signs, and now Robert Landau’s pictures are on display at the Skirball Cultural Center, a few miles west of the Strip.

The show is called “Rock ‘N Roll Billboards of the Sunset Strip.” Landau spoke to KCRW’s Steve Chiotakis about the show.


The iconic Beatles “Abbey Road” billboard. All photos by Robert Landau.
Robert Quinn with hand-painted Paul McCartney head from the “Abbey Road” billboard.

“Tommy: The Movie” billboard

A billboard for David Bowie’s 1974 album “Diamond Dogs.”

The Sunset Strip in Los Angeles, California circa 1979

“Marvin Gaye: Live at the London Palladium,” 1977

Bruce Springsteen’s “Darkness on the Edge of Town,” 1978, defaced by The Boss himself

Electric Light Orchestra, “Out of the Blue,” 1977