Whisky a Go Go

Whisky a Go Go is a nightclub in West Hollywood, California. It is located at 8901 Sunset Boulevard on the Sunset Strip, corner North Clark Street, opposite North San Vicente Boulevard, northwest corner. The club has been the launching pad for bands including The Stooges, Alice Cooper (who recorded a live album there in 1969), The Doors, No Doubt, System of a Down, The Byrds, Chicago, Germs, Buffalo Springfield, Steppenwolf, Van Halen, Johnny Rivers, X, Led Zeppelin, KISS, Guns N' Roses, Death, AC/DC and Mötley Crüe. In 2006, the venue was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.[1]

For the firebombing of the similarly named nightclub in Brisbane, Australia, see Whiskey Au Go Go fire.
Whisky a Go Go
"The Whisky"
The Whisky a Go Go on the Sunset Strip
Address8901 Sunset Blvd
LocationWest Hollywood, California 90069
Coordinates34°5′26″N 118°23′8″W
TypeNightclub
Genre(s)Rock and roll, pop, alternative rock, punk rock, ska, new wave, heavy metal, glam rock, glam metal, alternative metal
Capacity500
OpenedJanuary 16, 1964
Website
whiskyagogo.com

History

In 1958,[2] the first Whisky a Go-Go in the United States opened in Chicago, Illinois, on the corner of Rush and Chestnut streets.[3][4][5] It has been called the first real American discothèque. A franchise was opened in 1966 on M Street in the Georgetown section of Washington, D.C., by restaurateur Jacques Vivien.

It owes its name to the first discothèque, the Whisky à Go-Go, established in Paris in 1947 by Paul Pacine.[6]

The Sunset Strip Whisky was founded by Elmer Valentine, Phil Tanzini, Shelly Davis, and attorney Theodore Flier and opened on January 16, 1964.[7][8] In 1972, Valentine, Lou Adler, Mario Maglieri and others started the Rainbow Bar & Grill on the Sunset Strip.[9] In 1966, Valentine, Adler and others founded The Roxy Theatre.[8] Lou Adler bought into the Whisky in the late 1970s. Valentine sold his interest in the Whisky a Go Go in the 1990s but retained an ownership in the Rainbow Bar & Grill and the Roxy Theatre until his death in December 2008.[8]

Although the club was billed as a discothèque, suggesting that it offered only recorded music, the Whisky a Go Go opened with a live band led by Johnny Rivers and DJ Rhonda Lane, spinning records between sets from a suspended cage at the right of the stage.

Early Whisky matchbox. Note the alpha-numeric phone number and French style

The Whisky a Go Go was one of the places that popularized go-go dancing. Elmer Valentine, in a 2006 Vanity Fair article, recalled arranging to have a female DJ play records between Rivers' sets so patrons could continue dancing. But because there was not enough room on the floor for a DJ booth, he had a glass-walled booth mounted high above the floor.[8][10] A contest was held for the female DJ job but when the young winner called Valentine on the night of the opening and tearfully said her mother forbade her from doing it, Valentine recruited the club's cigarette girl, Patty Brockhurst. Valentine quickly hired two more female dancers, one of whom, Joanna Labean, designed the official go-go-girl costume of fringed dress and white boots.[10]

Rivers rode the Whisky-born go-go craze to national fame with records recorded partly Live at the Whisky. In addition, The Miracles recorded the song "Going to a Go-Go" in 1966 (which was covered in 1982 by The Rolling Stones), and Whisky a Go Go franchises sprang up all over the country.[11] Arguably, the rock and roll scene in Los Angeles was born when the Whisky started operation; because of its status as a historic music landmark, the venue was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006.[12]

The Whisky played an important role in many musical careers, especially for bands based in Southern California. The Byrds, Buffalo Springfield, Smokestack Lightnin', and Love were regulars, and The Doors were the house band for a while – until the debut of the "Oedipal section" of "The End" got them fired. Van Morrison's band Them had a two-week residency in June 1966, with The Doors as the opening act. On the last night they all jammed together on "Gloria". Frank Zappa's The Mothers of Invention got their record contract based on a performance at the Whisky. The Turtles performed there when their newest (and biggest-selling) single "Happy Together" was becoming a hit, only to lose their new bassist, Chip Douglas (who had arranged the song), to The Monkees; guitarist Michael Nesmith invited him to become their producer (he returned to the Turtles a year later, to produce them). Neil Diamond also played at the Whisky on occasion. Metallica bassist Cliff Burton was recruited by the band after they watched him play a show there with his band Trauma. At one point singer and actress E.G. Daily had a residency at the Whisky. The 15 of February 1977, the Ramones played for the first time on this stage.

The Whisky a Go Go in 2007

Arthur Lee of Love immortalized the Whisky in the song "Maybe the People Would Be the Times or Between Clark and Hilldale". "Here they always play my songs," he would sing on the side two opener of Forever Changes. The Whisky was located on the strip between the streets Clark and Hilldale. British rockers Status Quo also referenced the venue in their 1978 song "Long Legged Linda" with the lines, "Well, if you're ever in Los Angeles and you've got time to spare / Take a stroll up Sunset Boulevard, you'll find the Whisky there."

In 1966, the Whisky was one of the centers of what fans call the Sunset Strip police riots. In the mid-1970s, the Whisky hosted stage presentations, including the long-running show The Cycle Sluts. During the early 1990s, the Whisky hosted a number of Seattle-based musicians who would be a part of the grunge movement, including Soundgarden, Mudhoney, Melvins, Fitz of Depression and 7 Year Bitch.[13] Tracks recorded from a February 12, 1992 concert of Hole appear on their EP, Ask For It (1995). In 1994 Oasis played a controversial set at the Whisky, with frontman Liam Gallagher visibly intoxicated. Immediately following the gig, lead songwriter Noel Gallagher temporarily left the group out of frustration, fleeing to San Francisco, where he penned the song Talk Tonight. In 1997, System of a Down played at the Whisky. The band were unsigned at the time, and played songs from their early demo tapes, in particular containing the band's only live performance of the song "Blue".

On September 12, 2016, the Whisky a Go Go launched an official TV channel on the Roku Connected TV platform. The Whisky a Go Go channel opens the Whisky's doors to a global audience with live music videos, full concerts and related content spanning its 52-year history.[14]

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See also

References
  1. "Whisky A Go Go". Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Retrieved April 3, 2015.
  2. "January 11, 1964: Whisky a Go Go Opens in L.A." bestclassicbands.com. Retrieved April 10, 2017.
  3. "Charles W. Cushman Photograph Collection >> Results >> Details". Indiana University Archives. May 1966. Retrieved July 13, 2013.
  4. "Charles W. Cushman Photograph Collection >> Results >> Details". Indiana University Archives. May 1966. Retrieved July 13, 2013.
  5. "1967 Discotheque Club Chicago with Marquee of Rovin Kind & G | Flickr – Condivisione di foto!". Flickr. March 22, 2009. Retrieved July 13, 2013.
  6. Brewster, Bill; Broughton, Frank (1999). Last Night a Dj Saved My Life: The History of the Disc Jockey. Grove Press. p. 50. ISBN 9781555846114.
  7. "Whisky Articles". Whisky a Go Go. January 16, 1964. Retrieved July 13, 2013.
  8. McLellan, Dennis (December 7, 2008). "Elmer Valentine, co-founder of Whisky a Go Go, dies at 85". Los Angeles Times. pp. B11.
  9. Sandomir, Richard (May 11, 2017). "Mario Maglieri, Who Coddled Rockers at His Clubs, Dies at 93". The New York Times. p. B14.
  10. Kamp, David (September 4, 2006). "Live At The Whisky". Vanity Fair.
  11. Perrone, Pierre (March 25, 2009). "Elmer Valentine: Promoter behind Los Angeles' Whisky a Go Go and Roxy clubs". The Independent.
  12. "Take a stroll through music history at Hollywood's Whisky a Go Go". AXS. June 12, 2014.
  13. "Whisky A Go-Go". Tripod - The Sunset Strip. Retrieved April 3, 2015.
  14. Smith, Kevin (September 12, 2016). "Whisky a Go Go's new streaming channel allows you to watch iconic live music performances". Los Angeles Daily News.
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