I would've wanted to be there in the 60s, to see the Doors, & in the 80s to see Motley Crue or any number of metal acts that played there, in the 80s!!
I saw Van Halen there in the 70’s on their way up and in their prime. The marquee outside the club proclaimed “Van Halen, the People’s Choice” and man they weren’t lying. After VH finished their set my date and I were walking back to our car (after totally been blown away) and saw the band having a beer in the parking lot, just regular dudes. To this day one of the best memories and nights of my life.
That must’ve been incredible -Diamond Dave was quite the front man back then I just saw a clip of him from some recent Las Vegas show, and it was sad a mere shell of what he once was.
@@jamesmack3314 Never saw VH at the whisky but was lucky enough to see them open for Sabbath. Then saw their Women and Children tour, they were mighty tore up that night, Fair Warning, Diver Down meh, and then 1984. I saw that because it was my birthday and when I was in High School I said I would have Van Halen play my Birthday. It was the first night of the tour, but I could see that "Van Halen" was over. Sure they got other singers and tried, but that magic was never there again.
In the 90s, we worked for a sound recording studio called Larrabee Sound in Los Angeles, and it was close to the Whiskey. We went there all the time. The best thing was a place next door called Luther's, who had deep friend monte christo sandwiches and incredible espresso shakes. The best breakfast after a long session you can possibly imagine! One morning David Bowie was in town and walked from his hotel to the studio! When he arrived, my husband and I were the only ones there (most artists didn't wake up until 4 pm), and we welcomed him but told him no one else would be there for awhile. I told him I was going to Luther's and I'd get us some breakfast, he was up for that so I got us all grub and we hung out and ate, read the paper and groaned over how good our shakes were! We had a great time, since Bowie is very sweet and charming in person, actually seemed almost shy, probably just tired...it was a peaceful interlude in our lives. I always feel it one of my favorite experiences of those days...it was so relaxed and comfortable.
@@adrian42727 It was the best ever, I have to say, I still dream about their unbelievably delicious sandwiches...which is weird, because I've been to so many fantastic places, but I'd give quite a bit to go to Luther's one more time! I live in Texas now, and love tex mex food, but still miss those quiet Sundays....
I got my parents to allow me to drive from Ohio to California when I turned 16 and got my license in 1967. I was a naive country boy, virgin. When I got to Hollywood I wanted to see Johnny Rivers at the Whiskey. The cover was a two-drink minimum and I couldn't believe I had to pay $10 for 2 Cokes. The house band was called the Doors and when they went on break I went to smoke on a small patio out back. Some other people came out and lit joints. They passed it around so I tried it. I got pretty high and the organ player and lead singer joined us. They were great guys I came to find, Ray and Jim. So we were tokin' and jokin' and I told Jim how much I liked his brown leather pants. Later at the table somebody was passing around a bottle. So I was part stoned and part drunk. The thing I really dug about the Doors was the way Ray could get that small organ to sound gigantic with the ability to lull you in a droning way, before shocking you to attention. Jim was a normal, really nice guy and he wasn't drinking. He and the band were incredibly tight, able to feed off each other.
I love this place. So iconic. The minute you walk in, it just feels like a place where some of the greatest bands played. To top it off, heading to the Rainbow for a late-night dinner. So fun!! The Troubadour in another iconic venue. Glad they are both still around. I don't think they'll be going anywhere anytime soon.
My band played there August 15th, 2006 to do a record label showcase for Don Dokken. Our manager knew Elmer Valentino and we had lunch with him and his wife and met his son. They own the Rainbow Room and Key Club as well. We talked about the days of The Doors and Motley Crue. When I asked Elmer how he was able to purchase all of this real estate he said “I used to run liquor for Al Capone!’ It was one of the best experiences of our music career as a band and being able to sit in the green room where so many legends hung out was amazing. I had to pinch myself! Thank you for putting this video together!
You must mean Mario Maglieri...I know things get mixed up over time. I was Elmer Valentine's secretary from 1971-1983; he was not married long and had a daughter. Mario had two sons who worked at The Whisky. Over time Mario became owner of The Whisky and The Rainbow Bar & Grill nothing to do with the Key Club which was built on the site of Gazzarri's. Elmer Valentine retired by 2006 and passed away in 2008 at age 85. I still go to see shows at The Whisky and really appreciate your sense of feeling the amazing history of the club! Funny, the now 'Green Room" was actually the storage room when I worked there in the upstairs office!
@@deedeekeel6712 thank you for commenting. To be quite honest I was introduced to him as the owners. Either way it was really cool and such a great experience.
A family friend was stationed at Oakland in1966 he went to the whiskey one night and the guy at the door mario told him because he was army no cover and free soda ( they were not able to sell booze at the time) he said buffalo Springfield were tuning up and david crosby came up to and asked him when he had to leave for Vietnam and toldhim to be careful he would make it home!!!!!
I recall being perplexed as a kid in the sixties, unclothed women dancing in cages, Jimi Hendrix burning a perfectly good guitar, and the frequent radio playing of Arthur Brown & The Doors Fire songs.
In the early 2000s a place in Bay City, Michigan called cruisers had those cages.....met a girl that I dated over 2yrs after seeing her dance in said cages....cool times....seen the band "Toadies" there also....wish life had a rewind button sometimes
There's also a somewhat pop culture reference to it in the Batman episode where Catwoman is said to have picked up Lesley Gore's character "Pussycat" at The Milkshake A Go-Go on Sunset Strip! Haha!
The Whiskey was a great place to see bands. I saw dozens of shows there starting in 1973 including Iggy and the Stooges, New York Dolls (first LA show), X, Dead Kennedys, Blondie, Runaways, and many, many more. They still had the cages and Go-Go dancers in 1973.
I was born in 63. As a young child, and getting my first record player. My mother had a whole library of 331/3 record albums. A lot of old country and rock(The Troggs, Mamas and the Papas, DaveDudley, etc) the ones I really liked were all her Johnny Rivers albums. I really enjoyed his Whiskey a Gogo Live album. Since mom passed, I've got all these old albums. When I was a kid, I always swore I'd go to that club when I'd grow up, lol! Oh, well, can't have everything, where would I put it!?
I was there that night as well. It was simply an amazing show and Cream's first Los Angeles appearance. I later saw Led Sep play there with Alice Cooper opening. Cooper sucked.
Grew up in Ohio, only heard of the Sunset Strip as a kid. Thanks to all of you who shared awesome stories from the time, thoroughly enjoyed reading them.
I saw the New York Dolls at the Whiskey in 1973, maybe 1974, the small balcony where the GTO’s hung out above the dance floor, in silk 30’s 40’s tiny negligée’s & fishnit hose with hater belts or Merry Widows, dancing 💃, Miss Pamela and friends…I never wanted to be a groupie, 1 of my girlfriends did that for awhile, not my scene.
I never got in to the Whiskey in LA ... each time, headed in that direction, there were lines, and having served in the US military during Vietnam ... I abhor lines. Though while in the military I got to visit Sydney Australia ... and The Whiskey a Go Go in Sydney ... was my home. Fell in love with a waitress there .... I left back to the Navy, and never saw her again, but it was Love.
I went to the Whiskey a lot, saw a lot of local bands, it was fun. There was the Troubadour, Club Lingerie, The Roxy - good times. I didnt turn 21 til 1977 and I remember the hand stamp and trying to transfer the over 21 stamp from someone elses hand. And don't forget the Nicolas Cage movie Valley Girls, featuring The Plimsouls .
I saw Johnny Rivers and The 5th Dimension there in the spring of '66. We were just driving by and decided to see if we could get in. It was a good show. I was about to graduate High School. I didn't have enough money for the second of the 2 drink minimum for my date and I. The waitress was annoyed but they didn't kick us out. Marilyn McCoo stood next to me in the front row of the balcony for one of their numbers. I got to tell her it was a great show and she thanked me. She was trying to catch her breath at that point. Later they were just hanging around outside chatting. A classmate of mine had a group and they played at It's Boss on the strip but I never got to see them there. I would have liked to have seen the Doors. My wife saw them at a large venue in Chicago. I did get to see a number of great acts over the years including The Beatles at the Hollywood Bowl, Janis Joplin, The Hollies, and a bunch more.
Don't know how many shows JR did there but I saw that same billing with my soon to be wife......over the years I saw the Airplane, Love, PB Conspiracy, and a few others there......spent a lot of weekends on "The Strip" in places like the "Sea Witch", "Kaleidoscope", "Fifth Estate" where my buddy and I almost ended up on a police bus that was parked outside the entrance during the "Sunset Riots" at "Pandora's Box" where I had seen the "Leaves" play their hit "Hey Joe".....fun days for sure.....
I was a teenager during the Psychedelic 60's, 1966-1969, and cruised The Strip all the time. We couldn't get into The Whiskey because we were only 16-17. but I remember seeing all the great rock names on the marque plus all the other clubs. I finally got to go to the Roxy in 1974 to see Linda Ronstadt and Roger McGuinn on Halloween night. The Whiskey is still there and I see it every now and then when I'm in that area. I wish I could have seen The Doors there when they were the house band. That would have been mind-blowing!!
@AllanGonella Steve Martin opened for Linda, and after dating for three weeks. She asked him, don't you usually try to sleep with the girls you go out with?
In the spring of '68 i was a high school kid and I was heading up to a Doors concert somewhere on The Strip and my VW Van got sideswiped exiting the Hollywood Freeway. I had to wait for the cops to show up to sort out who was at fault and I missed the concert. Shucks.
That would have been frustrating. My 73 year old memory sometimes gets a little fuzzy but I think The Doors preformed at the Hullabaloo Theater on Sunset Blvd. in 1968 (formerly The Kaleidoscope Theater). It was about 2 miles east of the actual Strip next to the Cinerama Dome. By that time The Doors had been banned from The Whiskey due to Morrison's "suggestive" stage antics and his language, plus his treatment of some of the go-go dancers. Owners Elmer Valentine and his partner were afraid of losing their liquor license so they threw The Doors out. The unique feature of the Hullaballo (Kaleidoscope) was it had an revolving round stage. While one band was playing the other group could set up their equipment behind the curtain and the stage would then rotate with the new group was ready to go. I was able to see Vanilla Fudge and Canned Heat there in 1968.
The one thing I remember after the manson thing is that you just park your car and walk, otherwise the LAPD would have you 'up against the wall' and you DID NOT go up Beverly Blvd!.. . Many great nights on that strip and at the Whisky.
Good capsule. Grew up in West LA in the 60s and had some memorable nights. It was never as glam as I thought it was being portrayed. Still, it was one of a kind
Cool video, I was the right age and was lucky enough to attend over 100 shows in a 10 year span!!! Having a great sound and lighting system definitely helped 🔥
What?!!, there's no 'respective' mention of the Starwood? That place also, majorly' rocked. I saw Randy Rhodes there, and many others of that late 70's era ✌
Well not sure where you got your info but Hard rock hit the whiskey way before Van Halen and Motley crew. Led Zeppelin 1969 rocked the place and there are bootleg recordings of them , also Alice Cooper as well.
The Whisky wasn't closed in 1982; I had just arrived from NY in February of 82 to join what became WASP, and I saw Metallica get booed off the Whisky stage in front of headliners Mötley Crüe. The Sunset Strip was absolutely on Fire. Cooking all the time. I was there. I saw it firsthand. Some years later, I played The Whisky several times with various bands. R.I.P. Mario.
Actually, they stopped playing live music at the Whiskey and Roxy in 1982. Too many problems with punk bands and slam dancing. It was short lived and the Whiskey went back to booking live bands again. I was at the "last night" of the Whiskey, sitting with Rodney Bingenheimer, Belinda Carlisle, Rick Van Santen and others. The Plimsouls played with special guest Tom Petty.
@@modellbleu2294I hear you about punk bands & rowdiness. In ‘78 my older brother had just returned to the states Germany~Army. He went to the Sex Pistols show @ Cain’s Ballroom in Tulsa, said it was great everybody bashing~thrashing into each other. I was 18 & going to live rock n’ roll venues & discos, thought he’d lost his collective mind?! Looking back I wish he’d have invited me to tag along haha, Sid Vicious punched a hole in the wall that night & it is proudly surrounded by a picture frame now.
Totally overlooked the fact that buffalo Springfield preceded the doors at whiskey a go go and the tune for what it’s worth was about the police over reaction to the kids hanging about
@@hoobeydoobey1267First of all the whole reason the HOF is pointless, even for so called 'purists' like yourself, is because music and rock n roll are entirely subjective. Second, Carol Kaye played on Pet Sounds by the Beach Boys, considered one of the greatest ROCK albums of all time. Not to mention the literal thousands of other tracks she's played on. I'll give you that Chaka Kahn is more on the R&B, Soul, Funk end of things, but again subjectivity, I say she's rock you say she isn't. Carol Kaye and Chaka Kahn both played and made significant cultural contributions to the genre. Theyre not Thin Lizzy or Blue Oyster Cult, both of which are groups even a purist would say is ROCK that are NOT in the HOF further proving its futility, but they are still ROCK AND ROLL BABY! 🤘🏻 : )
In the early 80’s and all in one day, divorce was finalized, dropped out of college my senior year and joined the Navy. This was on a Wednesday and by late Friday night I was in basic training in San Diego. As a sonartech, I had a $hitload of schooling ahead of me as I was “pipelined”, meaning after basic it was: sub school in Connecticut, back to San Diego for sonar “A” school, BEEP (electronics school) and finally sonar “C” school. My point of all of this is: after Bootcamp and if I didn’t have duty, myself and some other like minded squids would hit the strip in LA every weekend. I had my 1971 Plymouth Roadrunner w/440 magnum six-pack and that was our “mirthmobile” albeit much, much cooler and faster w/a 100% chance modifier of picking up hot chicks. We saw many, many bands during time and it was the time of my life. I was 22, 6’5”tall and a solid 210lbs., single and loved Metal. Not so much like Bon Jovi or that but, it was panty dropping music. Only thing that sucked was…at the beginning we all still had our recruit trademarks and had to get rid of them ASAP. Whelp, to all the headbangers and rivetheads…rock on and keep kicking ass. 🫡🤘🤘🤘
Always wanted to be a go~go dancer when young, alas born 10yrs too late. Would have loved to see bands here especially Led Zep, have never been unfortunately, bucket list.
I lived in Venice from 1977 to 1981, we used to ride our motorcycles to the shows and park behind the club. Saw Johnny Winter play there one night back when they still had tables and chairs there, before the punkers started hanging out and ruined the place.
In the early 1980s I had a coworker whose mother had been a go-go dancer there in the '60s. Because she looked so extreme in the daytime with her big sprayed hair and white nail polish and white lipstick, other kids called her "the witch".
Mostly I saw John Mayall at the whiskey, Peter green, mick taylor. Missed the debut of Cream, I was probably doin a drug deal. I did a landscape job for Elmer Valentine up in laurel canyon hills in the '80s.
what is this dude talking about? it didn't close in the 80s. my band played there and i attended many shows during the period bro claims it was closed. check your work grunge because you people are allll wrong on that particular assertion.
Saw the doors there. Amazing show...and the girls were gorgeous and sooo feminine in that era. It was always a great time back then no matter where you went, without any caustic woke freaks running around spreading hatred. So glad to have experienced the 60s & 70s best music / sexual freedom / people who genuinely cared about one another
@@treehugger47 If you ask 100 maga trumpers what 'Woke' means.....you'll get 100 different definitions. Most of the definitions will be incoherent, but all will be virtually filled with hatred for the majority of americans who don't see trump as a political messiah. Instead, we see him as a successful conman who told various disenfranchised groups the lies they wanted to hear. He connected with enough angry americans to actually get elected to the presidency. After losing his bid for a second term, he orchestrated a violent attack on our government in an attempt to remain in power. I have found that it's a waste of time to ask for a definition of 'woke' because they don't have one. It's merely a catch-phrase for anyone who won't join their cult of personality. Exactly why it is used here is as incomprehensible as any use of 'woke' I've ever seen. The comment begins and ends with nostalgia for the hippie era with 'caustic woke freaks running around spreading hatred' incongruently inserted in the middle. Go figure. 🤷♂
Moved to LA in 83, back then there were large scenes going on in and around Hollywood. The Punks had the Cathay De Grand and other small clubs in Hollywood where on any weekend night you could catch up and coming bands and an enthusiastic audience. But all that paled in comparison to the West Hollywood scene where it seemed you could catch a well rehearsed Metal band put on an arena styled and amplified show in a small club. You could be way back in the club on the balcony in Gazzari's and still only be no more than 50 feet from the stage, it was like being in the front row of an arena show. Sure both the Punk and Metal bands were cliched hacks, but this was LA and it attracted wanna-bes from around the country. Hell the Metal bands who all looked and sounded the same even had to Pay-To-Play and the Punk bands spent a fortune trying to look like working poor from the UK. So while nothing groundbreaking or new came out of it, it was hella fun to be there none the less.
Oh my goodness the part about the punk bands that you said , hilarious and true from what I saw in a very diluted version of "punk" bands of my childhood VH1 and MTV watching at the very end of both their actual music video playing days, then when I was 18 ish / just turned 19 yrs old I had a boss who pointed out the band GreenDay being so stupid for calling themselves a punk band from the start of their music careers up to present day , (that was more than a decade ago keep in mind) but he would be watching something music related and GreenDay would be mentioned, several times during my barley 5 months of working there, the accent Billy whatever last name he has, the lead singer, would sound always only signing not ever when talking he had a British accent, I had noticed it too since I first saw a video of them and always thought it sounded forced, but my boss listed all the things and estimated amount of money it cost at least from hair, eyeliner, to clothes and accessories that especially the lead guy had on always that was like a punk band from the UK at dawn of punk music costume packaged and mass produced and sold at Walmart for Halloween, then he'd mention with utter disgust " they're from f-ing Berkeley" and i lost it laughing the first time he said this cuz I'm from the Bay area so I knew the area he was talking about completely, where a huge well known and respected University of CA is located, top school, suburbs and expensive as heck, I'd been thru Berkeley and that was all my type of ppl could afford to do there, pass thru it! 😂 I know the guy says as of then at 19 I guess he started saying he doesn't know what ppl are talking about, no fake British accent, just how he sings and his own accent, just laughable totally. He still says that I guess, though I studied linguistics at a small college level, it's still enough to know he is not being honest at least with himself if he actually believes what he's saying and it's not just cuz ppl started calling them on it. Anyways I love honest observations and you still focused on it being a good time, which is the best thing, I like your comment allot, just laughed so dang hard I was spitting everywhere when I read that line of your comment I had to tell you! Have a great night or day, stay positive! 😂
How does a mobster go and convince other mobsters to lay off someone? I mean, I just don't get it Like the right guy says the right thing and mobsters go, "Oh, okay. We'll leave him alone then. No problem." I'm confuddled.
Was there twice visiting SoCal. Most recently this past June; Saturday Night, 2 acts, one a Black Sabbath tribute. 10 million people in LA county? There was maybe 50 peeps in the place, pathetic…
@@lauraarcher1730 I watched about 10 second of it but since I have no idea what a whiskey go go is and nobody explained it, I moved on to more important topics.
@@marieknight9385 I only bother watching if I can figure out what it is. Apparently from your attitude they are no one important and should be ignored.
@@archmage7813 yet you took the time to leave this comment, respond to others and still think your excuse is valid, you could’ve just watched it or scrolled past in the time it took for you to do all this, you could’ve looked it up yourself too
bulls*it he did not "invent" gogo dancing as you imply he actually saw it in the original whisky a gogo in france they had a dj played records and had paid gogo dancers the only thing he did was make his dancers dance in cages above the crowd
wau,never knew it shut down 2X !!!!went there in the later 80's short;ly after coming to us from europa, and man was it a DUMP !!!! i was shocked. nothing glamorous.just run down aNd dirty !!!! like the entire STRIP !!!!!
Thank you for giving Johnny Rivers his do... with the MAAFIA fighting for him. On the Whiskey's sign , JR is on the Top. JR, people do not know hat 4-5 genres HE WAS EXCELLENT , but he could do black blues like no other. PERHAPS there will be no Whisky- without JR/ as it gets into the Hall of Shame while JR is left on the Curb. NO ONE was as independent as JR.. I am taking bets that he is one of the wealthiest rockers as he started ":Soul Records" Signed McCoo and the %th JUST before they KILLED it, and also had the gift of grabbing one of our finest songwriters , JUST befiore his songs went Gold. JIMMY WEBB! In 1969 JR's "Hippie LP REALIZATION got to number 5, which was his zenith , Not a bad song...
What act would you have wanted to see at the Whisky?
The Doors Would of loved to have been there when The Doors was fired for the song The End 😊
Motorhead.. 🎸😎🤘..!
I would've wanted to be there in the 60s, to see the Doors, & in the 80s to see Motley Crue or any number of metal acts that played there, in the 80s!!
Sunset strips sleaziest late 80’s rockers L.A. Guns & Faster Pussycat . 🇦🇺
Van Halen with Dave.
I saw Van Halen there in the 70’s on their way up and in their prime. The marquee outside the club proclaimed “Van Halen, the People’s Choice” and man they weren’t lying. After VH finished their set my date and I were walking back to our car (after totally been blown away) and saw the band having a beer in the parking lot, just regular dudes. To this day one of the best memories and nights of my life.
Thats nice. I went to many backyard parties where Van Halen played. Dave was a dick back then too.
Love it!!!!
Jealous much?@@Tedroy
That must’ve been incredible -Diamond Dave was quite the front man back then I just saw a clip of him from some recent Las Vegas show, and it was sad a mere shell of what he once was.
@@jamesmack3314 Never saw VH at the whisky but was lucky enough to see them open for Sabbath. Then saw their Women and Children tour, they were mighty tore up that night, Fair Warning, Diver Down meh, and then 1984. I saw that because it was my birthday and when I was in High School I said I would have Van Halen play my Birthday. It was the first night of the tour, but I could see that "Van Halen" was over. Sure they got other singers and tried, but that magic was never there again.
In the 90s, we worked for a sound recording studio called Larrabee Sound in Los Angeles, and it was close to the Whiskey. We went there all the time. The best thing was a place next door called Luther's, who had deep friend monte christo sandwiches and incredible espresso shakes. The best breakfast after a long session you can possibly imagine! One morning David Bowie was in town and walked from his hotel to the studio! When he arrived, my husband and I were the only ones there (most artists didn't wake up until 4 pm), and we welcomed him but told him no one else would be there for awhile. I told him I was going to Luther's and I'd get us some breakfast, he was up for that so I got us all grub and we hung out and ate, read the paper and groaned over how good our shakes were! We had a great time, since Bowie is very sweet and charming in person, actually seemed almost shy, probably just tired...it was a peaceful interlude in our lives. I always feel it one of my favorite experiences of those days...it was so relaxed and comfortable.
I lived in LA for along time, 80s-2000s - rode an elevator in a hotel with Mr Bowie. It was surreal...
What an awesome memory of an incredible musician!
Thank you, my most desired meal now is a deep friend monte christo sandwich
@@adrian42727
It was the best ever, I have to say, I still dream about their unbelievably delicious sandwiches...which is weird, because I've been to so many fantastic places, but I'd give quite a bit to go to Luther's one more time! I live in Texas now, and love tex mex food, but still miss those quiet Sundays....
RIP David. Remembered running into him with the glitter/punk crowd in Berlin. Those days were another lifetime.
I got my parents to allow me to drive from Ohio to California when I turned 16 and got my license in 1967. I was a naive country boy, virgin. When I got to Hollywood I wanted to see Johnny Rivers at the Whiskey. The cover was a two-drink minimum and I couldn't believe I had to pay $10 for 2 Cokes. The house band was called the Doors and when they went on break I went to smoke on a small patio out back. Some other people came out and lit joints. They passed it around so I tried it. I got pretty high and the organ player and lead singer joined us. They were great guys I came to find, Ray and Jim. So we were tokin' and jokin' and I told Jim how much I liked his brown leather pants. Later at the table somebody was passing around a bottle. So I was part stoned and part drunk. The thing I really dug about the Doors was the way Ray could get that small organ to sound gigantic with the ability to lull you in a droning way, before shocking you to attention. Jim was a normal, really nice guy and he wasn't drinking. He and the band were incredibly tight, able to feed off each other.
Thats awesome, thanks for that...my memories are from the '80's...
Thank you for sharing! This warms my heart.
Wonderful memory for you! I’m kinda very very jelly haha. Thank you for sharing with us 😅
That $10 then is equivalent to around $90 today.
I love this place. So iconic. The minute you walk in, it just feels like a place where some of the greatest bands played. To top it off, heading to the Rainbow for a late-night dinner. So fun!! The Troubadour in another iconic venue. Glad they are both still around. I don't think they'll be going anywhere anytime soon.
The Rock Band Buffalo Springfield's song "For What It's Worth" was inspired by the 1966 "Curfew Riots," Stephan Stills had gotten caught up in it.
My band played there August 15th, 2006 to do a record label showcase for Don Dokken. Our manager knew Elmer Valentino and we had lunch with him and his wife and met his son. They own the Rainbow Room and Key Club as well. We talked about the days of The Doors and Motley Crue. When I asked Elmer how he was able to purchase all of this real estate he said “I used to run liquor for Al Capone!’ It was one of the best experiences of our music career as a band and being able to sit in the green room where so many legends hung out was amazing. I had to pinch myself! Thank you for putting this video together!
You must mean Mario Maglieri...I know things get mixed up over time. I was Elmer Valentine's secretary from 1971-1983; he was not married long and had a daughter. Mario had two sons who worked at The Whisky. Over time Mario became owner of The Whisky and The Rainbow Bar & Grill nothing to do with the Key Club which was built on the site of Gazzarri's. Elmer Valentine retired by 2006 and passed away in 2008 at age 85. I still go to see shows at The Whisky and really appreciate your sense of feeling the amazing history of the club! Funny, the now 'Green Room" was actually the storage room when I worked there in the upstairs office!
@@deedeekeel6712 thank you for commenting. To be quite honest I was introduced to him as the owners. Either way it was really cool and such a great experience.
I love how the Rainbow was mentioned and they used a a split screen pic with Lemmy. R.I.P.
Would have Loved to have been there to see the Doors !
🖤🖤🎹🎸🥁🎤🖤🖤
A family friend was stationed at Oakland in1966 he went to the whiskey one night and the guy at the door mario told him because he was army no cover and free soda ( they were not able to sell booze at the time) he said buffalo Springfield were tuning up and david crosby came up to and asked him when he had to leave for Vietnam and toldhim to be careful he would make it home!!!!!
My dad lived over a bar in the 60s that had two human-sized bird cages for go-go dancers
They have that here, in N.H, too¡
Goldie Hawn has said in interviews that she used to dance in a club inside a cage before she became famous on Laugh In.
I recall being perplexed as a kid in the sixties, unclothed women dancing in cages, Jimi Hendrix burning a perfectly good guitar, and the frequent radio playing of Arthur Brown & The Doors Fire songs.
In the early 2000s a place in Bay City, Michigan called cruisers had those cages.....met a girl that I dated over 2yrs after seeing her dance in said cages....cool times....seen the band "Toadies" there also....wish life had a rewind button sometimes
Likely that's for the safety of the dancers so they won't be touched they are not strippers that you shove dollars in their g strings.
There's also a somewhat pop culture reference to it in the Batman episode where Catwoman is said to have picked up Lesley Gore's character "Pussycat" at The Milkshake A Go-Go on Sunset Strip! Haha!
The Whiskey was a great place to see bands. I saw dozens of shows there starting in 1973 including Iggy and the Stooges, New York Dolls (first LA show), X, Dead Kennedys, Blondie, Runaways, and many, many more. They still had the cages and Go-Go dancers in 1973.
I got to see X there during the punk hey day. Crazy night.
Billy Zoom was great to watch.
I was born in 63. As a young child, and getting my first record player. My mother had a whole library of 331/3 record albums. A lot of old country and rock(The Troggs, Mamas and the Papas, DaveDudley, etc) the ones I really liked were all her Johnny Rivers albums. I really enjoyed his Whiskey a Gogo Live album. Since mom passed, I've got all these old albums. When I was a kid, I always swore I'd go to that club when I'd grow up, lol! Oh, well, can't have everything, where would I put it!?
Sounds like a lot of fun was had by all at the club 😊
Sept 4th 1967 I saw Cream there they audience was stunned into silence after their first number NSU. Clapton looked worried then the crowd roared
I was there that night as well. It was simply an amazing show and Cream's first Los Angeles appearance. I later saw Led Sep play there with Alice Cooper opening. Cooper sucked.
NSU ….good one
I love these docs of old spots like this, CBGB, Max's, etc. What stories they all hold!
I danced the night away there more than once in the 80's. It truly proclaimed the frenetic nature of Rock and Roll. Sweet memories...
Grew up in Ohio, only heard of the Sunset Strip as a kid. Thanks to all of you who shared awesome stories from the time, thoroughly enjoyed reading them.
I saw the New York Dolls at the Whiskey in 1973, maybe 1974, the small balcony where the GTO’s hung out above the dance floor, in silk 30’s 40’s tiny negligée’s & fishnit hose with hater belts or Merry Widows, dancing 💃, Miss Pamela and friends…I never wanted to be a groupie, 1 of my girlfriends did that for awhile, not my scene.
I saw just about every punk and new wave band that played at The Whiskey. Great times and amazing music.
I never got in to the Whiskey in LA ... each time, headed in that direction, there were lines, and having served in the US military during Vietnam ... I abhor lines. Though while in the military I got to visit Sydney Australia ... and The Whiskey a Go Go in Sydney ... was my home. Fell in love with a waitress there .... I left back to the Navy, and never saw her again, but it was Love.
It's on my bucket list, to attend a show at this legendary venue, & have my picture taken there, so i can say that i've been there!!
The carpet on the stage hasn't changed in 30 years!
@@machupikachu1085 you're right! i've been there many times over the years
I went to the Whiskey a lot, saw a lot of local bands, it was fun. There was the Troubadour, Club Lingerie, The Roxy - good times. I didnt turn 21 til 1977 and I remember the hand stamp and trying to transfer the over 21 stamp from someone elses hand. And don't forget the Nicolas Cage movie Valley Girls, featuring The Plimsouls .
People love to party, listen to music, drink, dance; we just need a place to do that together.
My friends and I had so much fun on the Strip in the 60s.
I saw Johnny Rivers and The 5th Dimension there in the spring of '66. We were just driving by and decided to see if we could get in. It was a good show. I was about to graduate High School. I didn't have enough money for the second of the 2 drink minimum for my date and I. The waitress was annoyed but they didn't kick us out.
Marilyn McCoo stood next to me in the front row of the balcony for one of their numbers. I got to tell her it was a great show and she thanked me. She was trying to catch her breath at that point. Later they were just hanging around outside chatting.
A classmate of mine had a group and they played at It's Boss on the strip but I never got to see them there.
I would have liked to have seen the Doors. My wife saw them at a large venue in Chicago. I did get to see a number of great acts over the years including The Beatles at the Hollywood Bowl, Janis Joplin, The Hollies, and a bunch more.
Don't know how many shows JR did there but I saw that same billing with my soon to be wife......over the years I saw the Airplane, Love, PB Conspiracy, and a few others there......spent a lot of weekends on "The Strip" in places like the "Sea Witch", "Kaleidoscope", "Fifth Estate" where my buddy and I almost ended up on a police bus that was parked outside the entrance during the "Sunset Riots" at "Pandora's Box" where I had seen the "Leaves" play their hit "Hey Joe".....fun days for sure.....
See.... the Rolling Stones track.......going to the Go Go.............brilliant!@
Arthur Lee and Love!
I was a teenager during the Psychedelic 60's, 1966-1969, and cruised The Strip all the time. We couldn't get into The Whiskey because we were only 16-17. but I remember seeing all the great rock names on the marque plus all the other clubs. I finally got to go to the Roxy in 1974 to see Linda Ronstadt and Roger McGuinn on Halloween night. The Whiskey is still there and I see it every now and then when I'm in that area. I wish I could have seen The Doors there when they were the house band. That would have been mind-blowing!!
@AllanGonella Steve Martin opened for Linda, and after dating for three weeks. She asked him, don't you usually try to sleep with the girls you go out with?
In the spring of '68 i was a high school kid and I was heading up to a Doors concert somewhere on The Strip and my VW Van got sideswiped exiting the Hollywood Freeway. I had to wait for the cops to show up to sort out who was at fault and I missed the concert. Shucks.
That would have been frustrating. My 73 year old memory sometimes gets a little fuzzy but I think The Doors preformed at the Hullabaloo Theater on Sunset Blvd. in 1968 (formerly The Kaleidoscope Theater). It was about 2 miles east of the actual Strip next to the Cinerama Dome. By that time The Doors had been banned from The Whiskey due to Morrison's "suggestive" stage antics and his language, plus his treatment of some of the go-go dancers. Owners Elmer Valentine and his partner were afraid of losing their liquor license so they threw The Doors out. The unique feature of the Hullaballo (Kaleidoscope) was it had an revolving round stage. While one band was playing the other group could set up their equipment behind the curtain and the stage would then rotate with the new group was ready to go. I was able to see Vanilla Fudge and Canned Heat there in 1968.
Me too, I bet we saw each other back in the day.
The one thing I remember after the manson thing is that you just park
your car and walk, otherwise the LAPD would have you 'up against the wall'
and you DID NOT go up Beverly Blvd!.. . Many great nights on that strip and at the Whisky.
I been there saw Ricky Nelson
amazing
Good capsule. Grew up in West LA in the 60s and had some memorable nights. It was never as glam as I thought it was being portrayed. Still, it was one of a kind
No mention of Led Zeppelin’s appearance in ‘69?
A true den of iniquity
Cool video, I was the right age and was lucky enough to attend over 100 shows in a 10 year span!!! Having a great sound and lighting system definitely helped 🔥
What?!!, there's no 'respective' mention of the Starwood? That place also, majorly' rocked. I saw Randy Rhodes there, and many others of that late 70's era ✌
What about The Troubadour and the Roxy?
Lou Adler was mamas and papa’s manager. Also he backed the 1975 movie The Rocky Horror Picture Show There Was another club called the Candy Factory.
Awesome.
Well not sure where you got your info but Hard rock hit the whiskey way before Van Halen and Motley crew. Led Zeppelin 1969 rocked the place and there are bootleg recordings of them , also Alice Cooper as well.
Arthur lee
I saw Albert King in the '70's at the Whisky
Leif Garrett has played there
Booooooo!!👎👎
@@cynthiablandford6213I guess you weren't made for dancing.
@@rockhero2274 that's because l am LA women.
I played there in 1989. Also got thrown out in 1991. Or maybe it was the other way around....long time ago.
Lol.
learn to play and how to be humble and you can come back
actually our show was a hit. we got thrown out for body slamming a nazi wearing swastika shirt@@anthonymitchell8893
and the nazi got thrown out too@@anthonymitchell8893
The Whisky wasn't closed in 1982; I had just arrived from NY in February of 82 to join what became WASP, and I saw Metallica get booed off the Whisky stage in front of headliners Mötley Crüe. The Sunset Strip was absolutely on Fire. Cooking all the time. I was there. I saw it firsthand. Some years later, I played The Whisky several times with various bands. R.I.P. Mario.
Actually, they stopped playing live music at the Whiskey and Roxy in 1982. Too many problems with punk bands and slam dancing. It was short lived and the Whiskey went back to booking live bands again. I was at the "last night" of the Whiskey, sitting with Rodney Bingenheimer, Belinda Carlisle, Rick Van Santen and others. The Plimsouls played with special guest Tom Petty.
@@modellbleu2294I hear you about punk bands & rowdiness. In ‘78 my older brother had just returned to the states Germany~Army. He went to the Sex Pistols show @ Cain’s Ballroom in Tulsa, said it was great everybody bashing~thrashing into each other. I was 18 & going to live rock n’ roll venues & discos, thought he’d lost his collective mind?! Looking back I wish he’d have invited me to tag along haha, Sid Vicious punched a hole in the wall that night & it is proudly surrounded by a picture frame now.
Totally overlooked the fact that buffalo Springfield preceded the doors at whiskey a go go and the tune for what it’s worth was about the police over reaction to the kids hanging about
The Graduate "kiss" was in North Beach, San Francisco !!
"Gaz-Are-Eze" not "Gaz-Air-Eze"
Came to say this.
I winced everytime he said it wrong.
So the Whiskey a Go Go is in the Rock and Roll HOF but Chaka Kahn and Carol Kaye aren't? The HOF is such a joke man
They're not rock and roll. The R&R fans are tired of the RRoH being stolen by other genres. Start your own like an adult.
@@hoobeydoobey1267First of all the whole reason the HOF is pointless, even for so called 'purists' like yourself, is because music and rock n roll are entirely subjective. Second, Carol Kaye played on Pet Sounds by the Beach Boys, considered one of the greatest ROCK albums of all time. Not to mention the literal thousands of other tracks she's played on. I'll give you that Chaka Kahn is more on the R&B, Soul, Funk end of things, but again subjectivity, I say she's rock you say she isn't. Carol Kaye and Chaka Kahn both played and made significant cultural contributions to the genre. Theyre not Thin Lizzy or Blue Oyster Cult, both of which are groups even a purist would say is ROCK that are NOT in the HOF further proving its futility, but they are still ROCK AND ROLL BABY! 🤘🏻 : )
Ironically, I saw Chaka Khan with Rufus at the Whiskey in 1973 or 1974, they opened for Iggy and the Stooges! Quite a double bill.
yeah start your own man groovy bayyybbbeee
In the early 80’s and all in one day, divorce was finalized, dropped out of college my senior year and joined the Navy. This was on a Wednesday and by late Friday night I was in basic training in San Diego. As a sonartech, I had a $hitload of schooling ahead of me as I was “pipelined”, meaning after basic it was: sub school in Connecticut, back to San Diego for sonar “A” school, BEEP (electronics school) and finally sonar “C” school. My point of all of this is: after Bootcamp and if I didn’t have duty, myself and some other like minded squids would hit the strip in LA every weekend. I had my 1971 Plymouth Roadrunner w/440 magnum six-pack and that was our “mirthmobile” albeit much, much cooler and faster w/a 100% chance modifier of picking up hot chicks. We saw many, many bands during time and it was the time of my life. I was 22, 6’5”tall and a solid 210lbs., single and loved Metal. Not so much like Bon Jovi or that but, it was panty dropping music. Only thing that sucked was…at the beginning we all still had our recruit trademarks and had to get rid of them ASAP. Whelp, to all the headbangers and rivetheads…rock on and keep kicking ass. 🫡🤘🤘🤘
Always wanted to be a go~go dancer when young, alas born 10yrs too late. Would have loved to see bands here especially Led Zep, have never been unfortunately, bucket list.
@grunge hope do a video on cbgb
Whisky a go go had a more serious history in Brisbane Australia with a protection racket. The night club was burned down in 1973 killing 15 patrons.
the bassist/singer at 8:39.. why are his arms so long??
pretty freakish!
😱🤣
Cool 😎
8:40 dUg Pinnick playing at Lemmys 70th birthday party Dec 13 2015
\m/
It’s right down the street From the Whiskey Au Go Go, around the corner from the Grand Old Opera.
my sister was a dancer at the whisky--she told me she would get $1000.00 per night to go home with some dude,mostly celebs
I lived in Venice from 1977 to 1981, we used to ride our motorcycles to the shows and park behind the club. Saw Johnny Winter play there one night back when they still had tables and chairs there, before the punkers started hanging out and ruined the place.
5:54 Youts? What's a yout?
In the early 1980s I had a coworker whose mother had been a go-go dancer there in the '60s. Because she looked so extreme in the daytime with her big sprayed hair and white nail polish and white lipstick, other kids called her "the witch".
Mostly I saw John Mayall at the whiskey, Peter green, mick taylor. Missed the debut of Cream, I was probably doin a drug deal. I did a landscape job for Elmer Valentine up in laurel canyon hills in the '80s.
And yet, several military establishments were named after some of these incompetent generals.
08:22 | Why are you showing Sammy Hagar instead o David Lee Roth? TD
what is this dude talking about? it didn't close in the 80s. my band played there and i attended many shows during the period bro claims it was closed. check your work grunge because you people are allll wrong on that particular assertion.
Take your meds
Can you provide a soundtrack list to the background music?
The pushing daiseys flower power now.
All of the shows.....The Doors would be my first🤘🤘🤘🪶🍄🍄⚡
went there once back around 98-99 and saw a young eminem performing what a night
Saw the doors there. Amazing show...and the girls were gorgeous and sooo feminine in that era. It was always a great time back then no matter where you went, without any caustic woke freaks running around spreading hatred. So glad to have experienced the 60s & 70s best music / sexual freedom / people who genuinely cared about one another
WOW!!! You are so fortunate to have experienced that!!😯👏👏
What exactly is a “caustic woke freak”?
@@treehugger47 If you ask 100 maga trumpers what 'Woke' means.....you'll get 100 different definitions.
Most of the definitions will be incoherent, but all will be virtually filled with hatred for the majority of americans who don't see trump as a political messiah.
Instead, we see him as a successful conman who told various disenfranchised groups the lies they wanted to hear.
He connected with enough angry americans to actually get elected to the presidency. After losing his bid for a second term, he orchestrated a violent attack on our government in an attempt to remain in power.
I have found that it's a waste of time to ask for a definition of 'woke' because they don't have one.
It's merely a catch-phrase for anyone who won't join their cult of personality.
Exactly why it is used here is as incomprehensible as any use of 'woke' I've ever seen.
The comment begins and ends with nostalgia for the hippie era with 'caustic woke freaks running around spreading hatred' incongruently inserted in the middle.
Go figure. 🤷♂
@@tjmul3381Definitely on point here
People are always going to find something to criticise about women huh.
I was fortunate to play there late 80's with Blind Joe Hill and the Outta Sighters opening for the red hot chili peckers
WISH YOU WOULD DO CBGB"S
Moved to LA in 83, back then there were large scenes going on in and around Hollywood.
The Punks had the Cathay De Grand and other small clubs in Hollywood where on any weekend night you could catch up and coming bands and an enthusiastic audience.
But all that paled in comparison to the West Hollywood scene where it seemed you could catch a well rehearsed Metal band put on an arena styled and amplified show in a small club. You could be way back in the club on the balcony in Gazzari's and still only be no more than 50 feet from the stage, it was like being in the front row of an arena show.
Sure both the Punk and Metal bands were cliched hacks, but this was LA and it attracted wanna-bes from around the country. Hell the Metal bands who all looked and sounded the same even had to Pay-To-Play and the Punk bands spent a fortune trying to look like working poor from the UK. So while nothing groundbreaking or new came out of it, it was hella fun to be there none the less.
Oh my goodness the part about the punk bands that you said , hilarious and true from what I saw in a very diluted version of "punk" bands of my childhood VH1 and MTV watching at the very end of both their actual music video playing days, then when I was 18 ish / just turned 19 yrs old I had a boss who pointed out the band GreenDay being so stupid for calling themselves a punk band from the start of their music careers up to present day , (that was more than a decade ago keep in mind) but he would be watching something music related and GreenDay would be mentioned, several times during my barley 5 months of working there, the accent Billy whatever last name he has, the lead singer, would sound always only signing not ever when talking he had a British accent, I had noticed it too since I first saw a video of them and always thought it sounded forced, but my boss listed all the things and estimated amount of money it cost at least from hair, eyeliner, to clothes and accessories that especially the lead guy had on always that was like a punk band from the UK at dawn of punk music costume packaged and mass produced and sold at Walmart for Halloween, then he'd mention with utter disgust " they're from f-ing Berkeley" and i lost it laughing the first time he said this cuz I'm from the Bay area so I knew the area he was talking about completely, where a huge well known and respected University of CA is located, top school, suburbs and expensive as heck, I'd been thru Berkeley and that was all my type of ppl could afford to do there, pass thru it! 😂 I know the guy says as of then at 19 I guess he started saying he doesn't know what ppl are talking about, no fake British accent, just how he sings and his own accent, just laughable totally. He still says that I guess, though I studied linguistics at a small college level, it's still enough to know he is not being honest at least with himself if he actually believes what he's saying and it's not just cuz ppl started calling them on it. Anyways I love honest observations and you still focused on it being a good time, which is the best thing, I like your comment allot, just laughed so dang hard I was spitting everywhere when I read that line of your comment I had to tell you! Have a great night or day, stay positive! 😂
Club 88 in WLA was another where up and coming bands punk bands played along with regional and national touring acts.
My claim to 15 minutes of fame, I played with Hugh Masakela 🙂
Can anybody explain why a channel called grunge always has the most annoying vapid synth dance music playing in the background?
What about whisky ago a go in Sunnyvale ?
Geezus, the narrator can't pronounce Gazarri's properly. Gets Manzarek's name wrong also.
Damn great bands that played at the Whisky A Go Go, but I
would have traded them all just to have seen the Beatles on that
rooftop.
Wait. I was going to ask - isn't the building now a car dealership?
5:57 is that her bush?
How does a mobster go and convince other mobsters to lay off someone? I mean, I just don't get it Like the right guy says the right thing and mobsters go, "Oh, okay. We'll leave him alone then. No problem."
I'm confuddled.
I played there back in the 80s just as they started the whole pay to play nonsense. Crazy times
ever been to a night club during the day? 🤣
they're all gross and depressing in the clear light of the day.
Kim Fowley sighting at 2:22. Hide your teenagers.
Was there twice visiting SoCal. Most recently this past June; Saturday Night, 2 acts, one a Black Sabbath tribute. 10 million people in LA county? There was maybe 50 peeps in the place, pathetic…
" cheers girls "
Gazzarri's is pronounced GA ZAR RIS, NOT AIR!
Heard their alcohol politics was a bit too liberal...
I was there once and I saw a baby with a Jack Daniel's nappflask
It's an all ages venue if that's what you mean. Gotta prove ID to consume alcohol however.
What is whiskey a go go?
Did you watch the video?
@@lauraarcher1730 I watched about 10 second of it but since I have no idea what a whiskey go go is and nobody explained it, I moved on to more important topics.
@@archmage7813then don’t ask if you won’t bother watching
@@marieknight9385 I only bother watching if I can figure out what it is. Apparently from your attitude they are no one important and should be ignored.
@@archmage7813 yet you took the time to leave this comment, respond to others and still think your excuse is valid, you could’ve just watched it or scrolled past in the time it took for you to do all this, you could’ve looked it up yourself too
bulls*it he did not "invent" gogo dancing as you imply
he actually saw it in the original whisky a gogo in france
they had a dj played records and had paid gogo dancers
the only thing he did was make his dancers dance in cages above the crowd
Cream and Hendrix.
surprised you didn't mention the oasis 1994 gig (the band was on meth)
wau,never knew it shut down 2X !!!!went there in the later 80's short;ly after coming to us from europa, and man was it a DUMP !!!! i was shocked. nothing glamorous.just run down aNd dirty !!!! like the entire STRIP !!!!!
it's still pretty dirty.
And Mojo was 86 from there,,,,,
Mafiosos running clubs=ok. Hippie kids getting too unruly=not ok. Hmm.
Any oingo boingo fans here
Thank you for giving Johnny Rivers his do... with the MAAFIA fighting for him. On the Whiskey's sign , JR is on the Top. JR, people do not know hat 4-5 genres HE WAS EXCELLENT , but he could do black blues like no other. PERHAPS there will be no Whisky- without JR/ as it gets into the Hall of Shame while JR is left on the Curb. NO ONE was as independent as JR.. I am taking bets that he is one of the wealthiest rockers as he started ":Soul Records" Signed McCoo and the %th JUST before they KILLED it, and also had the gift of grabbing one of our finest songwriters , JUST befiore his songs went Gold. JIMMY WEBB! In 1969 JR's "Hippie LP REALIZATION got to number 5, which was his zenith , Not a bad song...