Remember Jayne Mansfield? She once spent an evening with The Beatles at the Whisky a Go Go. This is no ordinary nightclub. The Whisky a Go Go stands as a legendary landmark. It sits at 8901 Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood California. Informally it is known as The Whisky. This club played a vital role in the Los Angeles music scene. It was important from the 1960s through the 1990s.
The Whisky a Go Go owes its name to a Parisian discothèque. The original Whisky à Gogo opened in Paris in 1947. The name means in French in abundance or galore. Elmer Valentine, Phil Tanzini, Shelly Davis, and Theodore Flier founded the Sunset Strip Whisky. It opened on January 16 1964.
The Whisky was not intended to be a dance club. But things changed quickly. The club initially booked Johnny Rivers as a live band. A DJ Rhonda Lane spun records between sets. She played from a suspended cage. Soon the club began booking live rock groups. The Doors became the Whisky house band. They performed seven nights a week.
The Whisky a Go Go helped popularize go-go dancing. Elmer Valentine arranged for a female DJ to play records. This was between Rivers’ sets. Patrons could continue dancing. There was not enough floor space for a DJ booth. So Valentine mounted a glass-walled booth high above the floor. Patty Brockhurst became the first DJ. She was the club’s cigarette girl. Valentine hired two more female dancers. Joanna Labean designed the official go-go girl costume. It featured a fringed dress and white boots.
Many musical careers were boosted here. The Byrds and Buffalo Springfield played here. The Doors were the house band for a while. Van Morrison’s band Them had a residency. Frank Zappa’s Mothers of Invention got their record contract here. Metallica recruited Cliff Burton here. The Ramones played here for the first time on February 15 1977.
Arthur Lee of Love immortalized the Whisky in song. British rockers Status Quo referenced the venue in their song Long Legged Linda. The Whisky was a center of the Sunset Strip police riots in 1966. The club hosted Seattle-based grunge musicians in the early 1990s.
Today the Whisky a Go Go continues to rock. In 2016 it launched an official TV channel. It offers live music videos and concerts. The Whisky a Go Go was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006. A gene was named after the establishment. When flies with mutations in the Ether-à-go-go gene are anaesthetized with ether their legs start to shake. It is like the dancing at the Whisky a Go Go nightclub. The Whisky’s legacy lives on. It is a testament to its enduring impact on music and culture.