eternal light Posted April 12, 2008 Share Posted April 12, 2008 The Whisky-A-Go-Go, 8901 Sunset Blvd at Clark, West Hollywood, Los Angeles, CA All this great stuff has been researched and prepared by Corry Arnold with formidable contributions by Jerry Fuentes and Mark Skobac (and further assistance from John Einarson, David Biasotti and Ross Hannan) The Whisky A Go-Go became the principal hangout of musicians and hipsters in Hollywood in the 1960s. Johnny Rivers was the first sensation to come out of the club, soon after it opened (on January 11, 1964), and that is when the club initially started the whole ‘trend’ of having a mini-skirted girl dancing above the crowd in a cage. Somehow, the Whisky became the cool place for bands to play. The History of The Whisky-A-Go-Go Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadScreamingGallery Posted April 13, 2008 Share Posted April 13, 2008 Thanks for sharing that information about the Whisky a Go Go. I started going there in the early '70s so I missed all of the great things that happened there in the '60s. I do remember seeing Aerosmith and Iggy Pop perform there as well as rockers who used to hang out there. There were several great clubs in that part of Hollywood and they were very interesting places that attracted some fascinating people. Did you go to Whisky in the '60's? That sounds like it was the golden age of the Whisky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eternal light Posted April 13, 2008 Author Share Posted April 13, 2008 Thanks for sharing that information about the Whisky a Go Go. I started going there in the early '70s so I missed all of the great things that happened there in the '60s. I do remember seeing Aerosmith and Iggy Pop perform there as well as rockers who used to hang out there. There were several great clubs in that part of Hollywood and they were very interesting places that attracted some fascinating people. Did you go to Whisky in the '60's? That sounds like it was the golden age of the Whisky. Dad wouldn't let me go then, but my older girlfriends went and one saw the Doors. Another one went to see Jeff Beck in Los Angeles; not sure if he was at the Whisky or another location. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadScreamingGallery Posted April 14, 2008 Share Posted April 14, 2008 Dad wouldn't let me go then, but my older girlfriends went and one saw the Doors. Another one went to see Jeff Beck in Los Angeles; not sure if he was at the Whisky or another location. Your older girlfriends were so fortunate to have seen the Doors back then! I am sorry that Jim passed away before my concert-going days started. I can't blame your dad for not letting you go. The Whiskey, Roxy, and Rainbow were a lure for young girls in the 60's and 70's and it was easy to get into trouble. My husband and I went to the Whiskey a few times during the early 80's to see X and Black Flag and other punk rock bands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Masson Posted April 14, 2008 Share Posted April 14, 2008 Hope I'm not disturbing your conversation here. Here are some photos of LZ at the Whiskey, January 2, 1969. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadScreamingGallery Posted April 14, 2008 Share Posted April 14, 2008 Hope I'm not disturbing your conversation here. Here are some photos of LZ at the Whiskey, January 2, 1969. [...] Not at all. There are not many of us around who remember the Whiskey, it seems. Thank you for those beautiful photos, Otto! I saw more than my fair share of Zep in the '70s yet I still would have loved to have been there to see the band in '69. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Masson Posted April 14, 2008 Share Posted April 14, 2008 I'm pretty sure the music in that video actually is from the Whiskey, but the photo in it is from elsewhere. It's also from a very early gig obviously though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audacity Posted April 14, 2008 Share Posted April 14, 2008 This photo is also supposed to be from the Whisky. Maybe it's another night of their stint. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IGG Posted April 14, 2008 Share Posted April 14, 2008 Not at all. There are not many of us around who remember the Whiskey, it seems. Thank you for those beautiful photos, Otto! I saw more than my fair share of Zep in the '70s yet I still would have loved to have been there to see the band in '69. Remember it? It's still there! I haven't played there since 1997, but that show was with Sevendust and Anthrax, and was officially off the hook! I felt honored to play in a piece of rock history. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audacity Posted April 14, 2008 Share Posted April 14, 2008 Way back and the Go Go girls Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadScreamingGallery Posted April 14, 2008 Share Posted April 14, 2008 Remember it? It's still there! I haven't played there since 1997, but that show was with Sevendust and Anthrax, and was officially off the hook! I felt honored to play in a piece of rock history. I didn't realize it was still there! To be honest, my days of prowling the clubs were in another lifetime so when my husband and I go back to LA, we no longer go to Hollywood or visit our old haunts. That is very cool that your band played there! Way back and the Go Go girls Thanks for the pics! You wouldn't know this but, as a little girl, I aspired to go to Hollywood to dance at the Whiskey or on Hullabaloo or Shindig. As I matured, though, I set my bar a bit higher. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eternal light Posted April 14, 2008 Author Share Posted April 14, 2008 Your older girlfriends were so fortunate to have seen the Doors back then! I am sorry that Jim passed away before my concert-going days started. I can't blame your dad for not letting you go. The Whiskey, Roxy, and Rainbow were a lure for young girls in the 60's and 70's and it was easy to get into trouble. My husband and I went to the Whiskey a few times during the early 80's to see X and Black Flag and other punk rock bands. Dad's words spoken when telling us why he wouldn't take us to the Whisky, "I know what happens there." Have any of the bands or their members you saw at the Whisky in the 80's continued? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Masson Posted April 14, 2008 Share Posted April 14, 2008 This photo is also supposed to be from the Whisky. Maybe it's another night of their stint. Ah well, that's right. They actually played four consecutive gigs there, I had forgotten that. This is what happens when one posts and is too lazy checking and making sure about the facts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eternal light Posted April 14, 2008 Author Share Posted April 14, 2008 Thanks for the pics! You wouldn't know this but, as a little girl, I aspired to go to Hollywood to dance at the Whiskey or on Hullabaloo or Shindig. As I matured, though, I set my bar a bit higher. "The adult clubs began to die and began catering to rock 'n' roll and the new youthful audience," Gibson remembers. One of the most famous was Elmer Valentine and Mario Maglieri's Whisky-A-Go-Go, where the concept of go-go girls was born when, during a Johnny Rivers show, the mini-skirted lass who spun records in a cage high above the floor began dancing and audiences thought she was part of the show. www.whiskyagogo.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadScreamingGallery Posted April 15, 2008 Share Posted April 15, 2008 Dad's words spoken when telling us why he wouldn't take us to the Whisky, "I know what happens there." Have any of the bands or their members you saw at the Whisky in the 80's continued? You are fortunate that your dad cared about you. Many of the young girls who found trouble on the scene didn't have parents who cared as your dad did. The members of X are still involved in making music: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4974006 and http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4951558 I don't know what happened to the other bands. "The adult clubs began to die and began catering to rock 'n' roll and the new youthful audience," Gibson remembers. One of the most famous was Elmer Valentine and Mario Maglieri's Whisky-A-Go-Go, where the concept of go-go girls was born when, during a Johnny Rivers show, the mini-skirted lass who spun records in a cage high above the floor began dancing and audiences thought she was part of the show. www.whiskyagogo.com Thanks for the link - and it's playing the song that turned me onto Zep. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eternal light Posted April 15, 2008 Author Share Posted April 15, 2008 You are fortunate that your dad cared about you. Many of the young girls who found trouble on the scene didn't have parents who cared as your dad did. You're right, and Los Angeles being what it has always been, that's often more than young people are ready to handle. Los Angeles can be a challenge to anyone at any age. In addition to being glamorous, the Strip always had a reputation for being wild. It was that way long before rock 'n' roll. Fred Otash, now the manager of the Palladium in Hollywood, was a Los Angeles vice-squad officer in the '40s and early '50s. "Every door on the Strip must have been kicked down 100 times a month," he says. www.whiskyagogo.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Masson Posted April 22, 2008 Share Posted April 22, 2008 I have checked, and the song in that Youtube video isn't recorded at the Whiskey. It's from San Francisco on January 10, 1969 - so, right after the Whiskey gigs. And that seems to be the only known time Led Zeppelin ever performed this old Yardbirds song. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swede Posted April 23, 2008 Share Posted April 23, 2008 Never been to the Whiskey, or LA for that matter, but sure would like to go there sometime. There's quite a lot of live albums that have been recorded at the Whiskey A Go Go, Johnny Rivers has several live albums from that place. Ever since I was a kid and listened to my dads J. Rivers album I've wanted to go there. Playing there must have been a blast, myself I wouldn't be able to consentrate on the guitar having those go go girls up in the cages.. LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Z(oso) Posted April 23, 2008 Share Posted April 23, 2008 Thanks for posting that history of the Whisky, that was really cool to read. I can't be positive about that 'For Your Love' clip, but it did appear on a recent boot release of Zep at the Whisky, so it wasn't just played at the Fillmore show. Led Zepagain plays the Whisky fairly regularly, and we always get a big charge playing there, being one of the actual venues where Zep played! There have been a bunch of clips of us there on YouTube: Led Zepagain at the Whisky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Rover Posted April 29, 2008 Share Posted April 29, 2008 Back . . . In the Day When you were young...... And your Heart was an open book . . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audacity Posted April 30, 2008 Share Posted April 30, 2008 Cool how within the last year and a half both very early Led Zeppelin and Cream Whisky shows bootlegs surfaced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tikiandbabu Posted April 30, 2008 Share Posted April 30, 2008 Wow, great thread!! Lots of memories here. I didn't get to see Led Zeppelin at the Whiskey, but did see T-Rex and Van Halen. My sister was at the Rainbow Room around that time and I remember her seeing Robert Plant (I was just still a bit too young - darn it) Does anyone remember the Corral on Topanga? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadScreamingGallery Posted May 1, 2008 Share Posted May 1, 2008 Back . . . In the Day When you were young...... And your Heart was an open book . . . Cool how within the last year and a half both very early Led Zeppelin and Cream Whisky shows bootlegs surfaced. Beautiful posters! btw, my Heart is no longer an open book but I still say live and let live. Wow, great thread!! Lots of memories here. I didn't get to see Led Zeppelin at the Whiskey, but did see T-Rex and Van Halen. My sister was at the Rainbow Room around that time and I remember her seeing Robert Plant (I was just still a bit too young - darn it) Does anyone remember the Corral on Topanga? YES! I loved the whole vibe of Topanga - and especially the Corral. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audacity Posted May 1, 2008 Share Posted May 1, 2008 Canyon runners! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadScreamingGallery Posted May 1, 2008 Share Posted May 1, 2008 Canyon runners! You too? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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