Editing Whisky a Go Go (section)

==History==
In 1958,<ref>{{cite web|title=January 11, 1964: Whisky a Go Go Opens in L.A.|url=http://bestclassicbands.com/january-11-1964-whisky-a-go-go-opens-in-l-a-1-11-16/|website=bestclassicbands.com|date=July 29, 2015|access-date=April 10, 2017}}</ref> the first Whisky a Go Go in the United States opened in [[Chicago]], [[Illinois]], on the corner of [[Rush Street (Chicago)|Rush]] and Chestnut streets.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://webapp1.dlib.indiana.edu/cushman/results/detail.do?query=chicago&page=63&pagesize=20&display=thumbcap&action=search&pnum=P15365|title=Charles W. Cushman Photograph Collection >> Results >> Details|publisher=Indiana University Archives|date=May 1966|access-date=July 13, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://webapp1.dlib.indiana.edu/cushman/results/detail.do?query=roll%3A6-66&page=1&pagesize=20&display=thumbcap&action=roll&pnum=P15364|title=Charles W. Cushman Photograph Collection >> Results >> Details|publisher=Indiana University Archives|date=May 1966|access-date=July 13, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/zeusofhollywood/3374339235/in/set-72157615748797666/|title=1967 Discotheque Club Chicago with Marquee of Rovin Kind & G &#124; Flickr – Condivisione di foto!|publisher=Flickr|date=March 22, 2009|access-date=July 13, 2013}}</ref> It has been called the first real American [[discothèque]]. A franchise was opened in 1966 on M Street in the [[Georgetown (Washington, D.C.)|Georgetown]] section of Washington, D.C., by restaurateur Jacques Vivien.

{{anchor|original}}It owes its name to the first discothèque, the Whisky à Gogo, ([[wikt:à gogo|à gogo]], meaning, in French, "in abundance", "galore"), established in Paris in 1947 by Paul Pacini (d. 2017),<ref>{{cite book|first1=Bill|last1=Brewster|first2=Frank|last2=Broughton|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Np3dpRhTsxQC&q=%22paul+pacine%22&pg=PA50|title=Last Night a Dj Saved My Life: The History of the Disc Jockey|pages=50|publisher=Grove Press|year=1999|isbn=9781555846114}}</ref> which itself took the name from the movie ''[[Whisky Galore! (1949 film)|Whisky Galore!]]'' based on the British novel ''[[Whisky Galore (novel)|Whisky Galore]]'' which was released in France as ''Whisky a Gogo''.

The Sunset Strip Whisky was founded by [[Elmer Valentine]], Phil Tanzini, Shelly Davis, and attorney Theodore Flier and opened on January 16, 1964.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.whiskyagogo.com/articles/750323.html|title=Whisky Articles|publisher=Whisky a Go Go|date=January 16, 1964|access-date=July 13, 2013}}</ref><ref name="LATimesObit">{{cite web|last=McLellan|first=Dennis|title=Elmer Valentine, co-founder of Whisky a Go Go, dies at 85|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|pages=B11|date=December 7, 2008|url=http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-valentine7-2008dec07,0,3236736.story}}</ref> In 1966, Valentine, [[Lou Adler]], and others founded [[Roxy Theatre (West Hollywood)|The Roxy Theatre]].<ref name="LATimesObit"/> In 1972, Valentine, Adler, Mario Maglieri and others started the [[Rainbow Bar and Grill|Rainbow Bar & Grill]] on the Sunset Strip.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Sandomir|first1=Richard|title=Mario Maglieri, Who Coddled Rockers at His Clubs, Dies at 93|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/09/arts/music/mario-maglieri-dead-ran-whisky-a-go-go.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170524144342/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/09/arts/music/mario-maglieri-dead-ran-whisky-a-go-go.html|archive-date=May 24, 2017|url-access=subscription|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=May 9, 2017|page=B14}}{{cbignore}}</ref> 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.<ref name="LATimesObit"/>

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 [[Disc jockey|DJ]] Rhonda Lane, spinning records between sets from a suspended cage at the right of the stage. Shortly after opening, the club began booking live rock groups upon suggestion from their publicist, Ronnie Haran. Haran eventually hired [[The Doors]] as the Whisky [[house band]],<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-07-02 |title=50 Years Gone: Behind the Morrison Myths |url=https://rokritr.com/2021/07/03/50-years-gone-behind-the-morrison-myths/ |access-date=2024-05-24 |website=rokritr.com |language=en-US}}</ref> where they performed seven nights a week. In September 1969, the group [[Gypsy (band)|Gypsy]] took over as the house band at the club  until April 1971.

[[File:Whisky a Go Go Matchbox.jpg|thumb|left|Early Whisky matchbox. Note the alphanumeric 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 (magazine)|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.<ref name="LATimesObit"/><ref name="VanityFairKamp">{{cite web|first=David|last=Kamp|title=Live At The Whisky|newspaper=Vanity Fair|date=September 4, 2006|url=http://davidkamp.com/2006/09/live_at_the_whisky.php|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061109043249/https://davidkamp.com/2006/09/live_at_the_whisky.php|archive-date=9 November 2006}}</ref> 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 [[Go-go boot|white boots]].<ref name="VanityFairKamp"/>

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 (song)|Going to a Go-Go]]" in 1966 (which was covered in 1982 by [[The Rolling Stones]]), and Whisky a Go Go [[Franchising|franchise]]s sprang up all over the country.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/elmer-valentine-promoter-behind-los-angeles-whisky-a-go-go-and-roxy-clubs-1653334.html|title=Elmer Valentine: Promoter behind Los Angeles' Whisky a Go Go and Roxy clubs|newspaper=The Independent|first=Pierre|last=Perrone|date=March 25, 2009}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.axs.com/take-a-stroll-through-music-history-at-hollywood-s-whisky-a-go-go-12098|title=Take a stroll through music history at Hollywood's Whisky a Go Go|publisher=AXS|date=June 12, 2014}}</ref>
[[File:Jim Morrison, Eric Burdon & Blues Image - Whisky a Go Go (1969).png|thumb|[[Jim Morrison]] and [[Eric Burdon]] performing onstage with [[Blues Image]] in May 1969]]

The Whisky played an important role in many musical careers, especially for bands based in [[Southern California]]. [[The Byrds]], [[Buffalo Springfield]], [[Smokestack Lightnin' (band)|Smokestack Lightnin']], and [[Love (band)|Love]] were regulars, and [[the Doors]] were the house band for a while. [[Van Morrison]]'s band [[Them (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 (Them song)|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 (song)|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 [[record producer|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. On February 15, 1977, the [[Ramones]] played for the first time on this stage.

[[File:Whisky a Go-Go - 2007-05-03.jpg|thumb|right|The Whisky a Go Go in 2007]]
[[Arthur Lee (musician)|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 (band)|Status Quo]] also referenced the venue in their 1978 song "[[If You Can't Stand the Heat...|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." [[Loggins and Messina]] sang about the club in their tune "Whiskey", found on their 1972 album ''[[Loggins and Messina (album)|Loggins and Messina]]''.

In 1966, the Whisky was one of the centers of what fans call the [[Sunset Strip curfew riots|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|grunge movement]], including [[Soundgarden]], [[Mudhoney]], [[Melvins]], [[Fitz of Depression]] and [[7 Year Bitch]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://thesunsetstrip.tripod.com/id21.html|title=Whisky A Go-Go|publisher=Tripod - The Sunset Strip|access-date=April 3, 2015}}</ref> Tracks recorded from a February 12, 1992 concert of [[Hole (band)|Hole]] appear on their [[extended play|EP]], ''[[Ask for It]]'' (1995). In 1994, [[Oasis (band)|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".

===Today===
[[File:Whiskey a gogo stage 2022.jpg|thumb|left|[[Apollo 03 (band)|Apollo 03]] performing on the current stage in 2022]]

On September 12, 2016, 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 60-year history.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.dailynews.com/business/20160912/whisky-a-go-gos-new-streaming-channel-allows-you-to-watch-iconic-live-music-performances|title=Whisky a Go Go's new streaming channel allows you to watch iconic live music performances|newspaper=Los Angeles Daily News|first=Kevin|last=Smith|date=September 12, 2016}}</ref>

On May 9, 2025, a dump truck crashed into Whiskey a Go Go, as well as several vehicles and an electrical pole. The incident forced the cancellation of the night's scheduled concert, which was to feature bands including [[Boy Hits Car]], Barefoot in the Bathroom, and Gearheart.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Peters |first=Mitchell |date=2025-05-10 |title=Dump Truck Crashes Into Iconic Whisky a Go Go Music Venue on Sunset Strip |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/whisky-a-go-go-dump-truck-crash-sunset-strip-1235968543/ |access-date=2025-05-11 |website=Billboard |language=en-US}}</ref>