Who was the first rock band to play the Whisky A Go Go?
Every religion needs its churches, and the realm of rock and roll is no different; a sprawling mass of music venues, big and small, loom out of the world map, each with its own unique importance.
Few, however, can rival the extensive history or all-encompassing importance of Los Angeles’ hippie hangout turned rock and roll haven, Whisky A Go Go.
Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, the Ramones, The Doors: just some of the utterly iconic names that have passed through the doors of the Sunset Boulevard venue since its grand opening back in 1964, just as the age of hippie counterculture was beginning to dawn. Although the first Whisky A Go Go had opened the previous decade in Chicago, with another springing up in Washington, DC, a couple of years after LA, it is the Sunset venue which remains an essential pilgrimage for any and every rock and roll band worth their salt.
Unlike many legendary hippie-era venues, that LA cornerstone, which took its namesake from a 1940s-era French nightclub, still stands proud on Sunset Boulevard to this very day. After all, its reputation and rich history give it a reputation as being to the American rock scene what ravens are to the Tower of London. In other words, if Whisky A Go Go disappears into the ether, the very fabric of American rock will, in turn, crumble.
You cannot create that kind of reputation without having hosted some truly legendary performances, and the Whisky has done so in spades. Whether it was their hippie golden days during the late 1960s, when the venue would be packed with long-haired, bare-footed would-be revolutionaries, or the crystal meth daze of what is widely considered Oasis’ all-time worst performance, the venue has been one of the very few constants within the rock history of California.
That constant began on January 16th, 1964. With The Beatles rapidly ascending the US charts with ‘I Want To Hold Your Hand’, the Whisky opened its doors for the very first time. Despite being advertised as a discotheque and taking its name from the Parisian club which popularised the world of discotheques, live music was a core pillar of the club’s output from that very first day.
So, who was the first?
In celebration of its grand opening, the club recruited Johnny Rivers to perform the first show at the club, thus kicking off its extensive and enduring impact on rock and roll history. Straddling the line between the original wave of American rock and roll and the newfangled British invasion rock rapidly infecting the US charts, Rivers was the right man, in the right place, at the right time.
That groundbreaking performance on opening night, accompanied by a DJ, Rhonda Lane, who was – of course – suspended from the ceiling of the club in a cage, succeeded both in re-energising the output of Rivers and establishing the Whisky as a go-to place for rock obsessives in California.
Rivers went on to become the leader of the house band for the first year of the club’s operation, and even had a hit album with Johnny Rivers Live at the Whisky a Go Go, further cementing the club’s reputation.
Before too long, though, it became clear that the sands of rock were shifting, and new blood was needed within the Whisky A Go Go, so The Doors were brought in as the new house band – a decision which, in hindsight, surely even Johnny Rivers had to admit was the right move.
