Music Appreciation

If restaurant tables had been delivered on time then Go-Go dancers, the Doors and a couple chapters worth of Rock n Roll history would not have happened.

For 3 months in 1983 I lived at Sunset & San Vicente right by the Whisky A Go Go. When they had Rockabilly bands during the week the neighborhood would fill up the most incredible 1950s Chevy's and other classic cars cruising. It was a time warp.
Weekends belonged to new hit bands like LA Guns, the Cure and the Plimsouls.

San Vicente is the eastern border of Beverly Hills and the top end of the notorious Sunset Strip -- an 8-block long section of Sunset Boulevard that was NOT under jurisdiction of the LAPD. The club and restaurant owners there made their own laws and had their own security.

Early in 1964 four powerful partners took over an old, nondescript bank with a plan to open a French restaurant. The group hired Tony Mafia to paint the interiors, and installed beautiful chandeliers and a really expensive sound system. But when opening day rolled around:

“None of the tables and chairs had even been delivered,” says Tanzini. "We could not open the doors to the public even though our grand opening was all over the trades."

“They paid all these kids to stand in line outside the Whisky A Go Go. Elmer and my dad locked the doors, turned the music really loud, and hired a bouncer out front to paint the impression they were packed to capacity.”

The fake out worked—and went on for a couple of days. Tanzini and the team knew they would eventually have to open, but without tables and chairs, they decided to hire local musicians to fill their empty space.

The kids loved it! Since there wasn’t any furniture, they started dancing, creating their own dance floor. “Back when the building was a bank, it had a security office that looked out over the floor. It was basically a ledge,” says Tanzini. “My father and Elmer installed bars so no one would fall off it. This was the beginning of what would eventually become a ‘go-go’ cage. Suspended cages were installed after that, and go-go dancing at the Whisky was born. They all danced the Mashed Potato, The Dog, the Monkey, The Jerk, and the Watusi.

Soon the venue was hosting groups including Arthur Lee and Love, the Byrds, the Doors, the Kinks, the Who, the Mamas and Papas, and Sonny and Cher. It also attracted stars like Sally Field, Steve McQueen, Richard Burton, and Jayne Mansfield because it was a local spot where celebrities could really let their hair down....