Whiskey A Go Go

Whisky a Go Go

"The Whisky"
The Whisky a Go Go on the Sunset Strip
Address	8901 Sunset Blvd
Location	West Hollywood, California 90069
Coordinates	34°5′26″N 118°23′8″W / 34.09056°N 118.38556°W / 34.09056; -118.38556Coordinates: 34°5′26″N 118°23′8″W / 34.09056°N 118.38556°W / 34.09056; -118.38556
Type	Nightclub
Genre(s)	Rock and roll, pop, alternative rock, punk rock, ska, new wave, heavy metal, glam rock, glam metal, alternative metal
Capacity	500
Opened	January 16, 1964
Website
whiskyagogo.com

Whisky a Go Go is a nightclub in West Hollywood, California. It is at 8901 Sunset Boulevard on the Sunset Strip. The club has been the launching pad for bands including The Doors, System of a Down, The Byrds, Buffalo Springfield, Steppenwolf, Van Halen, Johnny Rivers, Guns N' Roses, Linkin Park and Mötley Crüe. In 2006, the venue was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

In 1958, the first Whisky a Go-Go in North America opened in Chicago, Illinois, on the corner of Rush and Chestnut streets. It has been called the first real American discothèque. A franchise was opened in 1966 on M Street in the Georgetown section of Washington, D.C., by restaurateur Jacques Vivien.

It owes its name to the first discothèque, the Whisky à Go-Go, established in Paris in 1947 by Paul Pacine.

The Sunset Strip Whisky was founded by Elmer Valentine, Phil Tanzini, Shelly Davis, and attorney Theodore Flier and opened on January 16, 1964. In 1972, Valentine, Lou Adler, Mario Maglieri and others started the Rainbow Bar & Grill on the Sunset Strip. In 1966, Valentine, Adler and others founded The Roxy Theatre. 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.