Whisky Founder Valentine Dies

Elmer Valentine, an influential figure in Los Angeles live music and, by extension, pop culture, died Dec. 3 after suffering years of various ailments.

Valentine, 85, co-founded the Whisky A Go Go, The Roxy and the Rainbow Bar & Grill with partner Lou Adler and others.

He sold his interest in the Whisky in the ’90s but maintained partial ownership of the Roxy and Rainbow until his death, Adler told the Los Angeles Times.

Valentine launched the Whisky in 1964 after visiting a discotheque in Paris. Impressed by its youthful atmosphere, he borrowed the disco’s name for his own club.

The Whisky’s mini-skirted go-go dancers weren’t by design, however, and occurred naturally in the L.A. scene.

The same goes for the launch of The Doors, The Mothers of Invention and so many other bands that got their starts at the Whisky.

In fact, some claim the hippie movement began there when the multiracial Love was put into the band rotation.

The Whisky, Roxy, House of Blues, Key Club, Viper Room and Cat Club dimmed their lights in Valentine’s honor Dec. 5.