Riot On Sunset Strip: Rock’n’Roll’s Last Stand In Hollywood
by Domenic Priore

The original tinsel town rebellion

This encyclopaedic tome charts the rise of Sunset Strip as the focus for the emerging pop culture in Los Angeles during its short-lived March 1965 to November 1966 heyday. At once chronicling the history of the individual clubs that made up the Strip, including landmarks the Whisky A Go Go and The Troubador (career lunching pads of The Doors, Love and Buffalo Springfield, among countless more), the book also details local politician Ernest E Dibs’ machinations to close down the Strip and turn the area into a slick financial centre. With the LA city authorities and diverse mix of hippies, freaks, surfers and beatniks locked on a collision course, the scene culminated in the riot of 12 November 1966, when a demonstration outside Pandora’s Box was broken up by the LAPD in full riot gear. LA subsequently lost its hold as a major centre of the counter-culture, while San Francisco’s standing grew following 1967’s Monterey Pop Festival. This fantastically detailed study also includes a directory of all known Sunset Strip clubs active during the heady days of 1965-66.

4 stars 4 stars 4 stars 4 stars

ISBN 97819060026

Reviewed by Grahame Bent
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