Infused with the neon energy of the Sunset Strip, the Whisky a Go Go stands as Los Angeles's (L.A.) richest repository of rock 'n' roll history. With the affluence of Beverly Hills and Malibu to its west, the fantasy of Hollywood to its east, West Hollywood's gay and lesbian influence directly south, and "the hills," home to the world's rich and famous, above it, the Whisky finds itself at the heart of a city in which anything can happen—and often does. As its decades at the corner of Clark Drive and the famed Sunset Boulevard have proven, the Whisky's roster of rock performers chronicles the evolution of L.A.'s highly influential music industry and its impact on popularculture at large.

Older than neighboring rock 'n' roll haunts such as the Roxy and the Rainbow, the Whisky emerged onto L...