’66 Sunset Strip
08.26.24
Take a trip to ’66 Sunset Strip as dublab steps into the wayback machine and revisits 1960s Hollywood nightclubs like The Trip, Hullabaloo, Whisky a Go Go and Pandora’s Box.
Tracklist:
Roberta Lynn w/ The Champagne Music of Lawrence Welk – Say it Ain’t So
The Nazz – Lay Down and Die, Goodbye
Dave Travis Extreme – Last Night the Flowers Bloomed
Little Johnny Hamilton & the Soul Pack (The Creators) – The Git Down (Part 1 & 2)
The Ikettes – Peaches and Cream
Sam Cooke – With You
Jackie DeShannon – Should I Cry
Nancy Sinatra – So Long Babe
T.V. & the Tribesmen – Trip City U.S.A.
The Baritones – After School Rock
Freddy Cannon – Action (Theme to Where the Action Is)
Paul Revere & the Raiders – I’m Not You’re Stepping Stone
The Hard Times – Fortune Teller
The Knickerbockers – One Track Mind
The Robbs – Bittersweet
Tommy Boyce – Let’s Go Where The Action Is (closing theme to the ABC-TV show)
*Alan Freed Broadcast, early ’50s (5 songs)*
Gil Bernal – The Whip
Roy Milton and his Solid Senders – Make Me Know It
Ernie Andrews – Make Me a Present of You
Nat “King” Cole Trio – Italian Swiss Colony Ad
Faye Adams – I’ll Be True
Red Rhodes – Palomino Rag
The Flying Burrito Brothers – Christine’s Tune
Brewer & Shipley – Time and Changes
Jennifer – Sunny Day Blue
Hedge & Donna – There Came a Question
The West Coast Branch – Linda’s Gone
The Seeds – Can’t Seem to Make You Mine
Kaleidoscope – You Don’t Love Me
Captain Beefheart & his Magic Band – Safe as Milk
John Simon – Painting for Freakout (from You Are What You Eat)
John Simon and The Electric Flag – Freakout (from You Are What You Eat)
Wes Montgomery – Tequila
The Ventures – When You Walk in the Room
Cover Photo: Ad for The Flying Jib on Pacific Coast Highway in Redondo Beach; regular local bands included The West Coast Branch and Smokestack Lightnin’, both made some cool records.
The Cheetah at Pacific Ocean Park, on the Lick Pier in Venice. This was Sky Saxon’s Birthday show featuring The Seeds and The West Coast Branch
same show, more of the marquee from The Cheetah (1967)
The Cheetah location has roots in music going back to 1895 on the first Ocean Park Pier, a small bandstand at the end, which was later put on the South Side of the pier so more people could attend shows. In 1911 the first large ballroom was built on the site, The Bon Ton. In the early 1940s it became The Aragon Ballroom; this Lawrence Welk 10-inch record is a live recording from the location.
Color shot of The Cheetah featuring local bands The Doors, The Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band, Smokestack Lightnin’ and just moved in to town from Arizona to become house band at The Cheetah in 1967, The Nazz. They would change their name to Alice Cooper the following year because another band from Philadelphia by that name broke with a hit called “Open My Eyes” (later to be heard on Nuggets)
The Nazz, around when they were the Cheetah house band
45 sleeve for The Dave Travis Extreme
45 by Little Johnny Hamilton & the Soul Pack: “Soul Pack” was a pseudonym for The Creators, who tried this name out in 1967, attempting to get a hit. The band would join forces with members of Senor Soul not long after this to record a few sides under that name, then, they got the backing gig behind Eric Burdon and became War, who had a bunch of hits using that name during the ’70s.
The Ikettes, who were also the backing vocalists for The Ike & Tina Turner Revue (based in Los Angeles for most of the ’60s)
45 sleeve for Tommy Boyce single, one of three themes for the after-school ABC television show Where The Action Is
Paul Revere & the Raiders, the most popular house band on Where The Action Is
The Hard Times, one of several cool house bands on Where The Action Is. They had a hit with “Fortune Teller” and the album cover is by W.T. Vinson, best known for KRLA’s 21 SOLID ROCKS and Thee Midniters’ Giants LP
The Knickerbockers, also a house band on Where The Action Is, after their 1965 house band gig at The Red Velvet on Sunset Boulevard.
The Robbs 45 sleeve (they also had an LP on Mercury Records). One of four house bands on Where The Action Is. Tina Mason, Keith Allison and Steve Alimo were regular singers on the show
The Action Kids, a fantastic Go Go dance team created for Where The Action Is. The guys, left to right, are Mike Williams, Roger Minami and Pete Menefee. Gals are Jeri, Roberta and Lesley, singer is Percy Sledge.
Steve Ciro, choreographer and dancer on Where The Action Is
Lesley Evans, choreographer and dancer on Where The Action Is
The Action Kids, on Where The Action Is
Lesley Evans, The Action Kids
Jeri Lyn, The Action Kids
Roberta Tennes, The Action Kids
Roberta Tennes on Hollywood a Go Go, 1965
Again, Roberta Tennes on Hollywood a Go Go, 1965
Gil Bernal, “The Whip” (Spark Records), Chicano sax player who can also be heard on The Robin’s “Riot on Cell Block #9,” The Coasters’ “Searchin'” and Duane Eddy’s “Rebel Rouser”
Roy Milton and his Solid Senders, their song “Make Me Know It” played on this episode, and their song “Hop, Skip and Jump” played on the September 2024 episode.
Ernie Andrews, who later did a PBS documentary on Central Avenue during the ’40s
Faye Adams, “I’ll Be True”
London LP by “Jennifer,” later known as singer/songwriter Jennifer Warnes. In 1968 Jennifer became part of the L.A. cast for Hair at The Aquarius Theater, and appeared on The Smothers Brothers television show.
Hedge & Donna on the cover of Jet magazine
The West Coast Branch on another ad for The Flying Jib in Redondo Beach
The Seeds
Kaleidoscope
Captain Beefheart & his Magic Band. Photo by Guy Webster
Poster for the underground movie You Are What You Eat, featuring a photo of Tiny Tim (who appears in the film)
Frank Zappa with The Mothers of Invention at The Shrine Auditorium in September of 1966, on a bill with The Count V, The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band, The Factory, Kenny Dino and Little Gary Ferguson. This still is from footage seen in You Are What You Eat, but, the music heard is by John Simon with The Electric Flag. Maybe some day the footage will be matched with a tape from the actual performance… it has happened before with the Zappa archive
One more groovy ad for The Flying Jib in Redondo Beach, featuring The West Coast Branch
