Roxy Theatre (West Hollywood)
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- For other people and places named Roxy see: Roxy and Roxy Theatre
| The Roxy | |
|---|---|
 The Roxy Theatre on the Sunset Strip |
|
| Coordinates | 34°05′27″N 118°23′17″W / 34.090765°N 118.388029°W |
| Type | nightclub |
| Genre(s) | rock |
| Opened | September 23, 1973 |
| Location | 9009 W Sunset Blvd, West Hollywood, California 90069 |
| Website | http://www.theroxyonsunset.com |
The Roxy Theatre (often just The Roxy) is a famous nightclub on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood, California.
It was opened on September 23, 1973 by Elmer Valentine and Lou Adler along with original partners David Geffen, Elliot Roberts and Peter Asher. They took over building previously occupied by a strip club owned by Chuck Landis called the Largo. (Adler was actually responsible for bringing the stage play The Rocky Horror Show to the United States, and it opened its first American run at The Roxy Theatre in 1974, before it was made into the movie The Rocky Horror Picture Show the next year.)
Neil Young and his band The Santa Monica Flyers played the Roxy for the first week it was open. Paul Reubens, then a struggling comedian, introduced his Pee-Wee Herman character in a raunchy revue here in 1981 that included other aspiring comics including Phil Hartman and Elayne Boosler.
Hundreds of famous acts such as Bob Marley, Bruce Springsteen, X, Warren Zevon, My Chemical Romance, Chickenfoot, Nirvana, Korn, 30 Seconds to Mars, Brian Wilson, Tori Amos, Elisa, Foo Fighters, Meat Loaf, Motley Crue, Guns N' Roses, Al Stewart, Van Morrison, Avril Lavigne, Papa Roach, Linkin Park, Jane's Addiction, David Bowie, Jay-Z, and the Pussycat Dolls have played this highly prestigious venue.
The small On The Rox bar above the club has hosted a wide variety of debauchery in its history; it was a regular hangout for John Lennon, Harry Nilsson, Alice Cooper and Keith Moon during Lennon's "lost weekend" in 1973-74, and in the 1980s hosted parties arranged by Heidi Fleiss.
According to LA.com, On The Rox "may be forever known as the club where John Belushi partied before fatally overdosing. That may sound like a sordid reason for the club's fame, but it only underscores the hard-partying reputation that befits a room equipped with two stripper poles.
Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention recorded most of their celebrated Roxy and Elsewhere album during December 1973 at The Roxy. Van Morrison recorded a radio show in November 1978 that was released as a promo LP Live At The Roxy. Warren Zevon's live album Stand in the Fire was recorded during five shows he played at The Roxy in 1980. Dire Straits played two sell out gigs in 1979 in support of their first album. The Red Hot Chili Peppers played their first show with their then new drummer Chad Smith at the venue on January 22, 1989.
Social Distortion released a live album entitled Live At The Roxy on June 30th, 1998 that contained material recorded between April 7th and April 9th, 1998.
The Roxy Theatre is featured on the 2008 video game, Midnight Club: Los Angeles.
