Elmer Valentine moved to California and joined with partners from Chicago to open a nightclub called P.J.’s, named after the Manhattan bar P. J. Clarke’s. It was the first swinging go Go club in Los Angeles. In 1963, visiting Europe with the idea of becoming an expatriate, he happened to visit a discothèque in ...Paris called Whisky à Go Go and was enthralled by the enthusiastic young dancers. Mr. Valentine invested $20,000 of his profits from his share in P.J.’s in what became the Whisky A Go Go. He gave a one-year contract to Johnny Rivers, then a 21-year-old rocker and bluesman, who turned out to be wildly popular. And that was the birth of the Whisky A Go Go.
Many albums were recorded at P.J.'s during this period. In the 70s, this joint was better known as the rock club, "The Starwood" that showcased bands like the Jam and the Ramones.
