Review: STRAIGHT WHISKY: A LIVING HISTORY OF SEX, DRUGS AND ROCK ‘N’ ROLL ON THE...

STRAIGHT WHISKY: A LIVING HISTORY OF SEX, DRUGS AND ROCK ‘N’ ROLL ON THE SUNSET STRIP
ERIK QUISLING & AUSTIN WILLIAMS

Bonus Books
Street: 01.13.04

I never knew that David Bowie was beaten to within an inch of his life on September 6, 1974 in a private bar above the Rainbow Bar and Grill by an obsessed fan, known simply as Karate Kurt; Or that on December 17, 1967, Jim Morrison tried to force Janis Joplin, whose “favorite pastimes are drinking Southern Comfort and eating pussy,” to give him head on the couch at an Elektra exec’s party; Or that John Lennon refused to remove a tampon from the top of his head (“It kept his hair from falling out”) while waiting for The Doors’ second set to begin at the Whisky A Go Go on October 2, 1966–which was also their last set ever at the Whisky due to Morrison’s infamous inflection of “Mother…I wanna fuck you, mama, all night long!” What makes these and other stories in Straight Whisky so great are that they are all from first-hand accounts by the rock stars and the manager/owner of the Whisky, Rainbow Bar and Grill and Roxy Theatre, Mario Maglieri. This guy has literally seen it all–the psychedelic ’60s, the British Invasion of the ’70s, the punk/glam of the ’80s, the early ’90s grunge movement and all the new shitty music of the 21st century. Straight Whisky chronicles each of these rock ‘n’ roll eras, concentrating on all of the decadent, behind-the-scenes dirt. It’s an easy and amusing read that any rock ‘n’ roll fan should enjoy. -Dick Rivers