Rainbow Bar and Grill — West Hollywood

The Rainbow Bar and Grill at 9015 Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood has been one of the central institutions of the Los Angeles rock scene since it opened in 1972. Its location on the Sunset Strip, next to the Roxy Theatre and up the hill from the Whisky a Go Go, placed it at the heart of the world where hard rock, glam, and heavy metal were developed and celebrated. Led Zeppelin, Alice Cooper, John Lennon, Ringo Starr, and virtually every significant rock act of the 1970s were regulars at the Rainbow. It was here, in 1971, that Marilyn Monroe reportedly met Joe DiMaggio on a blind date — at the building's previous incarnation as the Villa Nova restaurant. John Belushi ate his last meal here the night before his death in 1982.

The Sunset Strip strip club scene that orbited the Rainbow in the 1970s and 1980s gave rise to the Los Angeles rock mythology that would eventually produce hair metal and the Guns N' Roses generation. The Rainbow was the after-show destination for bands playing the Roxy, and its booths and bar became the place where record deals were discussed, bands were formed and broken, and the business and pleasure of the music industry conducted itself in public. The Lemmy Room — a booth dedicated to Motörhead's Lemmy Kilmister, who spent decades as a daily regular — is maintained as a shrine.

The Rainbow Bar and Grill continues to operate and remains a functioning bar and restaurant on the Sunset Strip. It is authentically shabby rather than deliberately retro — the decor has not changed substantially in decades. The Lemmy booth, the walls of photographs, and the general atmosphere of concentrated rock and roll history make it one of the most genuine music heritage experiences in Los Angeles.