Infamous Rock and Roll Locations…Part II

I did a post earlier on Infamous Rock and Roll Locations and I wanted to do a follow-up on it. If you don’t want to click on the link…I mentioned the Riot/Hyatt House, The Edgewater Inn, The Rainbow Bar and Grille, Villa Nellcôte, and Rodney Bingenheimer’s English Disco.

To be honest….a few are infamous but the other are just cool. I love reading rock music bios and there are some places I would love to visit one day. A warning though…a few are very morbid.

The Highland Gardens Hotel…Ok…this one is a little morbid…well a lot morbid. On October 4, 1970, Janis Joplin stayed here and it was called The Landmark Motor Hotel. She died in room #105 of a suspected heroin overdose. The same hotel stands but it’s called The Highland Gardens Hotel now. Yes, you can rent room #105. She lived there for months while working on her last album Pearl. The closet has handwriting by visitors but the rest of the room is normal. Yes, I would love to go.

Band Pink House

Big Pink in Saugerties/Woodstock: This is the house where The Band and Bob Dylan recorded The Band’s debut album…Music From Big Pink…this house was pink then and is now. Now you can rent the house but you cannot go down to the basement where they recorded…what’s the fun in that?

The World Famous Whisky A Go-Go on the Sunset Strip, West Hollywood CA

Whisky a Go-Go on the Sunset Strip: The one on the Sunset Strip opened in 1964. So many bands played and visited there. The Doors, Van Morrison, Buffalo Springfield, Alice Cooper, The Byrds, The Flying Burrito Brothers, Chicago, Germs, Elton John, Oasis, Buffalo Springfield, Steppenwolf, Van Halen, Johnny Rivers, X, Led Zeppelin, Fleetwood Mac, KISS, Guns N’ Roses, Death, AC/DC, Linkin Park, Metallica, Mötley Crüe Stryper, and many many more.

The Whiskey is still open now.

The Joshua Tree Inn | Joshua Tree National Park | Joshua Tree CA

The Joshua Tree Inn – Another morbid one but I would stay there. On September 18, 1973, Gram Parsons purchased liquid morphine on that night from an unknown girl and died of an overdose. This all happened in Room 8 of this Inn. Yes, you can rent room 8 today in fact..it’s decorated with posters of Gram.

curzon place cass elliot keith moon

Mayfair…Curzon Square – This apartment was owned by Harry Nilsson at the time. It was in this building, in the same apartment that both Cass Elliot (Mama Cass) and Keith Moon died 4 years apart. Nilsson liked the location because it was near Apple Records and nightclubs. It was decorated by  ROR…Ringo and Robin (Ringo Starr and designer Robin Cruikshank).

On July 29, 1974 after a performance…Mama Cass died of a heart attack. In 1978 Keith Moon wanted to rent it from Nilsson but he was afraid to rent it again because Nilsson remembered what happened to Cass. He ended up talking to Pete Townshend and Townshend told him that  ‘lightning does not strike in the same place twice’ so he let Keith rent it. On September 7, 1978, Keith Moon died because of an overdose of clomethiazole…a prescription drug for combating alcoholism in the same bedroom.

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Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball fan, old movie and tv show fan... and a songwriter, bass and guitar player.

49 thoughts on “Infamous Rock and Roll Locations…Part II”

    1. Yes it is! We were going to LA at one point and I mentioned the Joplin hotel room….the wife said be prepared to stay there alone lol.
      The Joshua Tree Inn really plays up the fact.

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  5. I would love to visit the Whisky too. Like in the days when the Doors were there. You’d be surprised how many bands have live albums from the Whiskey. One time I was looking for a specific album and there was a whole long list of bands that had an album called Live At the Whisky, although the only ones I have are Johnny Rivers and the Doors. Actually, there’s a lot of places in LA that the Doors mentioned in their songs that would be interesting to see. I know there’s actually a Morrison Hotel, and Soul Kitchen is an actual restaurant although I don’t think that’s the real name of it. I think maybe Love Street is real too.
    I’m not sure I’d want to see The Landmark Hotel even though I love Janis Joplin, cuz that would be kind of morbid like you said

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    1. Wasn’t the Morrison Hotel already there before the Doors? I read something about that at one time.
      We have a family friend that lives in LA and that invited us up and she would take us around…yea my wife said I would be staying at the Joplin hotel alone lol.
      I would love to see the Whiskey, the Rainbow Bar and Grille, and Barney’s Beanery.

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      2. I believe I’d read it was and one of them, Densmore I think, was driving around, saw it and laughed and kind of suggested they should be photographed by the name .

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  6. interesting bits of history. I had same thought Obb did – maybe that’s your retirement side line… rock locations tours,with a specialty in morbid places! Big Pink doesn’t really fit that category but is somewhere I’d like to see.

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    1. I would love it. Jennifer though is not too keen on the idea though lol. The spookiest is Mayfair with Cass and Moon….same room and I’m not sure about the bed.

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  7. I’d like to see all of those places, but especially Big Pink. I’d find a way to get into that basement! Very good video at the end. Sad to see Garth looks like he’s got osteoporosis 😦

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      4. That would be cool! One day I hope to go there. We have a family friend that lives in LA…she has offered to put us up and take us around…

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      6. I know….she was/is our HR director that works out in California that lived here for a while. Wonderful person…and I hardly ever say that about HR people lol.

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      1. On the lighter side, a bunch of story ideas about rooms haunted by rock stars on Halloween night went through my mind when I read that. I think it would be a kick to be haunted by Moon and Cass … I think they would keep things humorous. 😄

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      4. Ok…that answers my question…a high end neighborhood… Jeez…Keith Moon beside Buckingham Palace…what could go wrong?

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  10. Fun series, Max. Reminds me of my own “The Venues” feature, for which I haven’t done another installment in a long time. It’s focused on bigger venues like Royal Albert Hall, Hollywood Bowl and Red Rocks.

    And, wow, what a great advertising pitch for the Highland Gardens Hotel: Come and experience the thrill of staying in the very same room, which Janis Joplin spent her last night! 🙂

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  11. I have 2 pilgrimages I want to undertake in the US. You already know of one which is the Baseball one (seeing 1 game at every ground 8including Field of Dreams, during the course of one season). The other is a Bob Dylan tour. The Big Pink would be on there. Interesting stories here Max!

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    1. Thanks Matt. I want to go see the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown and Woodstock is only around an hour and a half away.

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  12. Pingback: Infamous Rock and Roll Locations…Part II – MobsterTiger

  13. I didn’t know that both Mama Cass and Keith Moon died in the same bedroom in an apartment owned by Harry Nilsson! How freaky and coincidental is that?!? And I’ve been to the Whiskey a Go Go, as well as the Rainbow Bar & Grill, Viper Room and Roxy, all on the Sunset Strip.

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