There is arguably no music scene on the planet that has birthed more world-changing rock acts than the Sunset Strip.
Sure, New York and London have been vital to music history, and we all know Seattle enjoyed its time in the sun in the ‘90s, but over multiple decades West Hollywood’s mecca continues to bring major artists into the spotlight.
Just think of how many eras of music the Sunset Strip has helped launch. In the ‘60s, it was a center for folk and psychedelic rock. In the ‘70s, its clubs brought attention to future glam and arena rock legends. The ‘80s was perhaps its biggest heyday, an era dominated by hair metal acts who almost all emerged from the Sunset Strip. And then in the ‘90s, the scene helped usher in several pioneers for the alternative revolution.
READ MORE: Top 15 Sunset Strip Bands Ranked
With so many acclaimed artists linked to the Sunset Strip, it’s hard to identify a clear Big 4. How do we compare artists who cross so many genres and time periods? Which bands from the prolific ‘80s era outrank the rest? Should classic acts like the Byrds and the Doors be rated higher than more recent trailblazers, like Jane’s Addiction and Rage Against the Machine?
Ultimately, we decided that inclusion didn’t just come down to popularity and album sales. Each band in our Big 4 was intrinsically tied to the Sunset Strip, embodying the sights, sounds and lifestyle of this unique and ever-evolving scene.
A classic-era photo of Tommy Lee, right, and Motley Crue. (Randy Bachman, Getty Images)
Motley Crue
No band embodied the outrageous decadence and depravity of the ‘80s Sunset Strip better than Motley Crue. The band’s exploits off the stage were arguably more notorious than what they did on it, as the Crue personified the sex, drugs and rock n’ roll lifestyle. At one point, the band lived less than a block from the famous Whisky a Go Go, and they regularly could be found stumbling back to their apartment building with an entourage of women. Of course, Motley Crue’s wild mythology wouldn’t mean much without the music that accompanied it. The band sold more than 100 million albums, while also scoring massive hits like “Shout at the Devil,” “Kickstart My Heart” and “Dr. Feelgood.” Even as the Crue became a worldwide phenomenon, they never forgot their roots. The Sunset Strip remained a constant presence in their history, while also serving as the shooting location for their music videos to “Girls, Girls, Girls” and “Kickstart My Heart.”
Central Press, Getty Images
The Doors
The Doors weren’t the first band to play the Sunset Strip, but historically they certainly feel like the first act to embrace it as home. The group — made up of singer Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger and drummer John Densmore — got their first residency at London Fog, one of the Sunset Strip’s smaller and lesser known clubs (these days it’s a barber shop). As the Doors quickly developed a following, they were offered a bigger residency a few blocks down at the much more established Whisky a Go Go. This is where the band really began to develop their sound, as larger and larger crowds came out each week to see them. Morrison, especially, seemed to grow his stage presence during this period, evolving intro the legend that would later be known as the lizard king. The Doors’ residency at the Whisky directly led to their record deal, which was signed in November 1966. The band’s self-titled debut album was recorded at Sunset Sound Recording Studio, just three miles further up the boulevard from the Whisky. That LP, released in January 1967, would launch them to worldwide fame. They’d return to the studio for their next three albums — Strange Days (1967), Waiting for the Sun (1968) and The Soft Parade (1969) — all of which earned platinum sales.
Paul Natkin, Getty Images
Guns N’ Roses
It’s impossible to separate Guns N’ Roses from the Sunset Strip, given how engrained the locale is to the band’s history. Even before he was in the group, an underage Slash was frequenting the local clubs with his fake ID (he even once suck into the Rainbow Bar & Grill disguised as a woman). Later, GNR members played at virtually every club in the scene, including the Troubadour, the Roxy, the Whisky and Gazzarri’s. Even when they weren’t playing gigs, the GNR guys were found on the Strip — Slash and Axl Rose worked day jobs at the Tower Video store just down the street. “All throughout the ‘80s you had a tremendous amount of activity going on,” Slash once recalled of the Sunset Strip. “Groups playing every night. And it was just tons of energy and tons of movement. It was something tangible.” Guns N’ Roses exploded to stardom with their record shattering 1987 debut Appetite for Destruction. Still, they never left the Sunset Strip far behind. The music video for their 1992 hit “November Rain” featured scenes shot at the Rainbow, while they officially launched their Not in This Lifetime reunion tour with a surprise show at the Troubadour in 2016.
Gus Stewart, Getty Images
Van Halen
Van Halen’s earliest shows were backyard parties, but they soon turned their eye towards the Sunset Strip. “I started heading out to Hollywood to go to dance clubs, the most important being Gazzarri’s on the Strip,” David Lee Roth recalled in his autobiography Crazy From the Heat, noting that the club was “where all the heat’s comin’ from.” “I determined that hey, this was the next step, my entree to Hollywood.” After initially getting rejected by Gazzarri’s — and, reportedly, 19 other venues — Van Halen scored a residency at the club in 1974. They’d go on to play over 130 shows at Gazzarri’s, establishing themselves as an electrifying live act. Still, those shows were largely made of cover songs, and Van Halen knew they needed to perform originals if they wanted to become a marquee act. That opportunity came at the nearby Starwood Club, a more exalted location that required bands to perform their own material. Throughout 1976 and ‘77 Van Halen pulled double duty, playing both the Starwood and Gazzarri’s on alternate nights, with totally different set lists. The band outgrew the scene, becoming a major draw throughout the greater Los Angeles area and, eventually, the world. Their groundbreaking 1978 debut album was recorded at Sunset Sound — as were every one of their studio LPs through 1982’s Diver Down. Van Halen became the biggest band in the world, rock titans who dominated rock for nearly two decades — and the seeds of that stardom were planted on the Sunset Strip.
