He used to say, 'Some people score and they never know it. Jack, we scored, and we know it.'
—Jack Nicholson
A few hundred family members, friends, former employees and just plain fans of Whisky A Go-Go co-founder Elmer Valentine, who died at age 85 in December, packed the venerated club he opened 45 years ago for a night of toasts and music. The music was led by Johnny Rivers, whose extended engagement as the Whisky's opening act in 1964 put the club and the singer on the national map. Among those joining Rivers on Monday at the club that helped launch countless careers were Stephen Stills, Byrds co-founder Chris Hillman, South African trumpeter Hugh Masekela and British blues band leader John Mayall.
Jack Nicholson, looking up to the stage from his spot on the floor about 15 feet back, described his longtime friend as “the man who looked like all seven dwarfs." The actor said one of his favorite life quotes came from Valentine, a Chicago cop who moved west to start a new life in the entertainment business. “He used to say, 'Some people score and they never know it. Jack, we scored, and we know it.' “
Doors drummer John Densmore didn't play, except for a quick drum roll he rattled off in memory of Valentine before Rivers took the stage, but lauded him as a rarity in the world of club owners, who as a group tend to elicit more curses than compliments from musicians.
“I've gotta say, I never met a music club owner or promoter who cared more about musicians and the people who made it than Elmer Valentine," said Densmore, who showed up in what he called his “hippie jacket," a buckskin number with fringed sleeves.
Densmore was caught up in conversation with Ronnie Haran Mellen, the Whisky's original talent booker, who first spotted the Doors at another club, the London Fog. “She came in on the last night we played there, the night we were fired. She came back to Elmer and said, 'This is a band that has to be our house band.' “ Valentine agreed, and the Doors' run at the club put it on the fast track on its path to becoming one of the most celebrated rock bands of the era.
Chris Hillman laughed while recounting a night at the club in 1969 shortly after he'd left the Byrds to start the Flying Burrito Brothers with Gram Parsons. “ Jerry Lee Lewis was there, and we were up there in the dressing rooms," he said, pointing to the balcony. “Jerry Lee was telling Gram that he'd taught the Beatles everything they knew and they'd be nothing without him. I remember thinking at the time, 'This is great -- this is history.' “
Valentine's old friend and business partner Lou Adler and Adler's son Nic organized Monday's tribute. “We waited a little bit after his passing to do this," said Nic Adler, who now oversees operations at the Roxy, which Valentine, his father and other partners opened in 1973. “Elmer wouldn't have wanted any crying. He just would have wanted laughter and people telling stories, and that's what is happening tonight."
