Sunset Strip curfew riots explained

Sunset Strip curfew riots
Partof:	the hippie movement
Date:	November 1966January1967^[1]
Place:	West Hollywood, California, United States
Side1:	LAPD
Side2:	hippies

The Sunset Strip curfew riots, also known as the "hippie riots", were a series of early counterculture-era clashes that took place between police and young people on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood, California, United States in 1966.

History

By the mid-1960s, The Sunset Strip had become a place dominated by young members of the hippie and rock and roll counterculture.

At the behest of business owners and residents, in 1966 the Los Angeles City Council imposed nightly curfews intended to curtail the growing "nuisance" of hippie antiwar protests.^[2] They targeted the Strip's most prominent rock club, the Whisky a Go Go, forcing its managers to change the club's name to The Whisk .^[3] Furthermore, annoyed residents and business owners in the district had encouraged the passage of strict (10 p.m.) curfew and loitering laws to reduce the traffic congestion resulting from crowds of young club patrons. This was perceived by young, local rock music fans as an infringement on their civil rights, and for weeks tensions and protests swelled.

On November 12, 1966, fliers were distributed along the Strip inviting people to demonstrate later that day.^[4] Hours before the protest one of L.A.'s rock 'n' roll radio stations announced there would be a rally at Pandora's Box, a club facing forced closure and demolition at the corner of Sunset Boulevard and Crescent Heights, and cautioned people to tread carefully. That evening, as many as 1,000 youthful demonstrators, including such celebrities as Jack Nicholson and Peter Fonda (who was handcuffed by police), erupted in protest against the perceived repressive enforcement of these recently invoked curfew laws.

The unrest continued the next night and off and on throughout November and December. Meanwhile, the local administration had decided to get tough, and rescinded the "youth permits" of twelve of the Strip's clubs, thereby making them off-limits to anybody under 21. In November 1966, the Los Angeles City Council voted to acquire and demolish the Pandora's Box.^[5] The club was eventually demolished in early August 1967.^[6]

According to Timeline's Matt Reimann, the riots anticipated a cultural rift that only grew in the coming years. In this light, Bob Gibson, manager of the Byrds and the Mamas and the Papas reflected: "If you had to put your finger on an event that was a barometer of the tide turning, it would probably be the Sunset Strip riots."^[7]

Cultural impact

Regarding the importance of the Sunset Strip riots, The Guardian journalist Woody Haut argues that "it was, if nothing else, an early salvo in the "culture wars", a battle which continues to this day (...)."^[8] He furthermore argues that the riot's most lasting effect had to do with the music that came out of the event.

The incident provided the basis for the 1967 low-budget teen exploitation film Riot on Sunset Strip,^[9] and inspired multiple songs:

• "For What It's Worth" written by Stephen Stills and performed by Buffalo Springfield.^[4] The song is often used as an antiwar protest song despite not being originally intended as one. Regarding the events, Stills has said: "Riot is a ridiculous name, it was a funeral for Pandora's Box. But it looked like a revolution."^[10]
• "Daily Nightly" performed by the Monkees.^[11]
• "Riot on Sunset Strip" performed by the Standells, which accompanied the eponymous film.^[12]
• "Safe in My Garden" by the Mamas and the Papas.^[13]
• Joni Mitchell's song "California" contains the line "I'll even kiss a Sunset pig", meaning a policeman on Sunset Strip.^[14]
• The Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention song "Plastic People" from the 1967 Album Absolutely Free contains the line, "I hear the sound of marching feet down Sunset Blvd. to Crescent Heights, and there, at Pandora's Box, we are confronted with a vast quantity of plastic people" followed by a verse that says, in part, "Watch the Nazis run your town, then go home and check yourself, you think we're singing 'bout someone else."^[15]

See also

• Pandora's Box, the nightclub that was at the center of the riots on the Sunset Strip.
• Whisky a Go Go, the Strip's most prominent rock club.
• Ernest E. Debs, mid-20th century Los Angeles County supervisor who represented the district and fought against the counterculture.
• Counterculture of the 1960s
• List of incidents of civil unrest in the United States
• 1967 Century City demonstration

External links

• Wild streets: American Graffiti versus the Cold War International Socialism Journal, Issue 91, 2001
• "Stephen Stills' Song: For What It's Worth." November 3, 2009.
• http://hiddenlosangeles.com/?p=6620 OR FLASHBACK – War on the Sunset Strip, Daddio!"

–

Notes and References

1. "...across the span of three months, from November1966 to January1967, a series of curfews, crackdowns, and harassment by local authorities resulted in unrest, youth riots, and, ultimately, the closing of the clubs themselves."

2. News: 'Anarchy on Sunset Strip': 50 years on from the 'hippie riots'. The Guardian. 11 November 2016.
3. Web site: During the Sunset Strip 'hippie riots,' young people and celebrities fought for the right to party. Reimann. Matt. April 18, 2017. Timeline. December 17, 2017.
4. News: Hajek . Danny . A Thousand People In The Street: 'For What It's Worth' Captured Youth In Revolt . 31 March 2019 . Morning Edition: American Anthem . NPR . 20 February 2019.
5. Baker, Erwin (November 30, 1966). City Moves Swiftly to Condemn Teen Club: Ordinance Will Lead to Buying of Pandora's Box. Los Angeles Times
6. Felton, Dave (August 4, 1967). Hippies Pout, Politicians Cheer as Pandora's Box Is Wrecked. Los Angeles Times
7. Book: Quisling, Erik. Straight Whisky: A Living History of Sex, Drugs, and Rock 'n' Roll on the Sunset Strip. Bonus Books. 2003. 1566251974.
8. News: 'Anarchy on Sunset Strip': 50 years on from the 'hippie riots'. Haut. Woody. November 11, 2016. The Guardian. December 17, 2017.
9. News: 'Riot' Takes Superficial Look at LSD Parties. Clifford, Terry.. May 8, 1967. Chicago Tribune. b8.
10. News: Closing of club ignited the 'Sunset Strip riots'. Rasmussen. Cecilia. August 5, 2007. Los Angeles Times. April 4, 2018.
11. Web site: The Monkees' "Daily Nightly" introduced the rock world to the Moog. Gwen. Ihnat.
12. Web site: Standells, The . Nostalgia Central . July 31, 2020.
13. Web site: 'Safe In My Garden': Song Review. Greenwald. Matthew . AllMusic. June 30, 2015.
14. Web site: Griffo . Paul . 1960s Hollywood riots and kissing a Sunset pig . Medium.com . July 9, 2020.
15. Web site: White Allyship and the “Sunset Strip Riots,” 1966. Journal of Popular Music Studies . September 11, 2023 .