The bottom level of the building is the restaurant, The Rainbow Bar and Grill. Upstairs was an exclusive club called "Over the Rainbow", which still consists of a full bar, a dance floor and a DJ booth. It currently has live entertainment on select days during the week. The restaurant is next to The Roxy Theatre and 1 OAK (formerly Gazzarri's);[1] Billboard Live, and The Key Club.
The restaurant was founded in early 1972 by Gary Stromberg and Bob Gibson, heads of the PR firm Gibson & Stromberg. They brought in co-owners Elmer Valentine, Lou Adler, Mario Maglieri and others,[2][3] opening in late March with a Buddah Records party for NRBQ.[4] On April 16, there was a party for Elton John.[5] At the time, the word "rainbow" signified peace and freedom. It quickly became known as a hangout for celebrities of all types.[6]John Belushi ate his last meal[7] (lentil soup) at table No. 16.[citation needed] The pornography actor Ron Jeremy was also known to regularly hang out there in the 2000s and 2010s.[8]
For many years, the owner was Mario Maglieri.[6]
Before becoming the Rainbow, the restaurant was the Villa Nova restaurant, which was originally owned by film director Vincente Minnelli, at the time married to Judy Garland. Joe DiMaggio and Marilyn Monroe met at the restaurant on a blind date in 1952.[9]
After operating for 28 years, Villa Nova closed in 1968 and the building re-opened as the Windjammer until it closed in 1971.
Producer Kim Fowley used to hang out at the Rainbow, especially in 1975, when he formed the all-girl group The Runaways. Actress and musician Cheryl Smith was given her pseudonym Rainbeaux Smith early in her career as a result of her frequenting the Rainbow; she briefly replaced Sandy West as drummer of The Runaways at the end of that band's existence.[citation needed]
As musical trends on the Strip changed towards heavy metal in the 1980s, the Rainbow followed suit. Members of Mötley Crüe,[11]Poison, and Guns N' Roses frequented the bar.[12] It was mentioned in a number of songs, such as "Sunset and Babylon" by W.A.S.P., "Vampire" by L.A. Guns and "Peach Kelli Pop" by Redd Kross, and featured in the videos of "November Rain", "Estranged" and "Don't Cry" by Guns N' Roses and also, although briefly, "Rock Out" and "Stone Deaf in the U.S.A" by Motörhead.
Anthony Kiedis of the Red Hot Chili Peppers noted in his book Scar Tissue that he often sat with his father, Blackie Dammett, at the club along with members of bands such as Led Zeppelin and Kiss. Often the waitresses and bartenders were groupies as well as those who frequented the establishment. In Pamela Des Barres' book Let's Spend the Night Together, the author commented that as a barfly in the early 1980s she met a number of celebrities including Billy Idol.[13]
In June 2016, the Rainbow started having live music every Wednesday night from 10 pm until closing. Various musicians would host the live jam every week. Local acts, as well as different well known musicians, would show up to perform random classic rock cover songs every week. During this time, there were many jam band gatherings being established on Sunset Boulevard around the area. Viper Room and The Whisky a Go Go also joined the Rainbow by allowing musicians to host jams on various week nights.
On January 18, 2017, the Rainbow was inducted into the Hall of Heavy Metal History for introducing the world to new heavy metal acts.[14]
On August 21, 2023, a lawsuit was filed by two women against the Rainbow Bar and Grill. The women alleged that employees knew Ron Jeremy sexually assaulted women there, including themselves, and allowed him to do so.[15][16]
On November 5th, 2023 Mikael Maglieri, who carried forward his family’s legacy on the Sunset Strip as the second-generation owner of The Whisky a Go Go nightclub and Rainbow Bar and Grill, passed away in the Hollywood Hills.[17]
The bar is also featured in an episode of the second season of Californication.
The 2006 song "Warlocks" by Red Hot Chili Peppers (11th track of Stadium Arcadium) contains the lyric "Another main event at the old Rainbow" in the second verse. The band had been a regular act at this bar in their early years during the 1980's.
The Great White video for "Angel song" also features the bar.
^Zimmerman, Linda. "Scratchin' Around for Chicken Soup", Los Angeles Times, January 31, 1988, p. 90.
^Haring, Bruce. "Metal bands regain a heavy attitude", USA Today, 1996-04-16, p. 4D.
^Des Barres, Pamela (July 9, 2007). "Let's Spend the Night Together". Reading in Soho. McNally Robinson NYC. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved January 19, 2009.
^Knutson, Zak (October 26, 2019), The Rainbow (Documentary, Music), Wendy Dio, Micky Dolenz, Brent Fitz, Bow and Arrow Entertainment, LINK Entertainment, archived from the original on January 26, 2023, retrieved June 13, 2024
