[1] The more popular modern version of the cocktail contains tequila, orange juice, and grenadine, and was created by Bobby Lozoff and Billy Rice in the early 1970s while they were working as young bartenders at the Trident in Sausalito, California north of San Francisco.

At a party at the Trident organized by Bill Graham to kick off the Rolling Stones' 1972 tour in America, Mick Jagger had one of the cocktails, liked it, and he and his entourage started drinking them.

Later that same year, the Eagles recorded a song called "Tequila Sunrise" for their Desperado album as the drink was soaring in popularity.

[6] In 1988, a successful film titled Tequila Sunrise was released, starring Michelle Pfeiffer, Mel Gibson, and Kurt Russell and directed by Robert Towne.

On June 25, 2023, the Marin History Museum placed a historical marker at the Trident Restaurant to commemorate the Rolling Stones party and the re-interpretation of the Tequila Sunrise there.