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August 1966: King Oedipus – The Doors ensure a scandal on the Sunset Strip with “The End”
In the summer of 1966, Los Angeles riots escalated on the Sunset Boulevard, escalating as a peaceful protest against the Vietnam War. And a rock band called the Doors, which nobody knew, landed a gig in the “Whiskey A Go-Go”, a club on the Sunset Strip. The group was founded the year earlier by two film students, the young poet Jim Morrison and the blues keyboardist Ray Manzarek.
“We were in the” London Fog “, a miserable little club near the whiskey,” says Manzarek today. “That” Whiskey “was Mecca for us. All the big bands played there. When we had a break, we went over and looked through the door: ‘Hello, we are the band next door.’ We were laughed at regularly. ” When Ronnie Harran, who booked the “Whiskey” program, who finally saw Doors live, she was impressed by Morrison’s stage presence and offered the band to play two sets every evening.
They opened the first evening for Them – he culminated in one of the two Morrison (Van and Jim) sung “Gloria” sung together. The repertoire of the doors at the time consisted of 15 songs, which they filled with a little James Brown and Chicago-Blues … Because that wasn’t enough for two sets, it was stretched out what the stuff kept-so the epic, solol-heavy doors sound was created. The band soon had its own fan base, and the “whiskey” became more strange.
“They danced like the devil”
Manzarek: “There were these two types, Carl and Vito, who listed such a gypsy dance troop. They were let in for free because they looked like tourists. No idea whether they are doing something, they were completely Meschugge, but they danced like the devil. And they loved ‘the end’.
An early version of “The End” – one that could have been shown safely, for example, at half -time of the Superbowl. But then Morrison did not show up for the first set one evening. The band played without him, but “Whiskey” boss Phil Tanzini was pissed off and insisted that Morrison had to be in place on time just in time. They found him in his apartment, underwear and on an acid trip, and transported him back to the “whiskey” in time, “a bit threatened, but clearly in the head,” as Manzarek remembers.
“After the third number, he suddenly turned and said: ‘Let’s play” The End “.’ I said, ‘Jim, we only played three pieces!’ “” The End “was usually saved for the final, but Morrison got his will …” There was a job in the play where Jim was able to improvise a bit, and he signaled us that we should play quieter.
“You play through until Sunday, then I’ll throw you out”
And then he declamated for the first time: ‘The Killer Awoke Before Dawn. Hey put his boots on. ‘ The dancers stopped one by one with big eyes. When he continued, ‘Father, I Wanna Kill You’, I knew what would come. Please don’t, I thought. ” But of course Morrison did. Manzarek: “John beat the drums, I hammered on the organ, Robby had his guitar screamed like a demon. It was hell, people danced like the madman, in Dionysian ecstasy. We had Ödipus Rex exorched, in the middle of the sunset strip!”
When the doors got off the stage, they knew that they had landed a killer. But they also hurt dancing. He went behind the stage, asked Morrison: “How the devil can you say something like that about your mother?” And fired the band on the spot. Warrior asked: “Do you want us to still play at the weekend, or should we go right away?” Tanzzini thought about a moment and replied: “You play through until Sunday, then I throw you out.”