1966.08-09 Ray's Beach House Session ©Bill Harvey  

KARLA opens the Doors.

The Doors very first appearance on the radio takes place in February of 1967 on KRLA 1110 during a 15 minute news broadcast by Lew Irwin. The subject of this news segment on The Doors is the newly erected Elektra billboard on the Sunset Strip, where Lew Irwin of KRLA is present with a tape recorder on the same day The Doors are photographed by Bobby Klein. A photograph of the band taken by a staff member of Foster & Kleiser, who erected the billboard, shows Lew interviewing the band with microphone in hand. Tape recordings made for KRLA news segments are known to have been continually reused and a copy of this news segment has never been found.  

On this day, December 8, 1943 (Melbourne, Florida) Jim Morrison was born - an American poet, singer, songwriter, leader and vocalist of The Doors.

Regardless of his own aptitude, Morrison appreciated his bandmates’ talent and he made a gesture to them that still resonates with Densmore. “He said, ‘Why don’t we just split all the credits,'” he says. “That moment was pivotal. I don’t think any musical organization since the Thirties had done that. It produced 200 percent commitment from each of the four members. Later, when we played a gig and we were big, and we were introduced as ‘Jim Morrison and the Doors,’ he dragged the announcer back out and forced him to call it ‘The Doors.’ He was the star frontman, but behind the scenes, it was totally equal.”

January-February 1967, Venice Beach, California. © Bobby Klein.

Photographs by Linda Eastman, in June 1967,  Stage, New York, NY.

"The biographers seem to have lost Jim's sense of humor. I can't impress upon you enough that it was always there....He was the funniest human being I ever met. Simply that, the funniest human being I ever met." – Fud Ford New York's Central Park, spring 1968. Photo by Paul Ferrara

When The Doors came together, “a diamond was formed. And it was clear and hard and luminous.” – Ray Manzarek

The Doors by Gene Trindl. During a  public photo  shoot for "Elektra Records", Los Angeles, California, late Summer-early Fall, 1966

Jim Morrison, Dorothy Manzarek, Ray's mother Helen Manzarek, and Thor (Jim Manzarek's dog). Palos Verdes, California, 1965. 📷From the archive of Ray Manzarek

The Doors appear on television for the very first time on KHJ-TV's Boss City in February of 1967. Hosted by DJ Sam Riddle, this episode was broadcast on February 18th at 6:00pm.  During the month of February 1967, Break On Through is The Doors first  single release and is most likely the song performed. Interviews with the performing groups are known to have taken place with the host and likely followed the performance. For years, it was presumed that The Doors performance on SHEBANG was their first-ever appearance on tv, however a newly confirmed performance date for that show has at last revealed that this performance on Boss City was in fact The Doors very first. At the present date, no surviving copies of The Doors performances on Boss City have surfaced, however two photographs taken by Jasper Dailey during this filming are known. 

The Doors at Boss City on February 18, 1967,  photographs by Jasper Daly.

Van Nuys CA. Birmingham High School Stadium. May 20th 1967  © Joe Klein.

🔻The Doors join the bill for a fundraiser for the local High School. This concert is notable as it is the bands first major outdoor concert with more than 15,000 attending.  A third of the crowd leaves after The Doors set. They are 2nd billing to Jefferson Airplane but that will be turned on it's head once Light My Fire, released the previous month, takes off and hits #1.

Wonderful & magic winter ❤️