Regardless Of His Own Aptitude, Morrison Appreciated His Bandmates’ Talent And He Made A Gesture To

Jim and Thor (Ray's brother's doberman) hunt abalone with Ray, Dorothy and Ray's mother. At that time, Jim was living in Ray and Dorothy's house, where he was given the master bedroom. Photo courtesy of Ray Manzarek, 1965.

1967.07.28-30   Fillmore Auditorium, San Francisco, CA.

"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

Bobby Klein: "Jim was irreverent and mischievous. One time we were shooting outside and he suddenly disappeared. He came back with this cheeky smile and I took his picture. Only later, when I got the photos developed, did I realise what he had been doing: he’d hidden behind a tree, got himself aroused and, through his trousers, was pointing his erection right at my camera."

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

Floating through the water, with flowing moss beneath and a majestic waterfall in the background 😌

The first day the band arrived in the studio, Botnick recalls, “they had pretty much the first two albums ready to go. The thought that Paul had was that we were to be invisible – to allow them to capture the magic of The Doors as you went to hear them.” He adds: “They were totally different than anything else I was recording. I was recording the Beach Boys, The Turtles, The Ventures… and The Doors were totally different, it was the beginning of that era of American sixties music.”.   1966.11  First photo session group ©Joel Brodsky

___________________________________________. "In The Mirror" – The Doors during a public photo shoot "Elektra Records", New York City, NY.  March 1967 - ©  Joel Brodsky

The Doors perform at the KTLA SHEBANG show, which took place on February 25, 1967. The Doors are filmed lip synching to a playback of their debut single 'Break On Through'. Band looks very collegiate and the unusual set up places.  Densmore at centre stage on drums between Morrison (stage left) and Manzarek. Krieger stands behind them directly in front of some garden furnishings. The host is Casey Kasem.

“It was our first time doing a TV show and we really had no idea what we were doing. When the director started telling us what to do, we just looked at each other and said, ‘I guess that’s how it is’. We learned later that wasn’t the case, but it was a great initial experience.”(Ray Manzarek)

“This is one of our first TV performances. We were clearly nervous. I mean, Jim won’t even look at the camera or anything. I’m somehow positioned in the front. I’m the ‘lead drummer’. Ridiculous!” (John Densmore)

“We had no say what-so-ever. There was a director telling us exactly what to do, and we did it. We just felt lucky to be there. Shebang was a local TV show, so it wasn’t as big as Dick Clark, but it was great to be on there.”(Robby Krieger)

D.Hendrix, M.Mitchell, N.Redding