THE DOORS ON TV IN THE SPRING OF 1967: ON THE WAY TO SUCCESS

 

Following The Doors' television debut in February 1967, the band made five more appearances in the months that followed.

This was the time when the California-based group was developing a more mature live sound and gaining the confidence that would characterize their resounding live performances beginning in the summer of '67.

From late February to mid-June, The Doors played about 60 concerts between California and New York, the only recording of which is the one at "The Matrix" in San Francisco.

In addition, during this period, several songs that would end up on their second LP ("Strange Days," September 1967) were refined in an almost definitive way.

Songs from the aforementioned album that took on their final musical structure in the course of that spring include "Love Me Two Times," "Unhappy Girl," "People Are Strange," and "I Can't See Your Face In My Mind”.

In this fertile and feverish musical climate, the group appeared on television on February 25th on "Shebang", which was taped in Los Angeles.

There they performed "Break on Through (To The Other Side)" in playback, fortunately recorded and available. The song was their first single, and despite being one of the best rock songs of all time, it only reached number 126 in the US charts.

The following TV appearance can be placed in the second half of March '67, during a stay of about twenty days in New York City.

In addition to playing almost every night at the Ondine (a trendy New York venue), the band also taped a TV performance that was later broadcast on the "Clay Cole Diskotek" show. In this context, The Doors played "Break On Through" again.

The third show they participate in was "Boss City" (recorded in Los Angeles), in which they had already been invited in the first half of February (here is the article about this episode and more).

They had (most likely) played "Light My Fire" in its full version, which was released (edited) as the second single from their debut LP ("The Doors", January 1967).

In mid-June 1967, The Doors returned to New York for a series of gigs at another of the city's famous venues, "The Scene". Again, their stay lasted about twenty days.

As happened in March, the group was hosted by the "Clay Cole Diskotek" program performing "Light My Fire". The song was then climbing the singles charts and was beginning to become well known outside of California.

The fifth and final episode of the band's TV appearances in the spring of '67 was the "Disc-o-Teen" show, in which they were also invited during their June stay in New York.

"Light My Fire" played in playback was the song they performed there, followed by a short interview.

By this time, the studio sessions for the second album ("Strange Days") were well underway.

The growing interest in The Doors would continue to take them to more prestigious television venues, but the five occasions mentioned in this article represent important formative moments.

Hand in hand with the notoriety gained from the success of the single "Light My Fire," which would reach number one on the singles charts by the end of July, the importance of these television appearances would become apparent.

They gave the group the opportunity to prepare for success on television, just as the many concerts they did in the spring served as a musical laboratory in preparation for the big shows of the following months and years.