It's been 58 years since The Doors lit up the summer of 1967 with their classic recording of "Light My Fire." As a young man age 20 in Los Angeles back then, I vividly recall the many times I heard that song on the radio. That's because there were two versions. One was about 3 minutes long and fit in perfectly with the Top 40 format of most LA stations. There was, however, a longer version that ran about 6 and a half minutes. I was working as a mail clerk for a large corporation that summer and my workmate and I always timed our daily run to the post office to coincide with hearing the long version on station KRLA. They often announced, " At the top of the hour, the long version of "Light My Fire." I could already hear the organ introduction in my head.
The Doors hailed from a part of LA where I spent a lot of time. They have roots that stem from Venice, to the UCLA campus. The music scene flourished and morphed during those years. From Laurel Canyon to the Valley, to San Francisco, to Greenwich Village, there was, something happening here, what it is ain't exactly clear. What it was, turned out to be a blending of folk and rock music as well as a psychedelic influenced sound that saw the emergence of many eclectic groups all displaying their own particular influences. Brownie Mc Ghee and Sonny Terry sang, "the blues had a baby, and they called it rock and roll," but it was more like the blues spawned tribes.
Part of this heady scene was the existence of many clubs that served as the venues for the youth culture to see these bands. On the Sunset Strip was the famed Whiskey-a go-go. Also there was the aptly named establishment, The Trip. I recall going to The Trip to see Donovan and getting one of the last little tables they offered. Of course, there was a post right in front of me, so I leaned left, then right for most of the evening. But it was a small space and offered an intimacy (no dancing) to see a performer like Donovan.
There was one other small club that gave me a very specific and portentous memory. The iconic Bido Lido's was not on the Strip, but not too far away. On Cosmo St. in LA they featured a group that was local but just beginning to make a name for itself. LOVE, featured Arthur Lee and has a few hit singles playing nationwide. It was in the Spring of 1967 that I first ascended the spiral staircase and entered Bido Lido's. My good friend Kenny and talked about this place for a good while and one Friday evening we drove through Laurel Canyon in his VW bug and set our sights on seeing the group LOVE.
The club was crowded and soon became rather warm. I was already feeling the effects of just having had a smallpox vaccination. Back then, the smallpox vaccine was a requirement for attending the University of California, and I transferred to UCLA just a few weeks prior.
I tell all this because the memory I have is exiting the club that night. Dying to get outside and breathe the cool night air, we had to climb back up the spiral staircase to get back to the street. The going was slow. When a small stairway gets clogged, it's like the LA freeway at rush hour. Slowly we made our way up the steps. With one final bend to navigate, I noticed a flyer tacked to the wall. Was it a political message? A psychedelic offering? An advertisement? No, it was a coming attraction message. When we finally got close enough to read what it said, I made a mental note of the announcement. It simply read:
COMING NEXT WEEK
A NEW GROUP
THE DOORS
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