History : 1.3. Early live recordings at The Matrix, 1.4. Early TV performances.

The Doors

1.3. Early live recordings at The Matrix.

From March 7 to March 11, 1967, The Doors performed at The Matrix Club in San Francisco, California. The March 7 and 10 shows were recorded by a co-owner of The Matrix, Peter Abram. These recordings are notable as they are among the earliest live recordings of the band to circulate. On November 18, 2008, The Doors published a compilation of these recordings, Live at the Matrix 1967, on the band's boutique Bright Midnight Archives label.

1.4. Early TV performances.

Jim Morrison at The Fillmore East in New York, March 1968

In September 1967 the Doors gave a memorable performance of "Light My Fire" on the Ed Sullivan Show. According to Ray Manzarek, network executives asked that the word 'higher' be removed in favor of 'better', as you couldn't say 'high' on national TV. The group initially agreed to this, but nonetheless performed the song in its original form, either because they had never intended to comply with the request, or Jim Morrison was nervous and forgot to make the change (Manzarek has given conflicting accounts). Either way, 'higher' was sung out on national TV, and a furious Ed Sullivan cancelled another six shows that had been planned, to which Jim Morrison reportedly said: "Hey man, so what? We just did the Ed Sullivan Show".

In May 1967, The Doors made their international television debut by recording a version of "The End" for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) at O'Keefe Centre in Toronto.^[5] It remained unreleased except in bootleg form since its initial broadcasts until the release of The Doors Soundstage Performances DVD in 2002.^[5]

On December 24, the Doors taped "Light My Fire" and "Moonlight Drive" live for the Jonathan Winters Show. From December 26 to December 28, the group played at the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco. An excerpt taken from Stephen Davis' book on Jim Morrison p. 219-220:

The next night at Winterland, a TV set was wheeled onstage during the Doors set so the band could see themselves on the Jonathan Winters Show. They stopped playing Back Door Man when their song came on. The audience watched the Doors watching themselves on TV. They finished the song when their bit was done, and Ray walked over and turned the TV off. The next night was their last ever in Winterland.

They played two more dates in Denver on December 30 and December 31, capping off a year of almost constant touring.