The Doors - 1968-12-04 - Los Angeles, CA (TV SBD)

The Doors

1968-12-4 

Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour

CBS Studios

Los Angeles, CA

Television Recording 

320 kbps

Video Link Below

1. Introduction > Wild Child

2. Introduction > Touch Me

The Doors - 1968-12-04 - Los Angeles, CA (TV SBD)

On September 17, The Doors gave a memorable performance of Light My Fire on The Ed Sullivan Show. Before the show, network executives asked that the word “higher” be removed in favor of "better', to avoid any suggestion of drug use. While the group initially agreed, once the band hit the stage, Jim Morrison, in classic 1960s example of the counter-culture defying the establishment, left the original lyric in place. A furious Ed Sullivan canceled another six appearances that had been planned, banning the Doors from the show forever. The Doors found a far more friendly televison show about a year later, however, when the appeared on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour on December 4, 1968, 56 years ago today, as captured in this TV soundboard recording. The Smothers Brothers had become a voice for the counter culture, with their show featuring musical guests such as Joan Baez, Buffalo Springfield, Cass Elliot, Cream, The Doors, Jefferson Airplane, Jimi Hendrix and even Pete Seeger, who had been blackballed from television for years due to his anti-war stance. Ray Manzarek said that "The Smothers Brothers were great guys, and very controversial. They wouldn’t bow to the powers-that-be and were always poking fun at the establishment."  John Densmore commented that "The Smothers Brothers were funny and they were political. Their politics were our politics, plus they were against the Vietnam war. In fact, they got kicked off the air due to their politics. We were really proud to be on their show."