DOORS CONCERT REVIEW -- 55 YEARS AGO!

“Primitive, Grotesque, and Blatantly Sexual”

Jim Morrison, lead singer of the Doors, Hartford, December 2, 1967

Hartford Courant reporter James Petersen was not a fan of The Doors. In his review, published 55 years ago on December 2, 1967, he centered on then-accepted notion that anything from California was odd and drug-addled. “Beautiful, beautiful” is most certainly a drug reference, his indication of how a high Californian would react to the spectacle of the band and its leather-clad singer.

Harsh criticism of the Doors concert

Rather than declare the Doors bad, Petersen puts his opinion in the mouth of an older “ticket seller,” who he believes would see the band, audience, and performance as “primitive, grotesque, and blatantly sexual.” What the reporter wants the reader in conservative Hartford, Connecticut, to understand is that the Doors and Jim Morrison are dangerous. The coded language is the type the band often faced when looked at by those who represented the establishment or “traditional” values.

In other words, devalue the band and its members as both musicians and people: fear the grotesque and outlaw the sexual.

The drumbeat against the Doors and Morrison picked up pace in late 1969, especially after Morrison was arrested on stage in New Haven just one week later. The entire nation — and the federal government — would turn against the Doors, a slippery slope that would be the catalyst for Morrison’s untimely death just three and a half years later.

The reporter is obviously an organ fan…he loves Ray’s organ!

Surprisingly, the only member of the Doors that the reporter enjoyed was Ray Manzarek’s organ. The irony here is that Ray’s driving sound, ranging from dark and eerie to carnival-like and filled with joy, was the sound of the band. How could they be primitive if he liked their essential sound?

Ray Manzarek — “Keyboardist” of the Doors and mastermind of their unique sound!

When Petersen did opine on where he ranked the Doors versus other bands, he ranked them lower than both Procol Harum and the Paul Butterfield Blues Band.

Read the story of the Doors and the Death Days of the Sixties in Roadhouse Blues, published by Hamilcar Publications! For the holidays, the book has been discounted to $15 when ordered at: https://indiepubs.com/products/roadhouse-blues/

JIM MORRISON ARRESTED -- AGAIN

With Miami Indecency Trial Looming, Jim Morrison Arrested on Flight and Faces Federal Charges

Jim Morrison couldn't stay out of trouble, especially when actor Tom Baker was instigating. They got really drunk and rowdy on a flight to Phoenix to see the Rolling Stones, but instead, got arrested and in serious jeopardy when charged with felony offenses.

Jim Morrison -- Arrested Again

Between March 5, 1969, when acting Miami police chief Paul Denham took warrants out on Jim, and the start of the trial on August 10, 1970, the federal government, the state of California, and the state of Florida tried several legal maneuvers to get the Doors front man to submit. At the same time, Jim’s attorney, Max Fink, fought these efforts, including filing several motions to dismiss the case.

"Too High in Sky" -- Jim Morrison Arrested & Jailed in Phoenix

While the wrangling sped along, Morrison’s personal life continued to unravel. He was arrested twice more in that seventeen-month span, first in November for causing a disturbance on a flight and then later the next August for public drunkenness in West Hollywood (when a sixty-eight-year-old woman found him sleeping on her porch and called police). According to Ray Manzarek, "Between Miami and Phoenix, Jim was facing a maximum of over thirteen years in prison."

"Arrested here" -- Morrison Faces Federal Offense

"Between Miami and Phoenix, Jim was facing a maximum of over thirteen years in prison."

— Ray Manzarek

For more great stories, interesting analysis, and an in-depth look at the Doors and Jim Morrison, check out Roadhouse Blues: Morrison, the Doors, and the Death Days of the Sixties (Hamilcar Publications)

Roadhouse Blues by Cultural Historian Bob Batchelor

The Doors Light Up the Night on Halloween in Kentucky

The Doors played Louisville, Kentucky, on Halloween Night in 1968; crowd loved the show, to the dismay of journalist Glenn Rutherford

Jim Morrison on stage on Halloween night 1968

By the fall of 1968, the Doors had released three albums — all had reached #1 on the charts — and had two #1 singles: “Light My Fire” and “Hello, I Love You.” Although it might seem to contemporary readers that the band was on top of the world, the Doors were also less than a year removed from the infamous New Haven concert when a backstage run in with police, got Jim Morrison maced, and later arrested on stage after he baited the officers guarding the band by telling the packed crowd about the incident.

While the Doors were one of the most popular bands in the world based on record sales and numbers of fans, Morrison’s New Haven arrest turned them into the establishment’s #1 suspect. Lots of bad vibes about hippies, drugs, and the Sixties were dropped on the band and their front man, who seemed at ease in whipping young people into a frenzy.

"Weird happening," says reporter

Journalist Glenn Rutherford of the Louisville Courier-Journal covered the band’s concert in Kentucky on its 1968 tour. His descriptions of the crowd epitomized the way many people viewed the Doors and the counterculture in that era — “weird,” “strangely dressed” — as well as the oddity that hippies and young people embodied: “apparently look that way all the time.”

Morrison a sex symbol

Like many reporters and writers during the heyday of the Doors, Rutherford juxtaposed the grungy band and its fans to Morrison’s “sex symbol” status. Again, the idea is that these people — hippies, musicians, those from California — are not like us, as if they have invaded Kentucky and polluted its good citizens.

[Rutherford wasn’t alone in seeming to dislike the Doors. They were a polarizing band in the 1960s, which adds spice to our often-nostalgic views of the era today. What seems amazing, though, is how threatening the band and Morrison specifically was to so many people!]

"Neanderthal pounding"

The most eye-opening part of Rutherford’s review came near the end of the piece when he compared the music to “neanderthal pounding.” Of course, even some hardened critics during the band’s run reacted negatively to Morrison’s poetic posturing, his voice, or the pomposity they saw in the band’s “erotic politicians” stance. However, few journalists blasted the music emanating from Ray Manzarek’s keyboards, Robby Krieger’s guitar, or John Densmore’s drum kit.

In contrast, even when Morrison was at his drunken worst, observers noted how tight the Doors were as musicians. The comparison of them to a jazz trio was a high compliment.

Roadhouse Blues: Morrison, the Doors, and the Death Days of the Sixties by cultural historian Bob Batchelor

In his scribbling about “neanderthal pounding,” what the journalist completely missed is the beauty of the song he quoted: “Soul Kitchen.”

On the surface, “Soul Kitchen” seems like a simple ditty, an ode to a diner the band had haunted. But, a deeper examination of Morrison’s poetics reveals a much deeper, more meaningful exploration of lost love and its consequences.

Well, your fingers weave quick minarets
Speak in secret alphabets
I light another cigarette
Learn to forget, learn to forget
Learn to forget, learn to forget

— Jim Morrison, “Soul Kitchen”

The narrator laments his love’s secret language and begs for her acceptance. Yet, when she turns him out, he is forced to “wander” and ends up “stumblin’ in the neon groves” of Los Angeles.

Like many of Morrison’s lyrics, “Soul Kitchen” is evergreen and open to multiple interpretations. The great rock critic and aficionado Paul Williams compared “Soul Kitchen” to Bob Dylan’s classic “Blowin’ In the Wind.”

Both songs ask the listener’s mind to expand to places known and unknown via unanswerable questions that are deeper than imagined on the surface, even when they might allude to a specific moment in time.

So much for neanderthal pounding…

EXCLUSIVE -- Excerpt from Stan Lee: A Life

Exclusive! Read Excerpt From Stan Lee: A Life by Bob Batchelor

Fans who have been waiting to catch Stan Lee: A Life by award-winning cultural historian and biographer Bob Batchelor can now read an exclusive excerpt at Forces of Geek, one of the premiere pop culture websites publishing today. Over the years, millions of fans have been entertained by FOG, which delivers outstanding columnists and opinion, reviews, and insightful analysis of geek culture from today and our nostalgia-tinged youths.

Exclusive! Read an Excerpt From Stan Lee: A Life by Bob Batchelor

Stefan Blitz is FOG editor-in-chief. In the introduction to the excerpt, he also revealed that Batchelor “will be joining the site next year.” He will be writing a column on Gen X and other popular culture topics.

On Stan Lee: A Life, Blitz explains, “Take the opportunity to check out an exclusive excerpt from his fantastic book, which might be the last word on one of pop culture’s most inimitable icons.”

The excerpt, “How the Marvel Universe Conquered the Globe,” is the first chapter from Stan Lee: A Life.

Forces of Geek — your home to discover and embrace the unknown, the forgotten, and the beloved from popular culture — has published an exclusive excerpt from Stan Lee: A Life (Rowman & Littlefield, 2022).

“While there are generations of great science fiction films and action movies, the difference between the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and the others is voice…The Marvel feeling is so ingrained in the heads of fandom that it feels subconscious. It’s driven by Lee’s voice. No matter who directs an MCU film or plays a superhero or supervillain, the internal consistency prevails: Thor’s humor and stilted formality, Iron Man’s snark, Spider-Man’s relentless patter and earnestness. This is Stan’s enduring legacy.”

— Bob Batchelor

While some readers might never have thought of the term “voice,” Batchelor breaks it down via the way the concept is outline by eminent writer Jerome Charyn, one of the most important voices in American literature today.

Charyn describes voice as “music.” Charyn’s concept, although focused on books, can be applied to Lee’s comic book writing:

“Writing…is about the music, it’s about the voice. This is what predominates. The music is all, the music is total, it’s absolute.”

— Jerome Charyn

Stan’s dialogue provided Marvel with a kind of music that readers could hear and matched their internal rhythms, resulting in an experience that transformed them. “It’s music alive with extreme sympathy,” Charyn explained, “there is no space between you and the text.” As a result, readers could feel the Marvel style, while simultaneously that Lee patter paralleled the cultural explosion booming across society. We hear this in the Beatles’ “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band,” Stanley Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove and 2001: A Space Odyssey, and J. D. Salinger’s short stories.

Meet Stan Lee -- October 12, 1991

Stan Lee and Spider-Man together at 1991 book signing event

Meet Stan Lee!

From the early 1960s until his death in 2018, Stan Lee was different than other celebrities — approachable and committed to staying connected to the fans that helped build Marvel into a global brand.

Marvel: Five Fabulous Decades of the World's Greatest Comics by Les Daniels

Les Daniels’ book — Marvel: Five Five Fabulous Decades of the World's Greatest Comics not only gave fans an inside look at Marvel’s history, but for those fans lined up at the Paramus Barnes & Noble, they were in for a treat — meeting Stan and Spider-Man!

Two heroes for the price of one!

To learn more about the Marvel maestro’s amazing life, please read Stan Lee: A Life, available wherever you like to purchase books.

Spider-Man Film Rights Tangled in Web (of Lawsuits) -- October 11, 1998

Stan Lee believed in Spider-Man as a film franchise, but the rights were tangled in a web of lawsuits

Spider-Man film rights stuck in legal quagmire

Stan Lee had a vision — an entire Marvel Universe on screen! He had worked for decades to get Hollywood executives and studio heads to believe him. As always, he placed his faith in his most successful co-creation — Spider-Man.

Stan Lee with his number one creation -- Spider-Man

Even a person as optimistic as Stan had a difficult time keeping his cool as a series of productions companies bought the rights to Spider-Man, but then fell into development hell as they attempted to figure out just how to bring the web-slinger to life.

The extensive licensing and rights deals attached to the character led to a series of high-profile lawsuits that stalled progress and infuriated Lee. At various points the legal battles included many of Hollywood’s greatest names, from MGM and Viacom to Sony and 21st Century. Even the great James Cameron — who would later become a hit-maker based on Titanic (1997) — couldn’t move the mountains necessary to make a Spider-Man film based on his 1991 treatment.

Stan Lee hoped James Cameron would make a Spider-Man film

The legal battles were not cleaned up until early 1999, when Columbia Pictures acquired the rights to all previous Spider-Man scripts in a deal with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Sony then purchased the rights from MGM. Sam Raimi was hired to direct the Tobey Maguire-starring vehicle in 2000 and the film came out two years later.

Spider-Man (2002) is finally made!

Spider-Man was 2002’s highest grossing film, generating more than $407 million in North America, while earning a staggering $418 million overseas. Wiping out all the doubts about whether a superhero film might work, Spider-Man soon became the highest-grossing superhero film of all time after its release, both domestically and worldwide.

Spidey turned Stan Lee’s dream into a reality!

To learn more about the Marvel maestro’s amazing life, please read Stan Lee: A Life, available wherever you like to purchase books.

Stan Lee Predicts Marvel's Future -- 50 Years Ago Today

Stan Lee Predicts Marvel’s Future in 1972!

Newspaper article on Marvel superheroes featuring Stan Lee

The power and global influence of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is pervasive today, but imagine having nearly every door in Hollywood slammed in your face at the mere thought that anyone would want to see Marvel superheroes on the big screen.

This was Stan Lee’s reality 50 years ago in 1972, even though comic books were a $200 million industry at the time. Ironically, the Dallas Times Herald journalist who interviewed Stan was named Bill Marvel, a daily reporter who had started his career in 1961, at the dawning of the Marvel comic book renaissance, which began with the launch of the Fantastic Four, co-created with artist Jack Kirby.

Stan Lee is prescient in forecasting Marvel's future

Despite being roundly ignored (or laughed out of the room) by Hollywood executives, Lee persevered, asserting that Marvel was in the midst of a major transformation from comic book company to media “hot property.”

Although he could not get producers to agree, Stan told the journalist that he viewed television and film as the future of the company. He was betting his own future on that vision after a lifetime in creating comic books and decades ahead of his peers at Marvel or in the entertainment industry.

“The next phase is where the much bigger money might lie.”

— Stan Lee

Stan Lee with the book Origins of Marvel Comics

Stan certainly did not have a crystal ball, but his tireless dedication to the basic notion that adults would enjoy films centered on Marvel superheroes eventually transformed the film industry around the globe. Lee was just decades ahead of his time!

To learn more about the Marvel maestro’s amazing life, please read Stan Lee: A Life, available wherever you like to purchase books.