Original subtitles

Hey, what would you guys like to hear?

No, you do something!

We're over Hollywood Bowl right now.

And that's where, of course, Judy Garland, and Leopold Stokowski, and Jan Peerce,

and Eddie Fisher, when Debbie lets him out of the house, entertain for many people.

Of course, they entertain one at a time, not all at once.

You know, the Hollywood Bowl, I always say,

has probably the most diverse set of musical offerings

of any major music festival in the world.

If you go all the way back to the very beginning,

the Hollywood Bowl was really a very natural site.

Nestled into a canyon where a group of people realised, quite by chance,

that there was a great natural acoustic.

And they decided that we should use this space.

And this was not at a very developed time in Los Angeles history,

so this is very much on the outside of what is now Hollywood.

The Bowl was situated just at the top of Highland Avenue.

And in many ways it's situated as the gateway to Hollywood.

If you're coming in off the pass, you come across the Bowl first

before you get down into what we now think of as Hollywood,

with the Chinese Theatre, and the Roosevelt Hotel

and all the other great landmarks of Hollywood.

And, I think, when you drive by and you see the beautiful iconic statue,

you know that this is a town for artists, and musicians and actors,

and it's a place for culture.

And they did plays, they did Easter Sunrise services,

they had rallies, they had community meetings,

they had a production of Twelfth Night.

Occasional events that took advantage

of this very natural, acoustically wonderful, bucolic canyon.

There was no shell, there wasn't even permanent seating.

It was just an open space.

But a group of those people got together and realised

that there was something here that could really be made something permanent,

something that would be a gift to the people of Los Angeles.

And there was a woman, who we really think of as the mother of the Bowl,

who was a part of this group of civic leaders and philanthropists

who cared so much about the Bowl. And her name was Artie Mason Carter.

And she asked the director of the LA Philharmonic at the time,

the founder of the LA Philharmonic, if he would bring the orchestra to perform

for an Easter Sunrise service, which he did in 1921.

And that was the first time the Philharmonic performed on that spot.

In 1922, the Philharmonic started an annual summer series of concerts.

And it's been the home of the Philharmonic ever since that time.

The first couple years of the Bowl, when it was very much used sporadically,

there wasn't any shell, there was a platform, a wooden platform and a stage.

The shell was brought in, I think,

particularly when the orchestra was having a regular appearance at the Bowl

to help with the acoustics for the musicians on stage.

But really in the beginning years, the shells were always intended to be temporary.

What people might not realise is that

they were very purposefully designed to last for one season.

So that way you'd have a different look every year.

And they were considered to be temporary structures.

So the first few changed in shape. We had an elliptical shape,

there was a very famous pyramid shape that Lloyd Wright had designed.

Eventually settling on a streamlined Moderne style,

which is the concentric rings that Allied Architects built.

And the early shells, from what I understand, had pros and cons.

Some of them worked better than others, some of them helped the acoustics on stage,

and some of them, perhaps, didn't do quite as well.

But because they weren't intended to be permanent, it didn't really matter so to speak.

The shell was designed to project the sound out, just that shell.

Although there's 18,000 seats, so that's a lot of projection for that shell.

The whole shape of the Bowl is like a big speaker, right?

- Yeah. - So if you're up in the back,

- I think you can hear pretty damn good. - You ever been up there?

Yeah. I saw Miles Davis there. I saw the Stones there.

- You did? Yeah? - Yeah. Yeah.

- The Stones? - Yeah.

- Yeah? - With Charlie Watts.

The Bowl used to have a reflecting pool, right in front of the stage,

which had fountains that shot out of it.

And they would use it in the intermission, timed to music and to light.

It was a very iconic component of the Bowl's architecture for many, many decades.

They had dancing waters with lights in between acts and it was, basically,

to provide a screen

in between acts so that people could go onstage and change the set-up.

And it was very pretty, and it was very nice. And it actually...

The sound in the Bowl was better then, at least to my take,

because the water took the sound off the stage

and reflected it up and out. And it was very pretty.

When we played there, there still was the big reflection pool in front of the shell.

And so they covered that and put a green fake lawn on there.

So really we were in front of the shell and we knew water was beneath us,

which was kind of unnerving with all that electronic equipment.

Had Jim really been out of it that night... I mean, he was on acid that night,

but had he fallen off stage, he would have fallen into the water,

which would've been interesting.

The Bowl was primarily used for

the Philharmonic Orchestra for many, many, many years.

There was a jazz series fairly early at the Bowl in the '30s and '40s.

You had people like Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington and others

who would make regular appearances at the Bowl.

You'd see Count Basie, innumerable artists, jazz artists.

What happens is... The interesting change in the tenor

is when orchestral music started to be influenced

by non-orchestral or pop or jazz influences.

And I think that's when people started to really take notice about change is in the air.

I think the most famous example of that

is when Frank Sinatra performed with the LA Philharmonic for the first time

in the early '40s at the Bowl.

And if you go back and read the L.A. Times from the week,

maybe the week prior and the week after that concert,

just article after article everyday about,

"Is it okay for Frank Sinatra to perform with our great orchestra?"

Because orchestras at that time didn't perform with people like Frank Sinatra.

A young jazz singer or pop singer

couldn't be the soloist in front of a symphony orchestra.

As the '60s came in and you started to see more pop and rock influence generally

in the culture, I'd say probably the late '50s is when Dick Clark

started his rock and roll reviews at the Hollywood Bowl.

So in 1958, was the first time Dick Clark put together a rock and roll review for us.

And Duane Eddy was the first rock performer to ever grace the stage

of the Hollywood Bowl, playing his guitar, of course.

Since then, things kind of unfolded very quickly.

If you look back at the ledgers from the early '60s,

it's all of the great bands that you would imagine from that period,

any of the icons that you can think of. People like Johnny Cash, Ray Charles,

the Beach Boys, the Rolling Stones, the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix,

the Grateful Dead, the Byrds and the Kinks.

All my contemporaries played there,

Hendrix, and the Dead, and the Beach Boys, and I was jealous, but I was in awe.

I wanted to be up there. And I was.

I think what's really special about going to concerts at the Bowl,

and particularly the rock concerts, is that there's so much energy

when you're in that very isolated canyon. You know you're surrounded by the city,

but at that moment it's just you and the performer.

Because there's nothing else to distract you.

People know that there's so much history that's running through that whole canyon.

So I know that when performers tell me that when they play the Bowl

it feels different to them than any other venue they've played,

because they know who else has stood on that stage.

And they know they're part of a tradition that's gone back 91 years,

almost unchanged.

These iconic moments in music history have taken place on that very same spot.

It feels, you know, it's almost a cliché,

but it feels like hallowed ground for a lot of performers.

And I think the audiences feel that, too.

I think to the Doors, or any artist, playing the Hollywood Bowl is kind of a goal.

The Hollywood Bowl was always this incredible, iconic venue, you know?

And to think that I would play there was like, "Whoa," you know?

How do you get to the Hollywood Bowl?

You get to the Hollywood Bowl by limo, of course.

But for us to get there then, we had to get a number one record,

and then we had to play a bunch of places, and then we played Madison Square Garden,

and up and down the coast, and started to play all over the country.

The first gig we ever played was at the Hughes Aircraft,

where Ray's mom worked.

We got the gig, I think it was for

either a Christmas or Thanksgiving kind of party they had.

You know, we had to play jazz standards and stuff like that.

And Jim had never... We had never actually done a gig before.

Somehow we got through the gig. It was actually fun.

Back then not a lot people had this going on.

And so they just stared at us like we were from Mars.

And no screaming, it wasn't Doors mania.

It was like, "Whoa. Who are these aliens? Although, they're interesting.

"That lead singer, boy, black leather, whoa."

And they go play high schools, little gigs, private parties.

Get $20 and split it four ways.

The Valley Teen Centre was in the Round. That was weird.

We go down to the stage, we get on it, and then they start up the motor.

And it starts to slowly turn as we play. I mean, that's, you know...

We're already playing music that's kind of psychedelic.

And, so, when you finish,

the stage doesn't necessarily stop at the aisle you came down.

So you don't even know where you are.

You don't need drugs. Play a circle in the Round.

I do remember playing Las Vegas in an ice rink.

They covered the ice with plywood or whatever.

It was so fucking cold in there. Can we say that?

How can you rock out when you're freezing? That was odd.

After a year and a half of rehearsing in the garage in Venice,

we got a gig at the London Fog.

The London Fog was a tiny little hole in the wall on the Sunset Strip.

Legendary Doors gig. It's absolutely legendary.

Rayjust asked all his old film school buddies

to come out with their girlfriends and friends.

So that at least their opening night, they would be packed.

And we packed it with our friends and got the gig,

and then no one was there the next night.

- As tiny as it was and virtually deserted... - And on the billboard, what did it say?

The billboard was hysterical. It was hand-painted on a sheet.

- Right. - They had it suspended from a pole.

- And it said, "The Doors..." - "Band from Venice."

"Band from Venice. What else is there to say?

"There's nothing else to say about them. This is their first gig."

- Do we... - Was it B-A-N-N-E-D or...

No, no, hardly, yeah, right. It's what... Yeah. Wouldn't that have been great?

- Banned from Venice. - Banned. You can't play in Venice.

Anything went in Venice. That was our claim to notoriety.

We were, in fact, a band from Venice, Venice Beach, California.

- You go from the London Fog... - London Fog.

- To the Whisky. - Whisky a Go Go.

Ronnie Harran booked us into the Whisky a Go Go.

And thank God she came by, man.

Yeah, she came down to London Fog and saw us there,

and immediately fell in love with Jim.

And a couple of weeks later we were playing at the Whisky.

She said, "How would you guys like to be the house band at the Whisky a Go Go?"

The three of us go, "Yes!" Jim says, "Hold on."

He said, "We got to think about it. Why don't you come back in a day or two,

"and we'll give you the answer." She leaves. We attack Morrison.

"Why you... Goddamnit!" I think we were even getting fired from the London Fog.

It was like really serendipity.

The better angels of ourselves had brought her in.

"Come on in. You've got to see this band. You're gonna love the lead singer."

So we start pummelling Morrison on the arm. And I said to him,

"We need the Whisky. That's the Whisky a Go Go.

"She wants us to be the opening act, the house band.

"We play one set, the headliner plays, change the house. We play another set

- "and the headliner plays." - "And we get paid."

"And we get paid union money."

- We were getting, like, 10 bucks a night. - Five.

- Five. Ten bucks on weekend. - $7.50.

So Morrison says, "You don't wanna appear too anxious."

He said, "I know we need the gig. We'll take the gig.

"But you don't wanna appear too anxious."

Two days later she comes back and Jim says, "Yeah, we talked it over.

"Wen take the gig."

A week or two later we were at the Whisky a Go Go.

And the headliner for our first week there was...

Didn't he tell her, "We have to look through our schedule,

- "but we can probably do it." - "We'll probably fit it in here

"because our schedule is empty for the next 20 years. We have nothing."

The act that we opened for was Van Morrison.

Jim Morrison and Van Morrison.

They were called Them, of course, we were called the Doors.

But Van Morrison and Jim Morrison were on the same stage.

And our last set, we all jammed together at the same time.

- Played Gloria. - Morrison and Morrison doing Gloria.

Man, oh, man.

The next time I saw them they were at, I believe, it was Ondine in New York City.

And I noticed an enormous change in Morrison.

He had developed to his stage presence.

He was really a performer by then.

Initially, I just thought, "This guy's not gonna make it as a performer."

He just seems too shy.

He mostly kept his back to the audience,

and really didn't do that performer thing of engaging the audience.

And then Jim gradually got the courage to turn around and face the audience.

At first, I thought, "God, he's so introspective.

"He's just like fooling with the mic cord and doesn't know what he's doing.

"And I'm a professional. I've been playing weddings and Bar Mitzvahs forever."

At the time, I didn't know that he was kind of finding his own.

He wasn't gonna imitate James Brown like some other singers.

He was gonna find his snake skin uniqueness and that gradually evolved.

Fillmore was good. God, the Fillmore. Wow, was that fun.

Psychedelic ballrooms and San Francisco. Holy cow! The Fillmore and the Avalon.

Boy, were those fabulous places to play.

Tripped out audience, and the girls doing that dancing with their long hair.

And we'd play The End, and they would be in seventh heaven.

That Indian-style thing.

And they're all dressed in Indian-styled clothes. They just loved it.

And the early gigs like that, that sort of, maybe, second bill in a concert hall,

just making the jump from clubs.

I would say for me, that was the most exciting time.

Because all this work we did was gonna happen.

"Oh, my God, this train's leaving the station. This is gonna go, maybe."

The... The high from that was fantastic.

Playing giant concerts, the first few times,

of course, this mass adulation, it's great.

But that incubation where the baby's coming out. That's heaven.

And finally the Hollywood Bowl called in 1968.

In 1968, they said, "We'd like you to play the Hollywood Bowl."

And we said, "Well, by God, let's check our schedule.

"Yes, I think we can make the Hollywood Bowl."

For them to score a concert there at the Bowl,

and for them being a Los Angeles band, it was as if

they were giving a gift back to the city, and the city was welcoming them

and honouring them by allowing them to appear at the Bowl,

or inviting them to appear at the Bowl. So, yeah, it was a big deal.

I didn't know how prestigious it was

until I finally started to hear the conversation around the office.

I just thought for them, at the beginning, that it was another concert,

but when I heard them talk about it...

They felt as if it was something prestigious, and something special and important.

So it was very prestigious. It was a great place to play.

A real honour to play the Hollywood Bowl.

'Cause we were just beat hippies from Venice Beach, California.

There we were.

Looking at this Hollywood Bowl doc now,

it's like some glorious, psychedelic dream I had a long time ago.

And it's real clear, it's in HD and beautiful.

And I don't know who was playing drums, but he's good.

Again, I go back to the emotion of the Hollywood Bowl.

That was the fun part.

Playing the keys with John Densmore, and Jim Morrison and Robby Krieger.

Genius Krieger on guitar, the guy who wrote Light My Fire.

Morrison and those lyrics.

God Almighty, those great, great lyrics. "This is the end, beautiful friend".

What a time, man. Brings a tear to my eye just thinking about it.

It was fabulous. It was our youth. We were in the prime of our youth.

Never to be, ever again, for this guy. This body will never do that again.

But it's always up here, man. Always up here and right here, you know.

My guys, my band. Boy, was it fun.