1968
MARGE PETTYJOHN
Publication: Dallas Morning News
Issue: January 21st - 1968
Interview Date: Exact Date Unknown - Mid-January 1968
Publish Date: January 21st - 1968
Interview Location: The Doors Office, CA > Dallas, TX
Info:
Ray Manzarek and Robby Krieger give a telephone interview to Dallas Morning News reporter Marge Pettyjohn in January of 1968. Robby talks about leaving school for the band, and Ray talks about performing live, not being on drugs, recording The End, and the new unreleased song The Unknown Soldier. Jim Morrison is quoted in this article, however it is not clear if he was present during the phone call. This is the earliest known published interview for 1968.
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JANE JAMES
Publication: The Press Democrat
Issue: March 1st - 1968
Interview Date: February 10th - 1968
Publish Date: March 1st - 1968
Interview Location: Berkeley Community Theatre - Berkeley, CA
Info:
Piner High School student Jane James interviews John Densmore backstage following a performance at the Berkeley Community Theatre on February 10th, 1968. Very little interview content is published, and John may have been tired or uninterested in providing detailed answers to questions. The rest of the band members are too busy to talk. The remainder of the article features biographical information on the group.
RICHARD GOLDSTEIN
Publication: New York Magazine
Issue: August 5th - 1968
Interview Date: Exact Date Unknown - March 1968
Publish Date: August 5th - 1968
Interview Location: T.T.G. Studios - Hollywood, CA
Info:
This interview by Richard Goldstein was published in New York Magazine in August, 1968. The exact date of this interview is unknown, however it appears to have taken place in March, 1968 as The Doors record Five To One in the studio. Richard Goldstein mentions the use of a tape recorder, however the whereabouts of the tape are unknown.
DIGBY DIEHL
Publication: Eye Magazine
Issue: April 1968
Interview Date: Exact Date Unknown - March 1968
Publish Date: April 1968
Interview Location: Unknown Location
Info:
This magazine article by Digby Diehl features quotations taken from an interview with The Doors in March 1968 for Eye Magazine. The band members discuss their latest happenings and previous histories, and Jim Morrison attempts to explain the meaning of the 'Blue Bus'. This interview is said to have been recorded.
JUDITH SIMS
Publication: Teenset
Issue: June 1968
Interview Date: Exact Date Unknown - April 1968
Publish Date: June 1968
Interview Location: Los Angeles
Info:
Judith Sims conducts another interview for Teenset with Jim Morrison at Olivia's Place, better known to fans of The Doors as the Soul Kitchen. Jim discusses his poetry, and the progress made on the new album over a meal of liver and onions. The article titled 'An Afternoon With Jim Morrison' is later published in the June 1968 issue, now a highly collectible magazine due to Jim Morrison's appearance on the cover and an article featuring what may be the earliest known publication of Paul Ferrara's iconic Griffith Observatory photographs.
DON PAULSEN
Publication: Hit Parader
Issue: May 1968
Interview Date: Exact Date Unknown - April 1968
Publish Date: May 1968
Interview Location: Unknown Location
Info:
This article titled 'The Doors Talk Music' features another interview by Don Paulsen with Ray Manzarek, Robby Krieger & John Densmore. Jim Morrison does not appear to be present. The band answers questions about their instruments, and discuss aspects of studio recording sessions. Don Paulsen is also a noted photographer of The Doors live performances, including Steve Paul's 'The Scene' in N.Y.C., and the Ondine.
UNKNOWN INTERVIEWER
Publication: Northern California Folk Rock Festival
Issue: #1
Interview Date: Exact Date Unknown - Early May 1968
Publish Date: May 1968
Interview Location: Unknown Location
Info:
Ray Manzarek gives an interview for a mock newspaper promoting the upcoming Northern California Folk Rock Festival. Ray discusses the upcoming album, traveling, and his thoughts on achieving stardom, however his answers are brief and to the point.
ART KANE
Publication: LIFE Magazine
Issue: June 28th - 1968
Interview Date: Exact Date Unknown - Early May 1968
Publish Date: June 28th - 1968
Interview Location: Unknown Location
Info:
Photographer Art Kane photographs Jim Morrison and The Doors at the Chateau Marmont hotel in West Hollywood in early May 1968 for LIFE Magazine. This photo session produces the iconic shot of Jim Morrison behind the TV set in a hotel room closet. Included in this brief two page pictorial are unique quotes from Jim Morrison, such as "TV is both beautiful and malignant, restricting reality to a small gray tube - we are spectators - metamorphosized from a mad body dancing on the hillside to a pair of eyes staring in the dark." Information on photo prints are available in our Marketplace section!
JERRY HOPKINS
Publication: Open City
Issue: June 28th
Interview Date: Exact Date Unknown - May 1968
Publish Date: June 28th - 1968
Interview Location: Barney's Beanery - Los Angeles, CA
Info:
In this interview, Jim Morrison discusses the failed attempt to record The Celebration Of The Lizard during the band's recent studio sessions, and other aspects of the formation of their latest upcoming album Waiting For The Sun. This interview was conducted by Jerry Hopkins at Barney's Beanery for Open City magazine a year prior to his in-depth interview for Rolling Stone in 1969, with updates to the article made prior to its publication.
BOB ROSE
Publication: (Associated Press)
Issue: June 2nd - 1968
Interview Date: Exact Date Unknown - May 1968
Publish Date: June 2nd - 1968
Interview Location: The Doors Office - Hollywood, CA
Info:
Bob Rose interviews Jim Morrison at The Doors office as it's under renovations to make room for Paul Ferrara's new workspace. The article is published in various newspapers across the U.S.
PAUL NELSON
Publication: Hullabaloo Magazine
Issue: July - 1968
Interview Date: Exact Date Unknown - June 1968
Publish Date: July 1968 - 1968
Interview Location: Unknown - New York, NY
Info:
Paul Nelson interviews Elektra publicist Danny Fields about The Doors & Earth Opera. The subjects for discussion are the promotion of the Break On Through single, Light My Fire as a success, and The Unknown Soldier film and radio airplay. This interview may have been recorded.
JACOBA ATLAS
Publication: Hullabaloo Magazine
Issue: Three Issues - October > November > December 1968
Interview Date: June 13th - 1968
Publish Date: October 1968 pt1 - November 1968 pt2 - December 1968 pt3
Interview Location: T.T.G. Studios - Hollywood, CA
Info:
An exclusive interview with Jim Morrison & The Doors is conducted by Jacoba Atlas on June 13th 1968, and later published over three issues of Hullabaloo magazine. These publications feature numerous photographs of the band taken by various different photographers.
JOHN CARPENTER
Publication: Los Angeles Free Press (Zero)
Issue: July 19th-25th
Interview Date: Exact Date Unknown - Mid July 1968
Publish Date: July 19-25 Issue, 1968
Interview Location: Hyatt Continental Hotel - Hollywood, CA
Info:
This interview with Jim Morrison is recorded and conducted at the Hyatt Continental Hotel on the Sunset Strip in June or early July 1968 by John Carpenter, journalist for the Los Angeles Free Press. Prior to its publication, transcripts of a recording are sent to Jim for approval. He requests further revision from Pamela Courson, and extensive portions are removed. For its final publication editing is completed by Bob Shayne. This interview is published in a Los Angeles Free Press pullout section known as Zero for the week of July 19th-25th, and is subsequently published in Canada in the August 23rd-24th issue of the Georgia Straight. The whereabouts of the original recording are currently unknown.
BRUCE HATHAWAY
Publication: San Antonio Express Sun
Issue: July 21st - 1968
Interview Date: Exact Date Unknown - Mid July 1968
Publish Date: July 21st - 1968
Interview Location: Unknown - Possibly Dallas or Houston, TX
Info:
At the announcement of The Doors performances in Dallas and Houston on July 9th and 10th, local Texas reporter Bruce Hathaway reaches out to ask the band a few questions, and the answers are published in the San Antonio Express Sun. Jim Morrison states that he likes horse racing and the Beach Boys, and that his favorite television programs are newscasts. John Densmore says he would like to get into musical production or perhaps engineering as a final career. Robby Krieger contributes very little but that his favorite singer is James Brown, and Ray Manzarek explains that he likes snails, oysters, and prime rib.
CAROL GWENN
Publication: Teenset
Issue: Unknown - 1968
Interview Date: Exact Date Unknown - Late July 1968
Publish Date: Unknown - 1968
Interview Location: Unknown - Los Angeles, CA
Info:
The Doors manager Bill Siddons is interviewed by Carol Gwenn of Teenset magazine during the last half of July 1968. The finished article is featured in an undated issue of Teenset magazine printed as a special for The Beatles Yellow Submarine album. Bill talks about The Doors rise to fame and how they adapt and deal with the success. Also discussed is the poor performance at the Hollywood Bowl. The interview takes place at an unknown location in what appears to be the later half of July 1968.
ELLEN SANDER
Publication: Hit Parader
Issue: November 1969
Interview Date: Mixed Dates - 1968/1969
Publish Date: November - 1969
Interview Location: Singer Bowl, Madison Square Garden - New York, N.Y.
Info:
This lengthy article by Ellen Sander, who would later become Jac Holzman's wife, is a mixed report of quotes and thoughts on The Doors conducted during her exclusive backstage access to the band during their performances in New York in August 1968 at the Singer Bowl, memoirs of the Madison Square Garden performance in 1969, and Jim Morrison at the Plaza Hotel in New York. The article also features a rare publication of quotes from Feast Of Friends filmmaker Paul Ferrara, and sound engineer Babe Hill.
LON GODDARD
Publication: Record Mirror
Issue: Week ending September 14th - 1968
Interview Date: September 4th - 1968
Publish Date: September - 1968
Interview Location: I.C.A. Gallery - London, U.K.
Info:
Various photographers, writers, and journalists attend the press conference held at the I.C.A. Gallery in London, England on September 4th, 1968. Lon Goddard, reporting for Record Mirror, attends the event and publishes his interview with Ray Manzarek in the week ending September 14th issue, featuring a photograph by Alan Messer, and a caricature of Ray designed by Lon. Ray can be seen and heard speaking to Lon in Granada Television's The Doors Are Open.
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RICHARD GREEN
Publication: New Musical Express
Issue: April 25th - 1970
Interview Date: September 4th - 1968
Publish Date: April 25th - 1970
Interview Location: I.C.A. Gallery - London, U.K.
Info:
Richard Green follows Mike Grant at the I.C.A. Gallery with a failed attempt to ask Jim Morrison about a comparison with Mick Jagger. Later, he does not attend the press meeting at the Polydor Records office. This short interview does not appear to have been published until April 1970 in the New Musical Express.
TONY WILSON
Publication: Melody Maker
Issue: September 14th - 1968
Interview Date: September 6th - 1968
Publish Date: September 14th - 1968
Interview Location: The Roundhouse - London, U.K.
Info:
Tony Wilson accompanies The Doors to the Roundhouse in London on September 6th, 1968 and later publishes a two-page spread in the September 14th, 1968 issue of Melody Maker. Q&A's with Jim Morrison and Grace Slick take place backstage, and reviews of the performances are included. Jim Morrison tells Tony that the Roundhouse is the place for The Doors. Violence is discussed, and the idea behind The Unknown Soldier is explained. Jim Morrison also explains why The Doors are not an underground band, and that The Doors qualify as businessmen. No recordings of these Q&A sessions are known to exist.
NICK LOGAN
Publication: New Musical Express/Hit Parader
Issue: September 21st - 1968 (NME)/April 1969 (HP)
Interview Date: September 9th - 1968
Publish Date: September 21st - 1968 / April - 1969
Interview Location: Polydor Records Office - London, U.K.
Info:
Nick Logan attends the press conference at the I.C.A. Gallery, however his interview takes place at the Polydor Records office on September 9th. Jim Morrison discusses his musical influences in an article titled 'Elvis Influenced Doors' Jim', published in the September 21st, 1968 issue of New Musical Express. A second article titled 'You Can't Divorce Sex From Pop' is then published in the October 19th issue. A third publication is printed in Hit Parader magazine in the April 1969 issue and features and interview material from Robby Krieger and notes about the Roundhouse performances. Numerous photographers, interviewers and the Granada film crew are present during this gathering with The Doors.
DAVID GRIFFITHS
Publication: Record Mirror
Issue: September 21st - 1968
Interview Date: September 9th - 1968
Publish Date: September 21st - 1968
Interview Location: Polydor Records Office - London, U.K.
Info:
David Griffiths of Record Mirror magazine is amongst the press at Polydor Records office for an interview session with The Doors on September 9th. The article describes the surroundings and those who are present, including Anne Nightingale, and the Granada film crew. Jim Morrison is the focus during the first half of the report, however David becomes uninterested and moves on to interview Ray Manzarek.
UNKNOWN INTERVIEWER
Publication: Various
Issue: September 26th - 1968
Interview Date: September 9th - 1968
Publish Date: September 26th - 1968
Interview Location: Polydor Records Office - London, U.K.
Info:
An unidentified journalist is in attendance during the press meet at the Polydor Records office in London on September 9th. This article includes a Q&A with Jim Morrison that overlaps with other articles written by others from the same press meeting, and is published in the September 26th, 1968 issue. Other publications appear to feature a similar article written by the same journalist, however their identity is never disclosed.
UNKNOWN INTERVIEWER
Publication: Beat Instrumental
Issue: October - 1968
Interview Date: September 9th - 1968
Publish Date: October - 1968
Interview Location: Polydor Records Office - London, U.K.
Info:
A Q&A with The Doors by an unknown interviewer in at the Polydor Records office is published in the October 1968 issue of Beat Instrumental. Jim Morrison discusses the band's recent performances at the Roundhouse and comments on being "here in England". This interview takes place at the Polydor Records office amongst various other interviewers, photographers and the Granada film crew on September 9th.
MIKE GRANT
Publication: Rave! Magazine
Issue: December 1968
Interview Date: September 9th - 1968
Publish Date: December - 1968
Interview Location: Polydor Records Office - London, U.K.
Info:
Mike Grant is amongst the press at the I.C.A. Gallery on September 4th, but is later given a chance to ask The Doors questions for a second time at the Polydor Records office in London. This article is based on the Polydor Records Q&A and is published in the December 1968 issue of Rave! Magazine.
UNKNOWN INTERVIEWER
Publication: Teen Screen Magazine
Issue: December - 1968
Interview Date: September 9th - 1968
Publish Date: December - 1968
Interview Location: Polydor Records Office - London, U.K.
Info:
This interview with Jim Morrison is conducted at the Polydor Records office in London shortly after The Doors performances at The Roundhouse. Published in the December issue of Teen Screen magazine, this article is titled 'Why I Hate Americans!' and is the only U.K. interview to be published in an American magazine during this time period. When asked what tourist attractions he'd like to see in England, he mentions Stonehenge, bomb damage from the war, and Madame Tussaud's wax museum. He also compliments the audiencse at the Roundhouse, and discusses early musical influences such as Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, Fats Domino, and Gene Vincent.
UNKNOWN INTERVIEWER
Publication: Het Parool
Issue: September 21st - 1968
Interview Date: Exact Date Unknown - September 1968
Publish Date: September 21st - 1968
Interview Location: King's Club - Amsterdam
Info:
Ray Manzarek and John Densmore are interviewed at the King's Club in Amsterdam for Het Parool. Jim Morrison and Robby Krieger do not appear to be present. The band members discuss their interests and the differences between touring in the U.S. and Europe. There is a possibility that this interview was recorded.
WOLFGANG HEILEMANN
Publication: BRAVO Magazine
Issue: October 7th - 1968
Interview Date: September 13th - 1968
Publish Date: October 7th - 1968
Interview Location: Frankfurter Hof - Frankfurt, DE
Info:
The Doors are interviewed by Wolfgang Heilemann of BRAVO at the Frankfurter Hof in Germany on September 13th, 1968. In photographs taken by Gunter Zint, Wolfgang can be seen with a microphone in hand while Jim Morrison flips through a previous issue of the magazine. Portions of the Q&A with all four members of the band are published in the October 7th, 1968 issue of BRAVO, along with a photograph taken by Wolfgang of Jim Morrison performing at the Frankfurt Kongresshalle. Click HERE to see this article on our Frankfurt 1968 Concert Info Page!
FLORENTINE PABST
Publication: stern Magazine
Issue: October 27th - 1968
Interview Date: September 14th - 1968
Publish Date: October 27th - 1968
Interview Location: Frankfurt, DE
Info:
While The Doors are in Frankfurt, Florentine Pabst interviews Jim Morrison and later attends their performances. In photographs taken by Michael Montfort she can be seen seated on the stage next to The Doors press agent Leon Barnard. Prior to the shows, Jim is asked if he was born in Los Angeles, in which he replies that he does not remember being born and that it must have happened during one of his blackouts. Leon Barnard is also quoted, and The Doors performances in Europe are discussed. Florentine's article is published in the October 27th, 1968 issue of stern Magazine. Click HERE to see this article on our Frankfurt 1968 Concert Info Page!
CHRISTOPHER KENWORTHY
Publication: TV Times (Granada)
Issue: October 19th - 1968
Interview Date: Exact Date Unknown - October 1968
Publish Date: October 19th - 1968
Interview Location: Unknown - London, U.K.
Info:
For his TVTalk article in the October 19th, 1968 issue of Granada's TV Times magazine, Christopher Kenworthy publishes excerpts from a Q&A with John Sheppard, director of Granada's soon to air special, The Doors Are Open, who is currently in the editing stages of the television documentary. Unpublished elsewhere, the quotes refer to The Doors place in society, and John Sheppard tells the interviewer that The Doors "are the real politicians. They are not offering a manifesto, they are not repeating tired ideological phrases, but they are trying to demonstrate a way of life. The boundary between art and reality is blurred with The Doors." No recordings of this interview are known, however The Doors Are Open will premiere on BBC/Granada television in England on December 17th.
TONY GLOVER
Publication: Circus Magazine
Issue: Mar - May - Jun - Jul, 1969
Interview Date: November 10th - 1968
Publish Date: Mar > July - 1969
Interview Location: Backstage Minneapolis Auditorium - Minneapolis, MN
Info:
Tony Glover records a backstage interview with The Doors prior to their November 10th, 1968 performance at the Minneapolis Auditorium. This lengthy interview is later published in Circus Magazine over 4 parts, the first in the March 1969 issue, and the 4th and final part in July. Also included in the interview is Bill Siddons. Circus magazine indicates that the tape recorder was not turned on until later in the interview.
UNKNOWN INTERVIEWER
Publication: Flip Magazine
Issue: December - 1968
Interview Date: Exact Date Unknown - November 1968
Publish Date: December - 1968
Interview Location: Unknown
Info:
Bill Siddons is interviewed by a staff member of Flip magazine and the quotes are featured in the December 1968 issue. Bill positively profiles the band members, and mentions a recent meditation retreat by John and Robby.
MICHAEL LYDON
Publication: New York Times
Issue: January 19th
Interview Date: December 13-14 - 1968
Publish Date: January 19th - 1969
Interview Location: L.A. Forum - Los Angeles, CA
Info:
An interview with Jim Morrison by Michael Lydon conducted over two days during The Doors performance at the L.A. Forum in December 1968. Michael is stationed in San Francisco and interviews Jim on their return from rehearsals at The Forum in Los Angeles and backstage following the show. Portions of this interview are published in the January 19th edition of the New York Times, 5 days prior to The Doors performance at Madison Square Garden. This interview was not recorded.
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