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INTERVIEW RECORDINGS
Note: Recordings are listed by date of original interview.1967
LEW IRWIN
Recording Date: Exact Date Unknown - February 1967
Interview Location: Sunset Strip - Los Angeles, CA
Publication: Radio Broadcast
Length: Unknown
Info:
The Doors first known interview recording is made on the Sunset Strip in front of The Doors newly erected Elektra billboard. Lew Irwin of KRLA is on hand the day The Doors appear at the billboard location, and tapes a sidewalk interview with the band for a 15 minute news segment on KRLA 1110AM. Tape recordings made for radio news segments are known to be reused and a copy of this interview, either from the radio or the source tape has never been found.
Lew Irwin Interviews The Doors - Photograph By Bobby Klein
PAUL WILLIAMS
Recording Date: Exact Date Unknown - March 1967
Interview Location: Englewood, NJ
Publication: Crawdaddy! Magazine
Length: Unknown
Info:
An interview with Paul Rothchild discussing The Doors, by Paul Williams, editor of Crawdaddy! Magazine. This recording is said to have been made in Englewood, New Jersey on an unknown date in March, 1967. This interview is published in the August 1967 issue of Crawdaddy! and portions are later used in Paul Williams' Outlaw Blues: A Book of Rock Music, published in 1969.
LENNART WRETLIND
Recording Date: Exact Date Unknown - July 28-30th - 1967
Interview Location: Fillmore Auditorium - San Francisco, CA
Publication: Unpublished
Length: 4:35
Info:
A short interview with The Doors is recorded by Lennart Wretlind backstage at the Fillmore Auditorium in late July, 1967. The exact date of this recording is unknown. A portion of this interview may have been aired during a broadcast of The Doors 1968 performances in Stockholm, Sweden. A shortened segment of this interview is also available on The Doors official Ghost Song CD Single.
MIKE LAZAR & STEVE FLESSER
Recording Date: September 11th - 1967
Interview Location: S.U.N.Y Oswego - Oswego, NY
Publication: Radio Broadcast
Length: 28:22
Info:
Recorded and intended for broadcast by Mike Lazar and Steve Flesser, this interview is never published and likely never broadcast on the radio. The recording features The Doors answering a series of questions shortly before their performance, and Bill Siddons is nearby. This tape also features unsuccessful attempts by Mike Lazar and Steve Flesser to record the band for spoken radio promo's for the local S.U.N.Y Oswego AM station. This recording was officially released in 2001 on Bright Midnight's Lost Interview Tapes Vol. 1
MIKE MASTERSON
Recording Date: August 28th - 1967
Interview Location: The Doors Office - Los Angeles, CA
Publication: KRLA Beat
Length: Exact Length Unknown
Info:
In 2010, the University of North Texas Music Library is entrusted with the tape collection of John Gilliland, producer and host of the 1969 radio program The Pop Chronicles. Previously held by Gilliland's estate, the tapes are driven directly from Washington to Texas to ensure their safe transport and preservation. Along with the with the entire 55-hour broadcast, two original production tapes pertaining to The Doors are included in the collection.
Broken up into weekly broadcasts on KRLA in Los Angeles beginning on February 9th, 1969, Chapter 19 of The Pop Chronicles includes a focus on The Doors and features interview segments with all four members of the band recorded by Mike Masterson at The Doors Office on August 28th, 1967. This chapter of the program also features commentary by Elektra publicist Danny Fields using a pre-recorded interview dated September 3rd, 1968. Program credits state that Mike Masterson is responsible for conducting both interviews with The Doors and Danny Fields. Although these recordings are eventually used on the radio, quotes from The Doors interview are first utilized by Mike Masterson in the October 7th, 1967 issue of KRLA Beat magazine.
Of the tapes now held at the University of North Texas, Tape #83 of the collection is a Pop Chronicles production tape featuring the interview segments with The Doors and is accompanied with narratives by its producer, John Gilliland. This tape does not feature Mike Masterson's original questions. Tape #168 features the interview with Danny Fields with Mike Masterson's questions intact, and appears to be an unedited copy of the master. The whereabouts of The Doors original and unedited master tape is currently unknown.
TOM REYNOLDS
Recording Date: October 21st - 1967
Interview Location: Broadmoor Drugstore - Colorado Springs, CO
Publication: Unpublished
Length: N/A
Info:
Recorded on October 21st, 1967 at the Broadmoor Drugstore prior to The Doors performance at the Broadmoor Hotel. This brief interview was not intended, and the recording is no longer intact.
MARK MALICOAT & PETER BAUER
Recording Date: December 2nd - 1967
Interview Location: Holiday Inn - Portland
Publication: Teen Datebook - April 1968
Length: Unknown
Info:
This interview by high school students Mark Malicoat and Peter Bauer was conducted following The Doors performance at the Portland Memorial Coliseum on December 2nd, 1967 at the Holiday Inn. Jim Morrison explains why the show was halted before they finished performing, and recommends seeing The Doors in Los Angeles. An article is later written by the students for Teen Datebook magazine. A recording of the show is also made, however the tape featuring both the interview and concert is now lost.
1968
DIGBY DIEHL
Recording Date: March xx - 1968
Interview Location: Los Angeles, CA
Publication: Eye Magazine - April 1968
Length: Unknown
Info:
This interview by Digby Diehl is said to be recorded, and likely would have taken place in March 1968 while interviewing The Doors for the April 1968 issue of Eye Magazine. Further details of this alleged recording are unknown.
RICHARD GOLDSTEIN
Recording Date: March xx - 1968
Interview Location: T.T.G. Studios - Los Angeles, CA
Publication: New York Magazine - August 5th 1968
Length: Unknown
Info:
This interview by Richard Goldstein takes place during a studio session in 1968, a year before he conducts The Doors televised interview on NET's Critique in 1969. The article is published in August, 1968 for New York Magazine and mentions the use of a tape recorder. The whereabouts of this recording are unknown.
JOHN CARPENTER
Recording Date: Summer - 1968
Interview Location: The Phone Booth - Hollywood, CA
Publication: The Los Angeles Free Press - July 19-25
Length: Unknown
Info:
This interview with Jim Morrison is recorded in June or early July, 1968 by John Carpenter, journalist for the Los Angeles Free Press. Prior to its publication, transcripts of the recording are sent to Jim for approval. He requests further clarification from Pamela Courson and extensive portions are removed. This interview is published in the Los Angeles Free Press for the week of July 19th-25th. The whereabouts of the original recording are unknown.
UNKNOWN INTERVIEWER
Recording Date: September xx - 1968
Interview Location: Europe
Publication: N/A - Unknown
Length: Unknown
Info:
For years, this interview tape was held by an employee of Granada Television although the identity of the original interviewer is unknown. Amongst other tapes, the recording was set to be thrown away. The interview itself was originally thought to be conducted by Geoffrey Cannon or Jo Durden-Smith during the production of Granada Television's The Doors Are Open, however the conductor's identity has not been confirmed as either individual. The contents of this recording feature Jim Morrison's comments on The Doors recent performances at the Roundhouse in London, 1968.
WOLFGANG HEILEMANN
Recording Date: September 13th - 1968
Interview Location: Frankfurter Hof
Publication: BRAVO Magazine
Length: Unknown
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. The current whereabouts of the tape recording made during this interview session are unknown, and previous searches have indicated that the tape is lost and no longer exists.
Wolfgang Heilemann Interviews Jim Morrison - Photograph By Günter Zint
DICK SLOOTWEG
Recording Date: September 16th - 1968
Interview Location: Amsterdam Hotel
Publication: N/A
Length: Unknown
Info:
Jim Morrison is photographed by Nico van der Stam on September 16th, 1968 outside of an Amsterdam hotel while being interviewed by Dick Slootweg for VARA Radio. Jim briefly discusses visiting the Rijksmuseum, returning to Amsterdam the following year, and the interview is broadcast later that day. No recordings of this broadcast have surfaced and the whereabouts of the master tape are unknown.
Dick Slootweg Interviews Jim Morrison - Photograph By Nico van der Stam
CHRISTIAN STING THOMSEN
Recording Date: September 18th - 1968
Interview Location: Copenhagen, DK
Publication: N/A
Length: Unknown
Info:
While in Copenhagen, Jim Morrison is photographed once more by Gunter Zint during a recorded interview with Christian Sting Thomsen. Portions of this recording were made available in Danish television broadcast in 2014, revealing the identity of the interviewer and contents of the tape.
Christian Sting Thomsen Interviews Jim Morrison - Photograph By Günter Zint
LENNART WRETLIND
Recording Date: September 19th - 1968
Interview Location: Hotel Appolonia - Stockholm, SE
Publication: Unpublished
Length: Unknown
Info:
This second interview recorded by Lennart Wretlind was conducted at the Hotel Appolonia in Stockholm, Sweden on September 19th, 1968. A portion of this recording features unique poetry read by Jim Morrison with improvised 'musical' accompaniment by the band.
TONY GLOVER
Recording Date: November 10th - 1968
Interview Location: Backstage Minneapolis Auditorium - Minneapolis, MN
Publication: Circus Magazine - Mar - May - Jun - Jul, 1969
Length: Unknown
Info:
This interview by Tony Glover was recorded backstage at the Minneapolis Auditorium on November 10th, 1968, and later published in Circus magazine. In the published version, Circus indicates that the tape recorder was not turned on until long after the interview began.
1969
JERRY HOPKINS
Recording Date: May xx - 1969
Interview Location: Various Locations - Los Angeles, CA
Publication: Rolling Stone #38 - July 26th, 1969
Length: Unknown
Info:
This interview was recorded over a period of two weeks, including sessions in a Santa Monica Blvd. bar, The Doors office, going to and from the office of an agent both Jerry and Jim Morrison coincidentally shared, and concludes in the Elektra studio with a reading of Jim's poem The Death of Rock. During this interview, Jim Morrison tells Jerry Hopkins he would like to read a book about Elvis. An article featuring the interview is published in Rolling Stone, however the whereabouts of the recording are unknown.
CARLOS BACA
Recording Date: June 27th - 1969
Interview Location: Mexico City International Airport
Publication: Mexico Canta - October 1969
Length: Unknown
Info:
This interview with Ray, Robby and John takes place at the Mexico International Airport by Carlos Baca upon The Doors arrival for the performances at The Forum. After being received at the airport, The Doors take a seat at the airport lounge and allow the local press to ask questions. Ray Manzarek explains to the interviewer that Jim Morrison has already arrived in Mexico prior. Published in Mexican magazine Mexico Canta, Carlos Baca recorded this interview and has confirmed that the tape is lost.
Carlos Baca Interviews Ray Manzarek - Unknown Photographer
JOSE G. CRUZ AYALA
Recording Date: Exact Date Unknown - June 1969
Interview Location: Mexico City, MX
Publication: POP - August 10th, 1969
Length: Unknown
Info:
While The Doors are in Mexico City for a string of performances at The Forum, various reporters from Mexican magazine publications are given the opportunity to interview the band. On an unknown date during their tenure, Víctor Blanco Labra, Parménides García Saldaña, and Jose G. Cruz Ayala interview Robby Krieger and John Densmore for POP magazine, and Jose G. Cruz Ayala is photographed with a handheld cassette tape recorder. The whereabouts of this tape are unknown, and the recording likely no longer exists.
Jose G. Cruz Ayala Records An Interview - Unknown Photographer
ED LEIMBACHER
Recording Date: July 27th - 1969
Interview Location: Woodinville, WA
Publication: Portland New Times Journal - 1970
Length: Unknown
Info:
Jim Morrison is interviewed by Ed Leimbacher in a limousine prior to The Doors performance at the Seattle Pop Festival in 1969. Gram Parsons is also present during this unscheduled interview, and Jim Morrison is said to have been difficult to talk to, insisting that a recording can only be made if he is able to erase or re-record any segment he pleases. The recording likely no longer exists. This interview was published, and further details chronicling this interview with Jim Morrison have been posted by Ed Leimbacher HERE
HOWARD SMITH
Recording Date: November 9th - 1969
Interview Location: The Doors Office - Los Angeles, CA
Publication: Village Voice
Length: 59:19
Info:
A one hour interview with Jim Morrison is recorded by Howard Smith for the Village Voice in early November 1969. The exact date of this recording has yet to be confirmed. Jim Morrison mentions the rain on this date, and although some sources mention that it only rained in L.A. on November 6th, other sources indicate that it also rained on November 9th. Jim Morrison discusses a painting of Napoleon Bonaparte and the Hyatt Regency hotel in Atlanta which features glass elevators resembling "Victorian-era rocket ships" which can still be seen at the Hyatt in this YouTube video. This recording was independently released in late 2012 by The Smith Tapes project.
MildEquator.com is pleased to offer an exclusive audio track download pertaining to this interview! Please visit our Recordings section for all the details!
SUE CASSIDY CLARK
Recording Date: November 11th - 1969
Interview Location: The Doors Office - Los Angeles, CA
Publication: Rock: A World Bold As Love / The Superstars: In Their Own Words
Length: 22:29
Info:
On November 11th 1969, Jim Morrison is interviewed over the phone by journalist Sue Cassidy Clark for an upcoming book, and the conversation is recorded. Sue is in New York, and Jim is in Los Angeles. Bill Siddons initializes the interview at the start of the tape, stating he will be in New York soon and that Jim is currently taking his time with a magazine and a bottle of spirits.
This recording runs for approx. 22 minutes, with discussions on Jim's upcoming poetry book The Lords & New Creatures, The Doors new album yet to be named Morrison Hotel, Jim's role as the singer and his interest in theater, and Feast Of Friends. He also engages in discussion about tape recording vs. writing and attempts to goad Sue into writing down his words.
The batteries are failing on the recorder throughout this interview and Jim is asked more than once to 'speak up'. The recording ends abruptly due for the need of a tape flip, but is not restarted.
1970
MICHAEL G. KAVANAUGH
Recording Date: Exact Date Unknown - April 1970
Interview Location: Telephone Call - Salt Lake City, UT > The Doors Rehearsal Space
Publication: Radio Broadcast
Length: Approx. 10:00
Info:
This phone-call interview with Robby Krieger was recorded by radio disc jockey Michael G. Kavanaugh prior to The Doors performance at the Salt Palace in April 1970, a show that would later be cancelled. This interview appears to have been intended for broadcast prior to the show, however the known recording is preserved on a broadcast special aired on KRSP in 1971.
MIKE GORMLEY
Recording Date: Exact Date Unknown - Late April 1970
Interview Location: Phone Call - Los Angeles > Detroit
Publication: Detroit Free Press
Length: Unknown
Info:
Mike Gormley of the Detroit Free Press receives a phone call from John Densmore in late April of 1970 prior to The Doors upcoming performance in Detroit on May 8th. John talks about future plans for the band, a possible live album, and that the group has rehearsed new material. Jim Morrison is also discussed. Mike Gormley has confirmed that this phone call was recorded, however the tape is lost.
TONY THOMAS
Recording Date: May 27th - 1970
Interview Location: Unknown
Publication: Radio Broadcast - CBC's Something To Say / The Times Now
Length: Unknown
Info:
Jim Morrison is issued a letter on May 7th, 1970 by Sylva Romano stating that Tony Thomas has requested an interview after seeing a copy of The Lords And The New Creatures. Jim agrees, and the interview is recorded on May 27th, 1970 for broadcast on CBC Toronto's radio special Something To Say, however it did not air until September 27th. This recording is officially released on Bright Midnight's The Lost Interview Tapes Vol. 1
JOHN TOBLER
Recording Date: August 30th - 1970
Interview Location: Isle Of Wight - UK
Publication: ZigZag Magazine - October 1970
Length: 15:03
Info:
This interview with Jim Morrison was conducted and recorded by John Tobler at the Isle of Wight Festival on August 30th, 1970, and later published in the October issue of ZigZag magazine. Jim Morrison discusses various subjects including the future of music festivals, Woodstock, and The Doors performances at the Roundhouse in London in 1968. The published issue of ZigZag Magazine is available for viewing HERE.
SALLI STEVENSON
Recording Date: October 13th - 1970
Interview Location: The Doors Office - Los Angeles, CA
Publication: Circus Magazine - January/February - 1971
Length: 66:28
Info:
This interview with Jim Morrison by Salli Stevenson was recorded on October 13th, 1970 and is accompanied by color photographs taken by Kurt Ingham. The interview is published over two issues of Circus Magazine - Jan '71 & Feb '71. The original audio recording is officially released on Bright Midnight's 'The Lost Interview Tapes' Vol. 2
Salli Stevenson Interviews Jim Morrison - Photograph By Kurt Ingham
BOB CHORUSH
Recording Date: Early December - 1970
Interview Location: Various Locations - Los Angeles
Publication: Los Angeles Free Press - January 15th - 1971
Length: 125:01
Info:
Once thought to have been conducted in 1971, this recorded interview by Bob Chorush took place in early December, 1970 in various locations throughout Los Angeles. Elektra Records asked Bob repetitively to conduct an interview with Jim Morrison as he liked the articles written about him in the L.A. Free Press. The original article titled 'The Lizard King reforms: taking the snake and wearing it' is drafted over the holidays and submitted to the Free Press after New Year's and published on January 15th, 1971. Photographer Andrew Kent is also present during this interview, and numerous photographs from the event are featured in the article. MildEquator.com would like to give a very special thanks to Bob Chorush, who has since passed away, for further information regarding the history and date of this interview:
"The interview took place late in 1970, although I don't recall exactly when, but probably in early December 1970. Elektra Records had been bugging me for months to interview Morrison since he liked a couple of articles I had written in the Free Press about his arrests in Florida and some other Doors item. I was never a Doors fan and Jim had a horrible reputation in LA for acting like a drunk jerk, so I wasn't thrilled about doing the interview. I seem to recall working on it over the holidays and submitting it to the Freep after New Years. Since doing the interview, I have never listened to the tapes and don't plan to now, so I don't know what's on them. I do recall that I had a really cheap tape recorder and that the first tape was garbled. I didn't keep any notes from the interview or the original transcripts, which I would have used to write the interview."
Bob Chorush Interviews Jim Morrison - Photograph By Andy Kent
1971
BEN FONG-TORRES
Recording Date: Exact Date Unknown - February 1971
Interview Location: 8216 Norton Ave. - Los Angeles, CA
Publication: Rolling Stone #77 - March 4th - 1971
Length: 73:43
Info:
Jim Morrison's last known recorded interview is conducted by Rolling Stone journalist Ben Fong-Torres and features Pamela Courson. This tape was made during an unintentional meeting between Jim and Ben at Diane Gardiner's apartment in Los Angeles. The interview is later published in the March 4th, 1971 issue of Rolling Stone. Bootleg copies of this recording are known to collectors.
