By 1966, Guy Webster had established himself as a go-to guy for every record company in Hollywood, so it was hardly a surprise that fall when Jac Holzman of Elektra Records hired him to create the cover for the debut album by a new group Holzman had signed. What was a surprise, at least for Guy, was that when the band showed up at his studio for the shoot, the lead singer greeted him like an old friend. It turned out they had met years before when Guy was taking a philosophy class at UCLA. It was Jim Morrison, much thinner and with much longer hair than when Guy had last seen him in the classroom. The group, of course, was the Doors, and the album cover, dominated by Morrison’s handsome face, would earn Guy his second Grammy nomination.
1966,11. Beverly Hills, CA. © Guy Webster
"Cheetah, Santa Monica, California, April 9, 1967. © Chuck Boyd
"Everybody was waiting for us. 'Break On Through' was out and people were turning onto the album. It was our first really large crowd. Over two thousand."-Robbie Krieger.
The Doors appear for two shows with The Jefferson Airplane playing to their largest crowd to date of over 2,000. This new Cheetah patterned itself after the one in NYC and just opened on March 21st sporting a 7,000 sq. ft. dance floor surrounded by stainless steel walls. Riding the upward swing of success their new album is producing, The Doors, for the first time, top billing over the biggest bands from rival San Francisco. Jim is highly delighted tonight and falls off the stage in a wild rage, some 8 feet, for the first time during a performance. This is obviously a big night for the band.
Jim Morrison with model Donna Mitchell, VOGUE magazine session, New York, September 1967. Photo by Alexis Waldeck.
On February 22, 1967, The Doors' performed at the Valley Music Theater in Woodland Hills, California George Washington's Birthday Bash. This event takes place as a fundraiser & awareness concert for teenagers and the public following the Sunset Strip riots. The doors played first. 🔻February 22, 1967, Woodland Hills, California, photo by Jean Trindl
16 Magazine Photo Session, New York City, NY, Mid September,1967. 📷 Gloria Stavers
1967.05.26. Crescenta Valley High School, La Crescenta, CA. Photos by Linda Neff (Backstage) / Unidentified (KRLA Beat)