The Yardbirds and the Doors

Smack in the middle of the Summer of Love came this week of shows at the Fillmore. Tuesday through Thursday the Yardbirds headlined, and Friday, Saturday and Sunday brought the Doors up from Los Angeles. Both runs were backed by the James Cottom Blues Band and Richie Havens. The poster, by Bonnie MacLean, is one of the finest examples of the psychedelic poster style ever produced and certainly the apex of MacLean’s body of work.

A month and a half earlier during a show Morrison began to twirl his microphone like a lasso around and around letting it go out a little further over the crowd with each pass. Bill Graham saw this and rushed to the stage in an attempt to stop Jim, but as he approached the microphone flew off and hit the promoter square in the side of the head!  After the show Graham cursed out Morrison on the liability issues and asked Jim if he was out of his fucking mind! Morrison  promised to be more careful in future performances. Between sets the other three members of the band head over to the Avalon Ballroom to check out a hot new female soul singer named Janis Joplin.

And so on July 28, prior to the evening’s event Jim presented promoter Bill Graham with a helmet adorned with bright psychedelic colors with, "The Morrison Special" written across the front.  This is of course an apology for drilling him in the head with his twirling microphone during their last performance.  The Doors played marvelously and as good as ever with an extended 10-minute version of "Light My Fire" that totally erupted the packed auditorium. The single at this point was up to #2 on the charts, the band had already started recording their second album, Strange Days, and they were truly at the height of their powers.

The Yardbirds at this time featured guitar legends Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page and they had just been re-introduced to a new crop of fans by releasing a “Best Of” album in March 1967 which went to #28.