The Doors and Them
(Ray Manzarek)

HOW DID YOU LAND THE GIG AS THE HOUSE BAND AT THE WHISKY A GO GO? Manzarek: The week before our final night at the London Fog, Ronnie Harran, the booker from the Whisky a Go Go, had come down and fell in love with the band. She asked us after the set, "How would you guys like to be the house band at the Whisky a Go Go?" And we went, "F---ing A. Are you kidding? Of course, we'd love to."

She said, "You'll open the show, then the headliners, then you play another set, and then the headliners. So two sets a night." We said, "How much money?" And she said, "Union scale," which was like $135 per man, per week. It was like, "Wow." We were making like $40 or $50 at the London Fog.


We were going to be the house band at the Whisky a Go Go and Jim Morrison, Mr. Cool, says to Ronnie, "We got to think about this. Why don't you come back tomorrow?" And she looked at him with these big puppy-dog eyes.

After she left, we proceeded to pummel Morrison on the arms and shoulders. "What do you mean we have to think about it?" Jim said, "Of course we're going to take the gig, but you don't want to appear too anxious."

The next week we started, and the band we played with was none other than Them -- Van Morrison and Them. And we jammed during the last set of the night. So Jim Morrison and Van Morrison were singing "Gloria" together at the Whisky a Go Go. What a night.