On July 15th, 1967, The Doors appeared at Devonshire Downs Fantasy Fair in Northridge, in San Fernando Valley, a few miles from where I lived at the time. Also appearing were the Airplane, Byrds, Canned Heat, and many other bands.
My friend Jill from New York City came with me, and we arrived at 10am. We saw all the bands setting up behind a low plywood stage. A VW bus was being unloaded, and band members like David Crosby, Marty Balin, John Densmore, Gracie Slick, and others were hanging out behind the stage among the eucalyptus trees. At that time, there was no security to speak of to keep us away from backstage.
Sitting on the edge of the stage to one side was Jim Morrison. Jill and I came up to him and tried not to act stupid, asking how he was doing and when the group would be playing. He was really nice to us. It was morning, and he seemed very relaxed.
Normally, I didn’t take photos of famous people and rarely got autographs, but Jill believed in photographing and journaling everything. She had stationery and asked for Jim’s autograph. He was nice and signed it, then she gave him a second sheet. “For my friend, Alice..” she said, and he signed mine as well.
We finally sat down to watch the band play. It was the best Doors appearance of all the ones I saw as Jim was in great form, and the band was so into it. This was right before the group’s popularity really caught fire.
~Alice Morris
Photo Copyright Marilyn Mooneyham