The Doors Forum

I had no idea that Love played such a crucial role in the history of the Whisky A Go Go. In the Einarson book, Arthur says that the owners were considering closing the Whisky before Love started performing there and drawing huge crowds. Love's highly successful shows in turn encouraged other bands to perform at the Whisky. Would it be accurate to say that Love's initial shows at the Whisky marked the beginning of its rise to legendary status?

BallroomDays67 wrote:I had no idea that Love played such a crucial role in the history of the Whisky A Go Go. In the Einarson book, Arthur says that the owners were considering closing the Whisky before Love started performing there and drawing huge crowds. Love's highly successful shows in turn encouraged other bands to perform at the Whisky. Would it be accurate to say that Love's initial shows at the Whisky marked the beginning of its rise to legendary status?

The Whisky had been experiencing a decline in revenue, since the days when Johnny Rivers was king. It was the beginning of a changing of the guard in Hollywood. And because there were so few patrons, the Whisky had a reputation for not paying their acts. This caused many groups to be leery of playing there, making the situation even worse. So when we were booked, we came with our own audience who filled the place beyond capacity, they made money and paid us well. Soon other successful groups began to accept bookings. It was a win-win for every body. JE.

Why were Love willing to give the Whisky a chance despite that reputation? Was it confidence that the large audience of dedicated fans would ensure payment? Also, what brought about the move to the Whisky?

BallroomDays67 wrote:Why were Love willing to give the Whisky a chance despite that reputation? Was it confidence that the large audience of dedicated fans would ensure payment? Also, what brought about the move to the Whisky?

Ronnie Haran, (who later became our manager,) worked there. She Felt the Whisky would provide an excellent showcase for the group. So she introduced Arthur and I to Elmer Valentine, who assured us that if we played, we would be paid. Besides the Whisky still held a kind of mystique for musicians in Hollywood. So we decided to give it a shot, "glad we did" JE.

Hey Johnny, do you remember Ronnie suing Jac Holzman?

jim4371 wrote:Hey Johnny, do you remember Ronnie suing Jac Holzman?

I didn't realize she had, but if it was about him promising her a percentage of the Doors, and then reneging, she was absolutely right! JE.

Any more details she shared about that? Who do you think should get credit for leading Holzman to see the Doors? Some people give credit to Ronnie, and Holzman himself gives credit to Arthur. Though, since he was sued by her, he might have a good reason not to credit her..

Here are a few articles from Billboard in 1971 about it:

jim4371 wrote:Any more details she shared about that? Who do you think should get credit for leading Holzman to see the Doors? Some people give credit to Ronnie, and Holzman himself gives credit to Arthur. Though, since he was sued by her, he might have a good reason not to credit her.

Arthur made the recommendation, and Ronnie made the introductions, All of us were aware of her participation. That's so like Jac, to try and weasel out on a technicality. How did it resolve?

Sounds reasonable.
As of yet, I haven't found out what it was. Most likely settled out of court, since I can't find any other mention of the case in print.