On Thursday night, AllHipHop.com had the distinguished privilege of seeing the remaining members of one of music’s greatest bands ever come together for a tribute show that will likely never be duplicated. The Doors – performing right on Sunset Strip in Hollywood at the House of Blues, just blocks and walking distance from the Whiskey a Go Go, the Roxy and other venues where the iconic group used to tear up the strip.
With blues and 1968’s Summer of Love in the air, Ray Manzarek and guitarist Robby Krieger brought back some of The Doors greatest hits with a some help from Franky Perez, Billy Morrison, Matt Sorum (ex-Guns n’ Roses), Mark McGrath (Sugar Ray), Emily Armstrong and Linda Perry (4 Non Blondes).
With Jack Daniels on deck as part of an open bar until 9 p.m., the venue had a filthy odor of Sex, Drugs and Rock n’ Roll. What else do you really want in all reality? Rock DJ Jim Ladd introduced a host of guests to speak on the legacy of The Doors including Elektra Records founder Jac Holzman, Marilyn Manson, Roxy Theater owner, Nic Adler, and Whiskey A Go Go owner Mikael Maglieri, who gave Krieger and Manzarek the Elmer Valentine Award. The day was also declared “The Doors Day” by the mayor of West Hollywood.
While you may wonder how this is important to Hip-Hop, you should take note that a host of Hip-Hop acts have sampled The Doors over the years. Jay-Z sampled the track “Five to One” as he dissed Nas and Prodigy on the Blueprint album. There are plenty of other songs as well, like when Snoop Lion (then Snoop Dogg) sampled “Riders on the Storm.”
Tech N9ne has even given his props to The Doors, and recorded a song with them – here’s what he had to say about their music and the late Jim Morrison in an interview with the Village Voice, as he describes how he came up with the name of his label Strange Music based on a few of The Doors songs:
“I’ve been a fan since I don’t know how long ago. I never knew that I’d get to work with them. I was inspired by Jim’s words on “Strange Days” and “People Are Strange,” so I named my label Strange Music.
“Jim Morrison is a rebel. Keep in mind that he died when I was born, ’71, so I got his music later in my life, from DJs I lived with when I was 19 and stuff like that. I’m 40 years old now. Songs like “Five to One”, “Love Me Two Times”, “The End” – just the rebel of his mind. He was a poet, he didn’t care what people thought. That was so me. I’m just free with myself. I give all of me and that’s what I felt through their music.
“In 2010, when I was first called to Paris to do a show, I discovered Père Lachaise [Cemetery] was there. We went and found his gravesite, and we drank with him. I told him, “Thanks for the inspiration. Because Strange Music saved my life. I had no idea what I was going to do. I was going to be a psychiatrist, but I left school in my 12th grade year, on the honor roll.”