The Doors‘ iconic album, Morrison Hotel, was released exactly 50 years ago, today, on February 9th, 1970.
On the eve of the album’s half-centennial anniversary, rock stars collided at West Hollywood’s Sunset Marquis Hotel where music lovers and legends fêted the 50th anniversary of Morrison Hotel.
Hosted by industry trailblazers John Varvatos and Timothy White and sponsored by Jack Daniels, the homecoming celebration paid homage to the record’s release 50 years ago with poolside performance helmed by The Doors’ guitarist and co-founder, Robby Krieger.
Robby Krieger and Tangiers Blues Band – (a NYC group who have shared the stage with artists such as Bruce Springsteen, Eddie Vedder, Brandi Carlisle, and many more) – along with an impressive roster of acclaimed musicians lent their respective talents to some of The Doors’ time-honored greatest hits.
Miley Cyrus and producer Andrew Watt covered “Back Door Man”, The Struts did a chill inducing take of “Riders on The Storm” and Dennis Quaid brought the house down with his version of “L.A. Woman”.
Other performers included Gary Clark, Jr., Badflower (Big Machine Records/John Varvatos Records), Nicole Atkins, Michael Bolton, Chris Voss (The Record Company), Slim Jim Phantom (The Stray Cats), The Eagles of Death Metal, guitarist Jimmy Vavino, and Alex Greenwald (Phantom Planet).
Morrison Hotel Gallery also celebrated its 20-year anniversary with the opening of a new photography exhibit in the gallery located inside the hotel’s lobby. On public view through February 23rd, the exhibition leans heavily on rare outtakes from photographer and co-founder of the gallery, Henry Diltz’s impromptu Morrison Hotel session… that almost didn’t happen. The exhibit also features another 20+ fine art prints – a monumental glimpse inside The Doors’ sensational career, spanning the gamut from iconic to never-before-seen.
As the story goes, photographer Henry Diltz arrived at the transient Morrison Hotel with The Doors only to be denied photographic permission by an unwitting desk clerk who, in stepping away for a few minutes, missed out on mischief that created one of the most prolific portraits in music history.
A half-century after the release of Morrison Hotel, phenomenal music remains the great unifier; transcending age, genre, race and language, fans were – and still are – delighted to witness the legendary and durational legacy of The Doors’ Morrison Hotel.
Photos by Andrew Mason
