On April 10, 1970, The Doors were playing two shows in Boston on their Roadhouse Blues Tour, one starting at 7 p.m. and the other at 10 p.m. But the second didn’t actually start until after midnight. The concerts were immortalized on the triple CD Live in Boston, which wasn’t released until 2007. Ultimately, the show was a mess, ending unceremoniously when the venue cut the power.
The disastrous event was due to Jim Morrison’s continuous intoxication on stage. He was still adept at hitting musical cues while wasted, but his often lewd antics would draw unwanted attention. This was now Nixon’s America, and the free-wheeling sexual revolution of the 1960s was under intense scrutiny. Obscenity, indecency, and pornography were openly condemned and often punished under the law.
That night, The Doors’ set was nearing Boston’s 2 a.m. curfew. Long sets were already typical of the band. But the venue manager eventually cut the power to force them to call it a night. Only Jim Morrison’s mic was connected to a separate system. With his mic still live and an entire day of drinking behind him, Morrison unleashed a tirade of profanity.
Fortunately, keyboardist Ray Manzarek grabbed Morrison and hauled him off stage. Unfortunately, Morrison escaped from his grasp and ran back to the mic.
“We all should get together and have some fun,” he shouted, “because the a**holes are gonna win if we let them.” He then asked the audience if they wanted to see his genitals, in those words. Luckily, Manzarek managed to grab him again.
The Fallout of Jim Morrison’s Boston Antics Led to More Turbulent Touring
The Boston show was recorded and preserved for posterity, but it was a small comfort for The Doors. Their next scheduled show, in Salt Lake City on April 11, was canceled. Apparently, the promoter for that show had seen the Boston gig and didn’t approve.
Morrison’s unpredictability had been steadily increasing. In March 1969, he faced a felony charge in Miami. The charge cited “lewd and lascivious behavior in public by exposing his private parts and by simulating masturbation and oral copulation.” Additionally, he had six arrest warrants for various counts of indecent exposure, open public profanity, and public intoxication. He was staring down the barrel of a maximum of three and a half years in prison.
“They’d crucify him if they could, they’re so worked up,” said Larry Mahoney, reporter for the Miami Herald, per an April 1969 report originally from Rolling Stone.
Putting Morrison’s Obscenity in Historical Context
This reaction to Jim Morrison and The Doors’ usual flair for sexually provocative displays was just a small drop in the bucket of America’s restrictive view of obscenity. In 1970, a two-year Commission on Obscenity and Pornography was released. It found that the majority of Americans felt their exposure to obscene material actually had a positive impact on their development. Additionally, sexually explicit material had no direct contribution to antisocial behavior in adults or adolescents. At least, not the porn people were watching in the 60s. These days, it’s a different story.
But Nixon had taken office in 1969. By then, a much more Puritan mindset had begun to take hold, often influenced by religious organizations like Citizens for Decent Literature.
Several months after Jim Morrison’s antics, in October 1970, Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention were playing a show in Tallahassee, Florida. Before performing, they were asked by the promoter to refrain from lewd or obscene behavior. Perhaps they had The Doors in mind when making this request.
Zappa’s response? He and the band went on stage and recited The M.O.I. Anti-Smut Loyalty Oath. They solemnly swore, in no uncertain terms, “under no circumstances to reveal my tube, wad, dingus, wee-wee, and/or penis any place on this stage.” With, of course, the addendum: “This does not include private showings in the motel room, however, which is the Ramada Inn.”
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