The Ramada West Hollywood, now run by Alan Johnson, sits on the site of the former Tropicana Motel on Santa Monica Blvd (the famous Route 66.)
The Tropicana was basic and affordable, the swimming pool was tiled in black, and there are many stories of long, late-night parties. The motel was patronized by the rock and roll industry in the sixties and seventies. Jim Morrison of the Doors lived there, and would often spend days sleeping off his Southern Comfort binges. Chuck E. Weiss, Tom Waits were residents too. Frequent guests included Janis Joplin, Van Morrison, Bruce Springstein, Eddie Cochran, the Beach Boys, Jim McGuinn
of the Byrds, Led Zeppelin, Guns and Roses, Martha and the Vandellas, and Frank Zappa, whose "freak-outs" were legendary. It was a first stop on the way up the rock and roll ladder, as well as a place to stay once you'd made it. The big record companies grew on Santa Monica Blvd. And Sunset Strip during this era, and made LA the rock and roll recording center of America.
Today, LA is still the recording capital of the world, rock stars live and record here, award ceremonies happen here-and there is still a bustling club scene. Musicians walk the streets with guitars; gigs are advertised with the daily specials on restaurant boards, telephone poles
are covered with tacked-up concert news.
The Ramada built on this site in the 1980's is still a stopover for the entertainment industry, as well as international leisure travelers.
The Doors
 THE DOORS’ 40th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION
KICKS OFF NOVEMBER 8th ON THE SUNSET STRIP
Event Includes Historic Landmark Dedication Of The Whisky A Go Go,
Previews Of The Doors’ Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame Exhibit,
New CD/DVD Box Set Perception, and
Release Of The First Band Autobiography, The Doors By The Doors
LOS ANGELES, CA – October 16th 2006 - The launch of a yearlong celebration of the 40th anniversary of The Doors, one of the most important and influential American groups in the history of rock, is set for the famed Sunset Strip on Wednesday, November 8, 2006.
Along with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum conferring historic landmark status on the Whisky A Go Go (the nightclub where The Doors first gained notoriety) and unveiling a teaser version of a Doors exhibit that will be the museum’s major presentation of 2007, the evening will feature a memorial reading of Jim Morrison’s poetry, by Perry Farrell and others, the debut of a retrospective coffee table book and a preview of a massive boxed set of their music
.
The various activities will take place between 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. and are free and open to the public. Numerous invitation-only celebrity guests will be in attendance in special VIP areas, along with many key figures from The Doors’ illustrious history. The evening will be emceed by Ben Fong-Torres, noted journalist, former Rolling Stone editor and co-author of upcoming book The Doors By The Doors. Ray Manzarek, Robby Krieger, and John Densmore will be on hand to sign the Hyperion book throughout the evening for fans. Also, radio’s 95.5 KLOS will broadcast live from the event with DJ Jim Ladd as host.
With the band’s Jim Morrison omnipresent in spirit, the remaining Doors--Ray Manzarek, Robby Krieger, and John Densmore--will be honored by a plaque-unveiling ceremony at the Whisky A Go Go (8901 Sunset Blvd.), scheduled for 8 p.m. The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame And Museum will honor The Whisky A Go Go with a “Landmark Plaque” to commemorate its contribution to Rock And Roll history. Significantly, this is the first such dedication of an historic locale by the Hall of Fame outside of the museum’s home city of Cleveland.
Throughout the evening, each band member will also be available at three Doors-significant locations along a one-block long stretch of the Sunset Strip.
Krieger will be at the Whisky A Go Go for a listening party previewing the November 21st release of Perception from Rhino/Elektra Records. The 12-disc (6-CD/6-DVD) boxed set presents all six of The Doors’ classic studio albums expanded and remastered for the first time ever on CD; the DVDs supplement the albums with a 5.1 Surround Sound mix, a brand-new “40th Anniversary” stereo remix by original Doors co-producer/mixer Bruce Botnick, rare and unreleased audio and video tracks, a photo gallery, lyrics and discography. Inside the Whisky, the celebration will continue with all of the digitally remastered Doors music in DTS 5.1 Surround Sound playing for the public’s listening pleasure.
Next door to the Whisky A Go Go, at The Cat Club (8911 Sunset Blvd., former home of The London Fog, where The Doors debuted), Manzarek will host a mini-version of Break On Through - The Lasting Legacy Of The Doors, The Doors’ Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum exhibit that opens May 25, 2007 at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland, Ohio. The exhibit will examine the career and impact of The Doors through a display of one-of-a-kind artifacts, original manuscripts, rare concert posters, photographs and video. This is the first time the surviving members of The Doors, along with the Morrison and Courson families, have given their full blessing and cooperation to an event of this kind. Previous exhibits have headlined artists such as Elvis Presley, John Lennon and Bob Dylan
.
Densmore will be at Book Soup (8818 Sunset Blvd., formerly the site of the Cinematheque 16 movie house where Morrison read poetry and performed Doors songs acoustically with Robby Krieger) to facilitate a memorial tribute reading of Jim Morrison’s poetry by Perry Farrell and others. All three surviving Doors members will also be signing copies of The Doors By The Doors, set for release the previous day (November 7) by Hyperion. The Doors By The Doors, the first authorized autobiography by the band, includes never-before-seen photos and exclusive interviews, co-authored by renowned rock reporter and former Rolling Stone editor Ben Fong-Torres. Book sale tables will also be at the Whisky and Cat Club, making it possible for purchasers to easily walk to the other locations to have all of the surviving Doors sign books -- and make what will certainly be an historic event in rock even more memorable.
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