Credit: Elektra Records-Joel Brodsky

How two of the most infamous rock TV performances occurred on the same day

Sat 17 September 2022 4:00, UK

In 1967, CBS had two of the most pre-eminent variety shows on television. The first was The Ed Sullivan Show, which had been the platform for which legends like Elvis Presley, The Beatles, and The Rolling Stones made some of their biggest television appearances in America. The second was The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, the short-lived but highly influential sketch show that frequently featured cutting-edge musical guests like Cream, Jefferson Airplane, and Buffalo Springfield.

If you were watching CBS on September 17th, 1967 (which was highly possible, considering how there were only three channels back then), you had a hell of a double feature on your hands. At 8pm, The Ed Sullivan Show was set to feature Los Angeles psychedelic rockers The Doors, who had a number one hit earlier in the year with ‘Light My Fire’. An hour later, at 9pm, The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour would be hosting British hard rockers The Who, who had just made their name in America at the Monterey Pop Festival a few months prior.

Both performances wound up being some of the most notorious and infamous television appearances in the rock era. The Doors and The Who were both subversive counterculture acts, presaging their reputations as classic rock dinosaurs. Back in 1967, both bands were considered provocative, even dangerous. And here they were, getting to use the public stage of network television to do whatever they wanted.

The Doors were up first. During their rehearsal earlier in the day, producers had asked Jim Morrison to alter one of the central lines in ‘Light My Fire’. “Girl we couldn’t get much higher” was to become “Girl we couldn’t get much better”, with Morrison possibly singing “Girl there’s nothing I require” during the initial rehearsal. Sullivan’s staff were uncomfortable with the allusion to drugs, and Morrison gave off the impression that he was willing to change the line.

Whether through purposeful sabotage or accidental forgetfulness, Morrison sang the original line, drug reference intact, during the taping. CBS didn’t have time to edit the tape, and Morrison’s original lyrics went out to the world. Sullivan opted not to greet or shake hands with the band following the performance, and The Doors were informed backstage that they would never be invited back to the show.

An hour later, The Who had a slightly more destructive act of subversion planned for their Smother Brothers performance. Already notorious for smashing their instruments at the conclusion of their shows, Keith Moon decided to make their television appearance end with a bang. Literally, he bribed stagehands to pack explosives into his bass drum that he planned on setting off at the end of ‘My Generation’.

Moon had already discovered the wonders of cherry bombs, terrorizing hotel room toilets across North America and Europe. He didn’t have any on hand with him at the television studio, so he relied on a stagehand to pack up the fireworks for him. What Moon didn’t know was that the stagehand packed in more than just firecracker – Moon’s bass drum became a cannon aimed directly at his bandmates.

As ‘My Generation’ came to its ferocious climax, smoke began to billow from behind Pete Townshend’s amplifiers. Soon, guitars, amps, and drums were being thrown and trashed, and just things couldn’t get any wilder, Moon set off the bomb. The only problem was that Townshend was right in front of the powder keg. Moon can be seen throwing his sticks and holding his arm, with a piece of cymbal having slashed him when the explosives went off. Townshend’s hair was caught in the blaze, and he went partially deaf for a brief moment, amounting to what Townshend considered the start of his hearing loss.

The two performances went on to become two of the most heavily discussed television rock performances of all time. But if you were sat in front of the TV and tuned to CBS on September 17th, 1967, you would have been able to witness both in the span of one hour. Check out both The Doors and The Who’s legendary TV appearances down below.