On this day in 1967: The Doors were banned for life from ‘The Ed Sullivan Show’ after Jim Morrison reneged on the group’s agreement with the show’s producers; they had consented beforehand not to sing the words “girl, we couldn’t get much higher” from “Light My Fire”, but then did anyway (Jim’s emphasis on the lyric was over-exaggerated in Oliver Stone’s 1991 biopic ‘The Doors’); the band also performed their new single “People Are Strange”…48 years ago day!
For most Americans at the time, this was their first glimpse of The Doors in action. According to a production script that used to be available on the office Ed Sullivan website, Jim Morrison was asked to change the lyrics from “Girl, we couldn’t get much higher” to “Girl, there’s nothing I require. Morrison did not make the change
On September 17th, 1967, the Doors gave a memorable performance of “Light My Fire” on The Ed Sullivan Show. According to Ray Manzarek, network executives asked that the word “higher” be removed in favour of “better”. The group appeared to acquiesce, but performed the song in its original form, because either they had never intended to comply with the request or Jim Morrison was nervous and forgot to make the change (Manzarek has given conflicting accounts). Either way, “higher” was sung out on national television, and the show’s host, Ed Sullivan, cancelled another six shows that had been planned. After the program’s producer told the band they would never play on the show again, Jim Morrison reportedly replied: “Hey man. We just did the Ed Sullivan Show
The Fat Angel Sings 