“The atmosphere was intense. Manson said hello and I froze. There was a feeling of extreme evil in the room”: Jon Keliehor went from an unknown psychedelic group to playing with The Doors, turning down The Byrds and rubbing shoulders with Charles Manson

The Doors posing for a photograph in 1967.

In the summer of 1966, 25-year-old drummer Jon Keliehor was having breakfast in Duke’s Coffee Shop, the café of the Tropicana Motel, a popular haunt for local or visiting rock musicians in West Hollywood. Sitting next to him was a man he vaguely recognised, sporting fetching sideburns and smart modish attire. They got chatting.

“I asked him if he was staying in the Tropicana,” Keliehor recalls. “He said: ‘No, I’m rehearsing across the street in a little studio we rented. I’m a drummer.” I said: ‘Oh, so am I. What’s your group?’ ‘We’re called The Doors. My name’s John Densmore.’”