The Doors
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The Doors were an American rock band formed in 1965 in Los Angeles by vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, drummer John Densmore, and guitarist Robby Krieger. They were one of the most controversial bands of their time, due mostly to Morrison's cryptic lyrics and unpredictable stage persona. Since the band's dissolution in the 1972 — and especially since Morrison's death in 1971 — interest in the Doors' music has remained high, especially from The Morrison Era. They have sold over 76 million albums worldwide, and still sell approximately 1 million annually. 1965-68: The Early Jim Morrison EraJuly 1965-August 21, 1966: Origins and FormationThe origins of The Doors lay in a chance meeting between acquaintances and fellow UCLA film school alumni Jim Morrison and Ray Manzarek on Venice Beach California in July 1965. Morrison told Manzarek he had been writing songs and, at Manzarek's encouragement, sang "Moonlight Drive". Impressed by Morrison's lyrics, Manzarek suggested they form a band. Keyboardist Ray Manzarek was in a band called Rick and The Ravens with his brother Rick Manzarek, while Robby Krieger and John Densmore were playing with The Psychedelic Rangers and knew Manzarek from yoga and meditation classes. In August, Densmore joined the group and, along with members of the Ravens and bass player Pat Sullivan (later credited using her married name Patricia Hansen in the 1997 box CD release), recorded a six-song demo in September 1965. This was widely bootlegged and appeared in full on the 1997 Doors box set. That month the group recruited guitarist Robby Krieger, and the final lineup — Morrison, Manzarek, Krieger and Densmore — was complete. The band took their name from the title of a book by Aldous Huxley, The Doors of Perception, which was in turn borrowed from a line in a poem by the 18th century artist and poet William Blake: "If the doors of perception were cleansed, every thing would appear to man as it is: infinite".[1] The Doors were unusual among rock groups because they did not use a bass guitar when playing live. Instead, Manzarek played the bass lines with his left hand on the newly invented Fender Rhodes bass keyboard, an offshoot of the well-known Fender Rhodes electric piano, playing other keyboards with his right hand. On their studio albums, The Doors did use bass players such as Jerry Scheff, Doug Lubahn, Harvey Brooks, Kerry Magness, Lonnie Mack, Larry Knechtel, Leroy Vinnegar, and Ray Neapolitan. Many of The Doors' original songs were group compositions, with Morrison or Krieger contributing the lyrics and an initial melody, and the others providing harmonic and rhythmic suggestions, or even entire sections of song (i.e. Manzarek's organ introduction to "Light My Fire"). By 1966 the group was playing The London Fog club and soon graduated to the prestigious Whisky a Go Go. On August 10, they were spotted by Elektra Records president Jac Holzman who was present at the recommendation of Love singer Arthur Lee, whose group was on Elektra. After Holzman and producer Paul A. Rothchild saw two sets of the band playing at the Whisky a Go Go, they signed them to the Elektra Records label on August 18—the start of a long and successful partnership with Rothchild and engineer Bruce Botnick. The timing was fortuitous, because on August 21 the club fired the band after a profanity-filled performance of "The End". In an incident that foreshadowed the controversy that would follow the group, an acid-tripping Morrison raucously recited his own rendition of the Greek drama Oedipus Rex in which the play's protagonist Oedipus kills his father and has sex with his mother. Morrison's version consisted of "Father? Yes son? I want to kill you. Mother? I want to fuck you". January 4, 1967: The Doors (album)The Doors' self-titled debut LP was recorded in August 1966 and released in the first week of January 1967. It featured most of the major songs from their set, including the 11-minute musical drama, "The End". The band recorded the album in a few days in late August and early September 1966, almost entirely live in the studio with many songs captured in a single take. Morrison and Manzarek directed a promotional film for the lead single "Break on Through (To the Other Side)", a significant advance in the development of the music video genre. To promote the single, the Doors made their television debut on a Los Angeles TV show called Shebang miming to Break On Through. This clip has never been officially released by the Doors but can be seen on YouTube. The second single, "Light My Fire", became a smash hit in mid-1967, and established the group — in the vein of Jefferson Airplane and The Grateful Dead — as one of America's vital counterculture bands. For AM radio airplay, the long middle organ and guitar solos were cut out from the song. On September 14, 1967, The Doors came to Toronto and a live recording of "The End" for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) was taped from their concert at the O'Keefe (now Hummingbird) Center. Sometimes this clip would be seen on shows like IN CONCERT on ABC in the 1970's and it was heavily bootlegged and available at rock and roll record shows. It was not officially released by the Doors until The Doors Soundstage Performances DVD in 2002. Whether any more of this concert was taped is speculation. It is a long shot but a remote possibility exists that an entire early Doors performance rests in the CBC vaults.
On December 24, the Doors taped "Light My Fire" and "Moonlight Drive" live for the Jonathan Winters Show. From December 26 to December 28 the group played at the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco. An excerpt taken from Stephen Davis' book on Jim Morrison p. 219-220:
They played two more dates in Denver on December 30 and December 31, capping off a year of almost constant touring. September 25, 1967: Strange DaysThe second Doors LP, Strange Days, was less spontaneous than their debut, but it was noted for its evocative lyrics and atmosphere. The closing track, "When the Music's Over", was, like "The End", lengthy and dramatic, and helped establish Morrison's reputation as the shaman of rock. The album was also commercial and featured now-classic Doors songs such as "People Are Strange" and "Love Me Two Times". As a result of their success, The Doors forfeited their status as underground heroes. They allowed Sixteen magazine to portray them as teen idols and their "spontaneous" stage-show was exposed as not-so-spontaneous. An article by Jerry Hopkins in the February 10, 1968 edition of Rolling Stone typified the fall from grace:
July 11, 1968: Waiting for the SunIn April, the recording of the third album was marred by tension as a result of Morrison's increasing dependence on alcohol. Approaching the height of their popularity, the Doors played a series of outdoor shows that led to frenzied scenes between fans and police, particularly at Chicago Coliseum on May 10. The band began to branch out from their initial form in their third LP, because they had exhausted their original repertoire and began writing new material. It became their first #1 LP and the single "Hello, I Love You" was their second and last US #1 single. There was a controversy with the release of the "Hello, I Love You" single in 1968, when the rock press pointed out the song's musical resemblance to The Kinks' 1965 hit "All Day and All of the Night". Members of the Kinks have concurred with music critics: Kinks guitarist Dave Davies has been known to add snippets of "Hello, I Love You" during solo live performances of "All Day and All of the Night" as a sarcastic commentary on the subject.[2] In concert, Morrison was occasionally dismissive of the song, and left the vocal chores to Manzarek. A month after riotous scenes at the Singer Bowl in New York, the group flew to Britain for its first dates outside of North America. They held a press conference at the ICA Gallery in London and played shows at The Roundhouse Theatre. The results of the trip were broadcast on Granada TV's The Doors Are Open which was later released on video. They played dates in Europe, including a show in Amsterdam without Morrison after he collapsed from a drug binge. Morrison returned to London on September 20 and stayed for a month[citation needed]. The group played nine more US dates and began to work, in November, on their fourth LP. 1969 started with a sold out show at Madison Square Garden in New York on January 24 and with a successful new single, "Touch Me", (released in December 1968), which hit US #3. March 1, 1969 and aftermath through 1971: The Miami IncidentThe Miami incident was a Doors concert on March 1, 1969, at the Dinner Key Auditorium in Miami, Florida where Morrison gave a controversial performance. The restless crowd was subjected to Morrison's disinterest in singing the songs that night, as well as his unconventional emotional outbursts, screaming challenges to the audience, and making irreverent social statements. The confusion and taunts led to some out of control situations involving Morrison, various staff as well as audience participants that resulted in an abrupt end to the show, shortly after one hour having been on stage. At first the performance was simply seen as Morrison having been drunk beyond any saving grace, combined with his frustation over the trappings of rock stardom and his personal demons finally reaching a crescendo. But once a slanderous review of it was reported in the local press on March 3rd, Morrison's exhibiton took on a snowball effect in the form of a media and legal firestorm. On March 5th a warrant was issued for Morrison's arrest on charges of indecency and obscenity, and one after another all the subsequent shows on The Doors upcoming tour cancelled. Between the time Morrison returned from his post-Miami trip to Jamaica with The Doors and when he surrendered to the FBI in early April, he recorded some of his poetry and began shooting HWY, an experimental film about a hitchhiker played by himself. The Doors set the poetry session to music for the 1978 album An American Prayer. HWY contains virtually no dialog and circulates among collectors. The group's only public appearance was on a PBS television special recorded late in April and broadcast the following month. The group performed songs from the upcoming Soft Parade album. The Doors resumed touring at Chicago Auditorium Theater on June 14 and played two dates at Aquarius Theatre in Hollywood on July 21 and July 22, both later released on CD. Morrison appeared heavily bearded and overweight, wearing casual hippie attire and tinted aviator glasses, sitting on a stool. The image change that had begun at Miami to shed his sex symbol status was now complete. Once The Doors completed their fifth album "Morrison Hotel" and a tour to support it, Morrison and the band found their career consumed with the Miami trial. On October 30th, 1970, Morrison was found guilty of two charges, profanity and indecent exposure. He was acquitted of the charge of drunkeness and the felony of lewd behavior. The verdict was contested and Morrison died in July of 1971 while his case was still on appeal. 1969-71: The Latter Jim Morrison Era, The Post-Miami Incident YearsJuly 19, 1969: The Soft ParadeTheir fourth album, The Soft Parade (1969), released in July, further distanced the group from their core fan base, containing pop-oriented arrangements and horn sections. The lead single "Touch Me" featured saxophonist Curtis Amy. While the band was trying to maintain their previous momentum, efforts to expand their sound gave the album an experimental feel, causing critics to attack their musical integrity. Morrison's drinking made him difficult and unreliable, and the recording sessions dragged on for weeks. Studio costs piled up, and The Doors came close to disintegrating[citation needed]. During the recording of their next album, in November 1969, Morrison found himself in trouble with the law after being abusive to airline staff during a flight to Phoenix, Arizona to see The Rolling Stones in concert. He was acquitted the following April after a steward mistakenly identified Morrison as his traveling companion, American actor Tom Baker[citation needed]. The group started its year in New York with two well-received nights at The Felt Forum. July 21-22, 1969: Aquarius Theatre PerformancesThe Doors gave two concerts at the Earl Carroll Theatre (then called the "Aquarius" theatre) on Sunset Bvd, Hollywood. The shows were performed on 21 and 22 July 1969. This was only a few months after the "Miami incident" in March of that year. The shows featured a more laid back, blues style of Doors music. Morrison appeared not as his trademark, "young lion" in black leather pants. Instead, he wore a beard and sported loose fitting carpenter-like pants. The performances included Morrison sitting on a stool, belting out classics such as, "Back Door Man", "When The Music's Over", and "Light My Fire". "Build Me A Woman", "Mystery Train", and "Who Do You Love" showcased the softer side of The Doors. The usual theatrics from Morrison were much more subdued than from earlier stage performances - convulsing, writhing, and the orgasmic feeling were not present during these nights. But there was definitely an energy felt. The cathartic, spiritual feeling was present and the audience embraced it. Morrison focused on his singing and expressed himself more musically (even shaking maracas during many of the songs), and not on the sexual creature that had taken the stage the past three years. The Doors as a group played with a fluent, yet loose style that exemplified their live music talents and captured the audience with every note. Some of the songs recorded here were released on The Doors' Absolutely Live album or on Alive, She Cried in 1983. February 1970: Morrison Hotel & July 1970: Absolutely LiveThe Doors staged a return to form with their 1970 LP Morrison Hotel. Featuring a consistent, hard rock sound, the album's opener was "Roadhouse Blues". The record hit US #4 and revived their status among their fans and the rock press. It also saw Jim Morrison returning to the post as main songwriter, writing or co-writing all of the album's tracks, as opposed to the poppier "The Soft Parade", where Robbie Krieger had contributed an unusually large number of songs. The 40th Anniversary CD reissue contains outtakes and alternate takes, including a different version of "The Spy" as well as versions of "Roadhouse Blues" with Lonnie Mack on bass guitar and The Lovin' Spoonful's John Sebastian contributing a bluesy harmonica. The band continued to perform at arenas throughout the summer. Morrison faced trial in Miami in August, but the group made it to the Isle of Wight Festival on August 29. They performed alongside artists such as Jimi Hendrix, The Who, Joni Mitchell, Miles Davis and Sly & The Family Stone. Two songs from the show were featured in the 1995 documentary Message To Love. In July 1970, The Doors released Absolutely Live. On September 16, Morrison took to the stand, but the jury returned a guilty verdict for profanity and indecent exposure on September 20. Morrison was sentenced to eight months' custody but was allowed to go free pending an appeal. December 8: Morrison's Poetry Session & December 12, 1970: The Doors' last public performanceOn December 8, 1970, his 27th birthday, Morrison recorded another poetry session, which would end up on An American Prayer: Jim Morrison in 1978 with music. During the Doors' last public performance, at the "Warehouse" in New Orleans, Louisiana, on December 12, 1970, Morrison apparently had a breakdown on stage. He slammed the microphone numerous times into the stage floor. April 1971: L.A. WomanThe Doors looked set to regain its crown as a premier act with L.A. Woman in 1971. It contained two top 20 hits and has gone on to be their second best-selling studio album, surpassed in sales only by their debut. The album explored their R&B roots, although during rehearsals they had a falling-out with Rothchild. Denouncing the new repertoire as "cocktail music," he quit and handed the production to Botnick. The result is considered a classic Doors album. The singles "L.A. Woman", "Love Her Madly" and "Riders on the Storm" remain mainstays of rock radio programming. During the sessions, a short clip of the band performing Crawling King Snake was filmed. So far as known, this is the last clip of the Doors performing with Jim Morrison. It has never been officially released by the Doors but is available on YouTube. 1971-72: The Post-Morrison YearsMay-July 1971: Before and After Morrison's deathIn 1971, following the recording of L.A. Woman, Morrison decided to take some time off and moved to Paris with girlfriend, Pamela Courson, in March. He had visited the city the previous summer and seemed content to write and explore the place. By June, he was again drinking heavily. On June 16, the last known recording of Morrison was made when he befriended two street musicians at a bar and invited them to a studio. The results were released in 1994 on a bootleg CD titled The Lost Paris Tapes. Morrison died under mysterious circumstances on July 3 1971. His body was found in the bathtub of his apartment. It was concluded that he died of a heart attack, although it was later revealed that no autopsy had been performed before Morrison's body was buried at Père Lachaise Cemetery on July 7. There are persistent rumors that Morrison faked his death to escape the spotlight or died at a nightclub and that his body had been surreptitiously taken to his apartment. However, in his book Wonderland Avenue, Morrison's former associate Danny Sugerman states that during his last meeting with Courson — which took place shortly before her own death from a heroin overdose — she confessed that she had introduced Morrison to the drug and because he had a fear of needles, she had injected him with the dose that killed him. The Coroner saw him and witnessed no needle marks. He also saw that he had blood in his nose caused from what he said was a hemmorage brought on from a heart attack brought on by drinking that night and the hot bath. It was also noted that he had signs of tuberculosis. June 1971-August 1972: Other Voices & Full CircleThe surviving Doors continued for some time, initially considering replacing Morrison with a new singer. It has been reported that Iggy Pop was one of the singers considered as a possible replacement. Instead, Krieger and Manzarek took over on vocals and released two more albums, recording for Other Voices took place during the summer of 1971 (in June-August), was released in October of 1971 and recording for Full Circle took place during the spring of 1972, was released in August 1972 and went on tour after the release of Other Voices and Full Circle. Unfortunately, Both albums sold less than the Morrison era releases, and The Doors stopped performing and recording at the end of 1972. The last album expanded into jazz territory. While neither album has been reissued on CD in the US, they have been released on 2-on-1 CDs in Germany and Russia. 1978: Reunion: Six Years LaterThe third post-Morrison album, An American Prayer, was released in 1978. It consisted of the band adding a musical track to recently rediscovered spoken-word recordings of Morrison reciting his poetry. The record was a commercial success and was the best post-Morrison album ever to be released. 1979-2001: The Doors' Legacy is Still AliveIn 1979 Francis Ford Coppola, who attended the film school at UCLA with Morrison, released Apocalypse Now with "The End" used prominently in the sound track. In 1983, The Doors released Alive, She Cried, a collection of live performances which also has the rock anthem "Gloria", recorded at a soundcheck at the Aquarius Theatre on July 22, 1969. In 1991, director Oliver Stone released his film The Doors, starring Val Kilmer as Morrison and with cameos by Krieger and Densmore. British vocalist Ian Astbury of The Cult was Stone's preferred choice to play Morrison, but Astbury chose not to appear in the film. Kilmer's impersonation and the film itself were praised by critics, despite its inaccuracies. Members of the group criticized Stone's portrayal of Morrison as an out-of-control sociopath. Singer Billy Idol had a cameo in the film and recorded a cover of "L.A. Woman." In 1993, Ray Manzarek, John Densmore, and Robby Krieger reunited for their induction into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Eddie Vedder, lead singer of Pearl Jam, sang vocals. The group performed three songs, Break on Through, Light my Fire, and Roadhouse Blues. In 2001, Ray Manzarek, John Densmore and Robby Krieger reunited again to perform The Doors' hits as part of the VH1 Storytellers series. Singing with the band were guest lead vocalists, including The Cult's Ian Astbury, Creed's Scott Stapp, Stone Temple Pilots' Scott Weiland, Jane's Addiction's Krissy (Mowgy) McDonald, Blood, Perry Farrell and Days of the New's Travis Meeks. The show was later released on DVD as VH1 Storytellers - The Doors (A Celebration). Later in the same year, rap producer Kanye West produced a song called Takeover for Jay-Z for the latter's 2001 critically acclaimed album The Blueprint. The song heavily sampled The Doors's song "Five To One", including the background music and Jim Morrison's vocals. 2002-Present: "Doors of the 21st Century", "D21C", and "Riders on the Storm" (AKA "The Former Doors" and "Members of The Doors")In 2002 Manzarek and Krieger reunited and created a new version of The Doors, called "The Doors of the 21st Century." The lineup was fronted by Astbury, with Angelo Barbera from Krieger's band on bass. At their first concert, the group announced that drummer John Densmore would not perform, and it was later reported that he was unable to play because he suffered from tinnitus. Densmore was initially replaced by Stewart Copeland of The Police, but after Copeland broke his arm falling off a bicycle, the arrangement ended in mutual lawsuits, and he was replaced by Ty Dennis, drummer with Krieger's band. Densmore subsequently claimed that he had in fact not been invited to take part in the reunion. In February 2003, he filed an injunction against his former band mates, hoping to prevent them from using the name "The Doors of the 21st Century." His motion was denied in court in May. Manzarek publicly stated that the invitation for Densmore to return to the group still stood. It was also reported that both Morrison's family and that of Pamela Courson had joined Densmore in seeking to prevent Manzarek and Krieger from using The Doors' name. In July 2005, Densmore and the Morrison estate won a permanent injunction, causing the new band to switch to the name "D21C." It now plays under the name Riders on the Storm, an old song by Jim Morrison & The Doors released in 1971 as the last track on the final Morrison-Era album, L.A. Woman. They are allowed to play under names such as "former Doors" and "members of The Doors." Later in July 2007 Densmore said that he would not rejoin The Doors unless it was fronted by Eddie Vedder. Densmore says, "I play with Jim. If there's someone of that level, OK. I'm not gonna join them with Ian. That's not to diss Ian, he's a good singer - but he's no Jim Morrison. Eddie Vedder? My God, there's a singer." Densmore has been steadfast in refusing to license The Doors' music for use in television commercials, including an offer of $15 million by Cadillac to lease the song "Break on Through (to the Other Side)," feeling that that would be in violation of the spirit in which the music was created. Densmore wrote about this subject for The Nation. He later gave an interview about this to LA Times:
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