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L to R: Morrison, Densmore, Manzarek, and Krieger, in a frequently used picture of the band. | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | |
| Years active | 1965-1972, 1978, 2001, 2003 |
| Elektra, Rhino Records (for compilations) | |
| Website | |
The Doors was 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 a controversial band, due mostly to Morrison's cryptic lyrics and unpredictable stage persona[citation needed]. The band disolved in 1972, and Morrison died in 1971. They have sold over 45 million albums in the
1965-68: The early Jim Morrison era
July 1965-August 21, 1966: Origins and formation
The 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 Dick 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 (1954). The title for his book 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 (with the notable exception of their eponymous first record), The Doors did use bass players such as Jerry Scheff, Doug Lubahn (who also played with Clear Light), 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 (e.g. 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, where they were the opening act for Van Morrison's group Them. On their last night together the two bands joined up for "In the Midnight Hour" and a twenty minute jam session of Them's "Gloria".[2] 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 fortunate, 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
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.[citation needed]
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, sold 1 million records and reached #1 on the Billboard Charts. and established the group — in the vein of Jefferson Airplane and the Grateful Dead — as one of
On September 14, 1967, The Doors came to
On December 24, the Doors taped "Light My Fire" and "
The next night at Winterland, a TV set was wheeled onstage during the Doors set so the band could see themselves on the Jonathan Winters Show. They stopped playing Back Door Man when their song came on. The audience watched the Doors watching themselves on TV. They finished the song when their bit was done, and Ray walked over and turned the TV off. The next night was their last ever in Winterland.
They played two more dates in
September 25, 1967: Strange Days
The second Doors LP, Strange Days, 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[citation needed]. The album was also commercialy sucessful and featured now-classic Doors songs such as "People Are Strange" and "Love Me Two Times".
July 11, 1968: Waiting for the Sun
In 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
A month after riotous scenes at the Singer Bowl in New York, the group flew to
The group played nine more
March 1, 1969 and aftermath through 1971: the Miami Incident
The
At first the performance was simply seen as Morrison having been drunk beyond any saving grace, combined with his frustration 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 exhibitionism 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 canceled.
Between the time Morrison returned from his post-Miami trip to
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, wearing casual hippie attire and tinted aviator glasses, sitting on a stool. The image change that had begun at
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
1969-71: The latter Jim Morrison era, the post-Miami Incident years
July 19, 1969: The Soft Parade
Their 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 1970 in New York with two well-received nights at The Felt Forum, just prior to the release of "Morrison Hotel".
July 21-22, 1969: Aquarius Theatre performances
The 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 "
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 Live
The 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
Back in
December 8: Morrison's poetry session & December 12, 1970: The Doors' last public performance
On December 8, 1970, his 27th birthday, Morrison recorded another poetry session. This would end up on An American Prayer: Jim Morrison in 1978 with music, and is currently in possession of the Courson family.
The Doors' tour to promote their upcoming album "LA Woman" would comprise only two dates. The first was held in
April 1971: L.A. Woman
The 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.
1971-72: The post-Morrison years
March-July 1971: Before and after Morrison's death
In 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
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 hemorrhage brought on from a heart attack, which in turn was brought on by drinking that night and the hot bath. It was also noted that he had signs of tuberculosis. There is a strange coincidence in the fact that Jim Morrison died at age 27; the same age as Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Rolling Stones guitarist Brian Jones, and more recently, the frontman of Nirvana, Kurt Cobain.
June 1971-August 1972: Other Voices & Full Circle
The 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. 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
1978: Reunion : Six years later
The 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.
1979-2001: The Doors' legacy is still alive
In 1979 Francis Ford Coppola, who attended the film school at UCLA with Morrison, released Apocalypse Now (The Doors album) 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, Roadhouse Blues, Break on Through, and Light my Fire.
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 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
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, a song by 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:
People lost their virginity to this music, got high for the first time to this music. I've had people say kids died in Vietnam listening to this music, other people say they know someone who didn't commit suicide because of this music…. On stage, when we played these songs, they felt mysterious and magic. That's not for rent.[4]
Ray Manzarek was quoted as saying, "We're all getting older. We should, the three of us, be playing these songs because, hey, the end is always near. Morrison was a poet, and above all, a poet wants his words heard." When Morrison was asked what he would most like to be remembered for, he responded, "My words, man, my words."[5]
On February 16, 2007 Ian Astbury quit Riders on the Storm, and relaunched his old band The Cult. On March 14, 2007 Brett Scallions, former lead singer of the band Fuel, was announced as the new lead singer of Riders on the Storm. On July 24, 2007, The Doors released a live 3-Disc album, recorded at Boston Arena on April 10, 1970.[1] On March 8, 2008, The Doors released another live album, recorded at the Pittsburgh Civic Arena on May 2, 1970, and to top it off, at the near end of 2007, The Doors released a 2-Disc collection named The Very Best of The Doors, this was the second version, the first version was released in 2001, this collection highlights 34 great songs from the Morrison Era.
In 2007, Manzarek described the band's sound as "Bauhaus" music. "It's clean, it's pure. There is a keyboard on one side, a guitar on the other, drums in the middle, a bass line underneath that and the singer up front and you can hear the words. That's one of the reasons why The Doors' sound is still important today. It's perfectly modern. That's what we wanted."[6] Strange Days, Morrison Hotel, and L.A Woman incorporate different styles, including psychedelic pop, hard rock, and blues.
Three non-album tracks have been released, the b-sides "Who Scared You," "Tree Trunk," and a cover of Willie Dixon's "(You Need Meat) Don't Go Further" sung by Ray. "Who Scared You" and "(You Need Meat) Don't Go Further" appeared on the 1972 compilation Weird Scenes Inside The Goldmine. "Who Scared You" was also released on CD in the 1997 box set and "You Need Meat" was included on the new "Perception" box set. "Tree Trunk" has seen no other official release. Additional songs have been only performed live.
On April 20, 2008 members of The Doors Manzarek and Krieger got together in the Colombian capital city of Bogotá to celebrate the band's 40 years of existence with a reunion concert. Both are performing with the name "Riders on the Storm" with Ty Dennis in the drums and Phil Chen playing the bass.[7]
Awards
- The Doors, along with the Grateful Dead and Joan Baez, received a lifetime achievement award at the 2007 Grammy Awards.
- On February 28, 2007, The Doors received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
- In 2004, Rolling Stone Magazine ranked The Doors[8] #41 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.[9]
- In 2000 The Doors are ranked #32 on VH1's 100 Greatest Hard Rock Artists
- The Doors' "Light My Fire" is ranked #7 on VH1 Greatest Rock Songs, in 2000
- The Doors received a Gold Record Award in the late 1960s for the hit "Light My Fire"
- The Doors ranked #37 on Blender Magazine's Top 50 Greatest Artists in Music History in 2003.
New material
In 1997 the first archive material was included on the release of The Doors box set, a 4-CD set, one of which was a "greatest hits" type CD. Some of the material had been previously available on bootlegs. A notable inclusion on the compilation was a CD of highlights from the 1970 Felt Forum concert and a cleaned-up recording of the (edited) 1969 "Rock Is Dead" session. The surviving members again re-united to add new musical backing to the solo Morrison song "Orange County Suite".
In November 2000 came the announcement many fans had dreamed of when The Doors announced the creation of Bright Midnight Records, a label through which 36 albums and 90 hours of previously unreleased Morrison-era Doors material would be made available on CD. This was launched with a sampler of forthcoming material, mostly from live concerts. The first full release was a 2-CD set of the May 1970 show at Detroit's Cobo Arena, notable for being, according to Doors manager Danny Sugerman in its liner notes, "easily... the longest Doors' set ever performed." It was followed by two CDs of interviews, mostly with Morrison, and the two 1969 Aquarius shows and one of the rehearsals. A 4-CD set "Boot Yer Butt" included bootleg quality material but sold out nevertheless.[citation needed] It was notable for the inclusion of the only known performances of songs from L.A Woman including the title track and "The Changeling" from The Doors' final recorded show in December 1970, Dallas, Texas. In 2005 a 2-CD concert from Philadelphia in 1970 was released.
Many bootleg recordings are available of the group. Most impressive is a wealth of shows from March 1967 at the legendary Matrix Club in San Francisco. Many shows are available from 1968 when the band reached the height of its popularity, notably two shows in Stockholm, Sweden. The infamous Miami show has become widely available while many 1970 shows, notably a radio broadcast of the June 6 Vancouver show, make the rounds. The complete 1969 Rock Is Dead studio jam was discovered in the mid 1990s.
While the 1999 Complete Studio Recordings box set only included the first six studio albums (omitting Other Voices & Full Circle), the Perception box set was released on November 21, 2006, and contained those albums plus about two hours of mostly unheard studio outtakes. Each album was represented by two discs: a CD of the album and the bonus tracks, and a DVD-Audio with both stereo and 5.1 surround sound mixes (produced and mixed by Bruce Botnick) in 96kHz/24-bit LPCM, Dolby Digital, and DTS as well as mostly previously released video footage. The discs were accompanied by new liner notes by Botnick and articles from several music critics and historians for each album.
Band members
| (1965-1971) |
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| (1971-1972) |
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Current line-up -- "Riders on the Storm"
- Brett Scallions - lead vocals, guitar (formerly of Fuel)
- Robby Krieger - guitar
- Ray Manzarek - keyboards, backing vocals
- Ty Dennis - drums, percussion
- Phil Chen - bass guitar
Guest singers-
Former members -- "Riders on the Storm"
- Ian Astbury - vocals, harmonica
- Angelo Barbera - bass guitar
- Stewart Copeland - drums, percussion
(Posting by Reza Mahendra)
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