The Doors were a popular and influential American rock band that formed in 1965 in Los Angeles. The Doors' music included socially, psychologically, and politically influenced lyrics mostly written by 'The Lizard King', Jim Morrison. The precise drumming of John Densmore, the organ and bass organ of Ray Manzarek, and Robby Krieger's innovative guitar style, which showed the influence of flamenco, Indian, the blues and classical music, combined with Morrison's vocals to form a distinctive sound.
1967: The Doors
The Doors' self-titled debut LP, released in January 1967, caused a major
sensation in music circles. It featured most of the major songs from their
set, including the 11-minute musical drama, "The End." The band--at
peak form and bristling with energy and ambition--recorded the album in only
a few days in late August and early September 1966, almost entirely live in
the studio with most songs captured in a single take. Morrison and Manzarek
also directed an innovative promotional film for their first single, "Break
on Through," a significant advance in the development of the music video
genre.
Morrison on The Best of the Doors album coverTheir second single, "Light
My Fire," established the group along with The Jefferson Airplane and
The Grateful Dead as a top new American bands of 1967. It was released in
April but did not hit the top (with the long middle solo cut out) until July.
The Doors quickly earned a reputation as a challenging, rebellious, and entertaining live act. With his saturnine good looks, magnetic stage presence, and skin-tight leather trousers, Morrison quickly became a major pop sex symbols, although he soon became frustrated with the strictures of stardom. Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS)network censors demanded that Morrison change the lyrics to Light My Fire, by altering the line, "Girl, we couldn't get much higher" because of the reference to drugs before the band performed the song live on September 17, 1967, on the Ed Sullivan Show. However, Morrison sang the original line instead, and on live television with no delay, CBS was powerless to stop it. A furious Ed Sullivan refused to shake the band members' hands, and they were never invited back. Morrison later insisted that nervousness caused him to forget to change the line. They also performed a new single, "People Are Strange," which they repeated for DJ Murray The K's TV show on September 22. Earlier in the month the group recorded a dazzling version of "The End" for CBS in Toronto. It remained unreleased until the release of The Doors Soundstage Performances DVD.
Morrison further cemented his status as a rebel on December 9 when he was arrested in New Haven, Connecticut, for badmouthing the police to the audience. Morrison said he had been maced by an overzealous cop after he was caught backstage with a girl. The group finished a successful year on December 27 by taping "Light My Fire" and "Moonlight Drive" for the Jonathan Winters Show. From December 26 to 28 the group played at The Winterland San Francisco and then two dates in Denver on December 30 and 31, capping off a year of almost constant touring.
