November 15, 2020 —– Chart #65
Hello Musical Friends,
Welcome to this week’s edition of Chart of the Day. I normally get these out on Friday, but this week I am just a little off schedule as Debbie and I are taking a little time away. Today we are going with 1967 and a controversial Los Angeles band that broke ground for modern rock music. The Doors were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger, and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most controversial and influential rock acts of the 1960s, mostly because of Morrison’s lyrics and voice along with his erratic stage persona, and the group was widely regarded as an important part of the era’s counterculture.
“Light My Fire” is a song by the American rock band the Doors. It was recorded in August 1966 and released in January 1967 on their eponymous debut album. Released as an edited single on April 24, 1967, it spent three weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in late July, and one week on the Cash Box Top 100, nearly a year after its recording. A year later, it re-entered the Billboard Hot 100 in 1968 following the success of José Feliciano’s cover version of the song (which peaked at number three on the Billboard chart), peaking at number 87. The song was largely written by the band’s guitarist, Robby Krieger, but was credited to the entire band. The single was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America in September 1967 for exceeding one million units shipped. As of December 1971, it was the band’s best-selling single with over 927,000 copies sold. The single was certified Platinum by the RIAA in September 2018 for reaching 1,000,000 digital units
The song originated in early 1966 as a composition by Robby Krieger, who said that he was inspired by the melody of “Hey Joe” and the lyrics of the Rolling Stones’ “Play with Fire”. On taking his initial composition to the band, John Densmore suggested that it should have more of a Latin rhythm, Jim Morrison wrote the second verse, Ray Manzarek added the Bach-influenced introductory organ motif, and Densmore suggested that it should open with a single snare drum hit.
The band started playing the song in performances in April 1966, and extended it with a jazzy improvisation. When the Doors performed the song at live concerts, Manzarek played the song’s bass line with his left hand on a Fender Rhodes Piano Bass, while performing the main keyboard lines on a Vox Continental using his right hand. When they came to record the song later in the year, producer Paul A. Rothchild brought in session musician Larry Knechtel to overdub a Fender Precision Bass guitar to double the keyboard bass line. Rothchild also suggested that the recording repeat the introductory motif at the end of the track.
Although the album version was just over seven minutes long, it was widely requested for radio play, notably by Los Angeles DJ Dave Diamond, and Elektra Records owner Jac Holzman asked that a shorter version be released as a single. Rothchild edited a single version, cut down to under three minutes with nearly all the instrumental break removed for airplay on AM radio.
The band appeared on various TV shows, such as American Bandstand, miming to a playback of the single. However, “Light My Fire” was performed live by the Doors on The Ed Sullivan Show broadcast on September 17, 1967. The Doors were asked by producer Bob Precht, Sullivan’s son-in-law, to change the line “girl, we couldn’t get much higher”, as the sponsors were uncomfortable with the possible reference to drugs. However, the meaning of the line was confirmed to be literal, as in “high in the sky”. The band agreed to do so, and did a rehearsal using the amended lyrics, “girl, we couldn’t get much better”. However, during the live performance, the band’s lead singer Jim Morrison sang the original, unaltered lyrics. Ed Sullivan did not shake Jim Morrison’s hand as he left the stage. The band had been negotiating a multi-episode deal with the producers; however, after violating the agreement not to perform the offending line, they were informed they would never perform on the show again. Morrison’s response was “Hey man. We just did the Sullivan show.”
This performance was portrayed in the 1991 Oliver Stone film The Doors, but with Morrison singing “higher” more emphatically and without his subsequent retort to Sullivan and the show’s producer.
Original 7 minute version:
And a live TV version: https://youtu.be/tEXlWgMOtqc
Keep rockin’,
Stan