Psychedelic Rock Music
The song “Light My Fire” is credited to The Doors (the entire band) and was mostly written by group member Robby Krieger. It was released on the album The Doors and then as a single. It became an international success. In 1967, it went to #1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, U.S. Cash Box Top 100, and the Irish Singles Chart. It was #2 in Canada, #16 in Australia, and #27 in The Netherlands. In the U.K., it was #49 (with a 1991 reissue going to #7). The song sold more than one million copies and earned an RIAA golden record. The album version was more than 7 minutes long, but since so many radio stations requested it, the single version was cut to under three minutes so it could be played by the AM stations.
In September, 1967, The Doors appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show to play “Light My Fire.” The Doors were asked to change the lyric “girl, we couldn’t get much higher” because the sponsors were uncomfortable with the drug reference. During the rehearsal, they changed it to “girl, we couldn’t get much better.” During the performance, though, Jim Morrison sang it was written. That caused a rift with Ed Sullivan, and a multi-show deal fell through.
The Doors were Jim Morrison (vocals, Ray Manzarek (keyboards), Robby Krieger (guitar), and John Densmore (drums). The band took their name for the Aldous Huxley book The Doors of Perception, which chronicled his experiences when taking mescaline. Jim Morrison said , “there are things known and things unknown and in between are the doors.”
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[…] If you are interested in reading about and listening to another song by The Doors, please click here for “Light My Fire.” […]