The Doors

Who Are They?

The Doors were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965. They were built around four very different players: singer and poet Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger, and drummer John Densmore. Famously, they had no full-time bass player, Manzarek held down the low end with his left hand on a keyboard bass.

Two things make them singular. First, the sound: a hybrid of blues, jazz, flamenco, and carnival organ that felt sinister and theatrical where their peers felt sunny. Second, Jim Morrison himself, a Dionysian, unpredictable frontman who treated a rock concert as a piece of dangerous performance art, and who became one of the defining and most doomed figures of the sixties.

They took their name from Aldous Huxley's The Doors of Perception, itself borrowed from William Blake. In barely four years and six studio albums they produced some of the most enduring songs in rock, before Morrison died in Paris in 1971 at the age of 27. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993.

The Story

Their whole history unfolds in a single blazing burst: formed in 1965, finished by 1971, and legend ever after.

1. 1965

   A meeting on Venice Beach

   Two UCLA film students, Jim Morrison and Ray Manzarek, ran into each other on the beach. Morrison recited a poem he'd been working on, "Moonlight Drive," and Manzarek suggested they start a band. With Robby Krieger and John Densmore, drawn from a meditation group, The Doors were complete.

2. 1966

   House band at the Whisky

   They became the house band at the Whisky a Go Go on the Sunset Strip, sharpening their live show nightly. They were fired after Morrison performed the shocking Oedipal climax of "The End," but by then Elektra Records had signed them.

3. 1967

   The debut and a number one

   Their self-titled debut arrived in January, and the edited single of "Light My Fire" went to number one that summer, making them overnight stars. They followed it the same year with the darker, more assured Strange Days.

4. 1968

   Waiting for the Sun

   Their third album became their only US number one album, powered by the pop hit "Hello, I Love You." But the sessions were tense, and Morrison's drinking and unreliability were becoming a serious problem.

5. 1969

   The Miami incident

   At a chaotic Miami concert in March, Morrison was accused of exposing himself on stage. The arrest and trial that followed dogged the band, got shows cancelled, and marked the beginning of the end of their touring life. The Soft Parade, with its horns and strings, divided fans.

6. 1970

   Back to the blues

   Chastened, the band returned to their roots with Morrison Hotel, a tough, bluesy record built around "Roadhouse Blues." Morrison, now heavily bearded and drinking hard, was pouring his energy into poetry.

7. 1971

   L.A. Woman, then Paris

   They cut the loose, swaggering L.A. Woman, home to "Riders on the Storm" and the title track. Morrison then moved to Paris to focus on writing. On July 3, 1971, he was found dead in a bathtub, aged 27. He is buried in Père Lachaise cemetery.

8. 1971–1973

   Carrying on, and stopping

   The three surviving members recorded two more albums, Other Voices and Full Circle, with Manzarek and Krieger sharing vocals. Without Morrison it wasn't the same, and the band wound down.

9. 1978

   An American Prayer

   The three reunited to set Morrison's recorded poetry to new music as An American Prayer, a strange, atmospheric coda that kept his voice alive one more time.

10. 1993

    Legend and afterlife

    The Doors were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Oliver Stone's 1991 film, endless reissues, and Morrison's enduring myth turned a four-year career into one of rock's most durable legacies.

Start Here

The Doors made tight, indelible songs and long, hypnotic ones. These four, from the radio staples to the epic closer, are the fastest way to understand the range. Watch in order.

The Albums 6 to start with

The Doors made six studio albums with Morrison in barely four years. These four are the essential core; the blue-topped card is the obvious place to begin.

The Playlists

Two YouTube Music playlists: a First Listen of the signature songs to bring you in, and a Deep Cuts set of the longer, stranger pieces for when you're ready to sink in. Hit the button on either card to play it.

The Band

Four musicians, no bassist, and four very different temperaments: a poet, a jazz-schooled organist, a flamenco-trained guitarist, and a jazz drummer. The friction between them was the sound.

• Jim MorrisonVocalsThe poet and Dionysian frontman; charismatic, self-destructive, and the face of the band's myth (d. 1971)
• Ray ManzarekKeyboardsThe jazz-and-classical trained organist; his swirling Vox and left-hand bass defined the sound (d. 2013)
• Robby KriegerGuitarFlamenco-trained and slide-fluent; wrote or co-wrote many of the hits, including "Light My Fire"
• John DensmoreDrumsThe jazz-schooled drummer whose dynamics and restraint gave the long pieces their tension

Influences

The Doors grew out of Chicago blues, modal jazz, and the hypnotic beat of early rock and roll. Here is where it started.

Interviews

Morrison the myth and the band the survivors remember are two different things. One of each.

Going Deeper

Four years, six albums, and one enormous myth. Once the records have you, there is a whole world around them.

• The other albums — don't stop at the big four. The Soft Parade (1969) is the divisive, horns-and-strings experiment, and Morrison Hotel (1970) is a tough, essential blues-rock return.
• The live records — Absolutely Live (1970) captures the danger and unpredictability of the band on stage, where Morrison was at his most electric and volatile.
• An American Prayer — the 1978 album setting Morrison's recorded poetry to new music. Strange, atmospheric, and the closest thing to hearing the poet he wanted to be.
• The film and the books — Oliver Stone's The Doors (1991), the documentary When You're Strange, and the biography No One Here Gets Out Alive all feed the legend, with varying accuracy.

Related Guides