The Doors was a 60's Californian band led by vocalist Jim Morrison, one of the most well-known victims of the acid-musical whirlwind of the golden age (as were Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and Brian Jones).
Formed in 1965 in Los Angeles, The Doors were composed by singer James Douglas Morrison (born December 8, 1943 in Melbourne, Florida), keyboardist Ray Manzarek (born February 12, 1935 in Chicago) Guitarist Robby Krieger (born January 8, 1946 in Los Angeles) and drummer John Densmore (born December 1, 1945 in Los Angeles). The band's beginnings began on the UCLA campus where all four members studied Cinematography.
Jim Morrison, son of a senior military officer, was a great fan of music and books. After reading William Blake with phrases like "If the doors of perception were cleansed, everything would appear to be as infinite" and "there are things that are known and things that are unknown, in between are the doors"; Decided to create a group that he called The Doors.
In 1965 he met Manzarek, a musician who had an amateur group where his brothers played Rick & The Ravens. After the entrance of Morrison, Densmore and Krieger in the band (the last two coming from the Psychedelic Rangers) and the departure of the brothers of Manzarek (who did not like the subjects written by Morrison) Morrison: The Doors.
The group began performing in the city's best-known clubs and its extraordinary sound highlighted by the organ of Manzarek (one of the greatest keyboardists in rock history) and the strange lyrics and vocal and stage skills of Morrison managed to attract To a large group of fans.
It was Arthur Lee, the leader of the group Love, who after witnessing the performances of the Doors, recommended to his label Elektra the signing of the band
So did the company presenting the first LP of the group that they simply called "The Doors" (1967).
Although the Doors tend to be embedded in the psychedelia inherent in their cultural context, the truth is that it is a unique and unclassifiable group, rich in textures and sonic structures (thanks to the great skill they possessed as instrumentalists). In "The Doors" we find, from a poetic perspective, bits of rock, pop, blues, psychedelia wrapped in the powerful voice of Morrison. Themes like "Break On Through", "The Crystal Ship", "The End" or "Light My Fire" (number 1 in the United States) remain as some of the most lucid compositions of his time. The album was a sales hit.
Their second album was "Strange Days" (1968), another extraordinary example of the quality of the band with enormous songs like "People Are Strange" or "When The Music's Over".
In his third LP "Waiting For The Sun" (1968) included his second number 1 USA, "Hello I Love You", a beautiful song that remembered enough to "All Day And All Of The Night" of the Kinks, reason why That Ray Davies took legal action that was left in the water. "Waiting For The Sun" is another masterful album with such magnificent themes as "The Unknown Soldier", "Love Street" or "Five To One".
If the vinyls of The Doors were great, their concerts were an event, especially for the frontman ability of a Jim Morrison who was increasingly hung on drugs and alcohol. His European tour caused astonishment, especially his performances in the English capital.
In 1969 they completed their fourth album, "The Soft Parade" (1969), one of the most abused albums of their career that turns out to be another seductive collection of great songs like "Touch Me", "Wishful Sinful" or "The Soft Parade ", exalted by an omnipresent section of metal. The use of orchestration did not please the most immobile.
An incident at a concert in Miami with an increasingly misplaced Morrison triggered the cancellation over a long period of more performances. The singer was arrested in full concert with accusations of indecent exposure, blasphemy, public drunkenness and obscene behavior. He had previously been arrested in Connecticut for similar charges. He was subsequently acquitted of all charges less than blasphemy.
Morrison published poetry books and the Doors responded to this climate of uncertainty about the future of the band after the serious incidents, closing of concerts and censorship on many radio stations with the valuable "Morrison Hotel" (1970), psychedelia album And R & B with great themes like "Roadhouse Blues", "Waiting For The Sun", "You Make Me Real", "The Spy" or "Queen of the Highway". Later appeared the live "Absolutely Live" (1970) and his last work with Morrison "L. A. Woman "(1971), a good record that contained its classic" Riders On The Storm ".
Jim Morrison at that time was disgusted with the music industry and turned all his artistic efforts into what he liked most, literature. To continue his bizarre literary career, he moved with his wife Pam to one of the world's cultural cribs, Paris. Sadly, on July 3, 1971, he was found dead in the bathtub. He had died of a heart attack from his strong heroin addiction. He was 27, curiously the same as Brian Jones, Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix at the time of their deaths. The body of Jim Morrison is buried in the Parisian cemetery Pere Lachaise. On the other hand, his wife Pam, also died in 1974 of an overdose of heroin.
Without Morrison, the remaining members tried to keep up with the recording of albums like "Other Voices" (1971) or "Full Circle" (1972) but with little success. The Doors ceased to exist in 1973 leaving an impressive and indispensable musical legacy.
Ray Manzarek died in Rosenheim (Germany) on May 20, 2013 due to cancer. He was 74 years old. He was cremated.