Page 38 - seniors today August issue

Music
Light my Fire
More than half a century after they hit the rock scene, The Doors continue to mesmerise.
By Y R Anand
I first saw this album of The Doors in 1968
during the end of my college years in Mysore.
A friend had visited Australia and returned
with a few albums. The Doors album cover
was stark, minimal and very interesting. The
music was love at first sound. The silky-smooth
voice of Jim Morrison with compelling lyrics
was mesmerising. And, what a back-up band!
The versatile keyboard work of Ray Manzarek,
hard-driving guitar by Robby Krieger and
terrific drumming by John Densmore, all made
the sound a delicious concoction. It was hardly
possible to get your mind off the music.
The interest in The Doors continued during
the rest of my college years in Kharagpur and
I was lucky to find like-minded music lovers
in that far off outpost. Thereafter in Mumbai,
there were plenty of opportunities to continue
enjoying their music.
As the years went by, more and more creative
output came out pouring. It was great music to
listen to, because of the melodies and the very
contemporary lyrics. While Morrison was the
main song writer, The Doors always said the
38
music and words were created by the group.
And it remained that way till the end. The other
three band members contributed significantly to
the songs and that is why they always attributed
the lyrics to the band.
The group had its origins with a meeting of
Morrison and Manzarek in Los Angeles in 1965.
Manzarek was already part of a band called
Rick & The Ravens, which had three Manzarek
brothers. Later in the year, they were joined by
the drummer John Densmore, by which time the
group had named themselves The Doors.
The band decided on their name as The Doors,
from the “The Doors of Perception” a book by
Aldous Huxley. The book itself derived the title
from a line in William Blake’s “The Marriage of
Heaven and Hell”.
They added a bass player, Patty Sullivan.
These six members recorded a set of six songs
for demo purpose. But, soon after, the two other
Manzarek brothers and Sullivan left and Robby
Krieger joined the group and a legend was born.
These first six songs has been subsequently
released in one of their anthology albums.
The Doors made their first appearance in a
sleazy Los Angeles club called London Fog and
soon moved to the better Whisky-a-Go-Go on
the Sunset Strip, where the group say they truly
came together.
Elektra Records spotted their talent and started
to release their albums. The first album was
The Doors, which was released in 1967. This
had Light My Fire which was their first smash
hit single. It is one of the most recognisable and
iconic rock songs of all times. Along with it were
equally fantastic Break on Through to the other
side, End of the Night, Back Door Man, The End
and 7 other songs. Some of them went on to
become hit singles.
Morrison was a charismatic figure and had
great stage presence. He exaggerated this
by his eccentric behaviour. His sometimes
SENIORS TODAY | Volume 1 | Issue 2