The Doors, an American rock band, were formed by four alumni of UCLA film school in July 1965. Initially, they used to perform their music at Whisky A Go Go, and released their debut self-titled album in 1967. The Doors did not use bass in their music, as Ray Manzarek provided the bass sound by keyboard bass.
The psychedelic poems of Jim Morrison were ideally appropriate at the time, particularly because of the evolution of psychedelic rock, which attracted a considerable attention in the late 1960s. On the other hand, musical talents of Ray Manzarek provided a great framework for a unique psychedelic rock. Jim Morrison strong vocals and Ray Manzarek dominant keyboard riffs and rhythms were unusual at the time.
However, their perfect match resulted in the formation of a new brilliant rock style, which was later followed by other rock bands during the rock evolution. Definitely, the success of The Doors is not limited to Jim Morrison and Ray Manzarek; as Robby Krieger and John Densmore were also key persons (particularly Robby Krieger who was the main songwriter for some songs).
As a matter of fact, the success of The Doors was based on an ideally perfect team work, as all four members were properly serving the band. Read more about The Doors early works.
After the sudden death of Jim Morrison, the band released two more albums, but never hired a new vocalist and preferred to keep the Jim Morrison position vacant forever. Through five years of musical career, The Doors became one of the rock legends.
Some believe that the band had sufficient creativity to continue their musical career with a new vocalist, and some believe The Doors without Jim Morrison could not be The Doors.
The Doors Line-up
- Jim Morrison – vocals
- Ray Manzarek – keyboards, keyboard bass
- Robby Krieger – guitar
- John Densmore – drums
The Doors Discography
- 1967 - The Doors
- 1967 - Strange Days
- 1968 - Waiting for the Sun
- 1969 - The Soft Parade
- 1970 - Morrison Hotel
- 1971 - L.A. Woman
- 1971 - Other Voices
- 1972 - Full Circle
- 1978 - An American Prayer
References
- The Doors official website
- The Doors movie was made by the famous director Oliver Stone in 1993 (however, there are controversial views about this movie, as some believe the psychological issues about Jim Morrison have been overestimated).
- James Riordan, Jerry Prochnicky, Break on Through: The Life and Death of Jim Morrison, Harper Paperbacks, 1992.
- Danny Sugarman, The Doors: The Complete Illustrated Lyrics, Hyperion, 2006.
- Stephen Davis, Jim Morrison: Life, Death, Legend, Gotham, 2005.
- Ray Manzarek, Light My Fire, Berkley Trade, 1999.
- John Densmore, Riders on the Storm: My Life with Jim Morrison and the Doors, Delta, 1991.
- Ben Fong-Torres, The Doors, Hyperion, 2006.
