Songs that chang the social landsc
The Doors captured the feelings of a disaffected youth in America with a complex intensity and a maverick lead singer. Retro (with a little help from our friends at
www.classicpopicons.com) looks behind the recording of their breakthrough hit Light My Fire
L
ight My Fire was The Doors’ breakthrough hit in America. Their
previous single Break On Through had failed to reach the Billboard Hot 100, but Light My Fire captured the imagination of the youth of America. The song, which took inspiration from John Coltrane’s version of My Favorite Things, wasn’t obvious single material in its original form, thanks largely to the lengthy instrumental break which ran for more than seven
minutes. To secure more airplay, the song was edited down, removing much of the break that highlights the chemistry between guitarist (Robbie Krieger), keyboardist (Ray Manzarek) and drummer (John Densmore), although the edit retains the song’s key elements with Manzarek’s par ticularly memorable keyboard work, including the distinctive intro. Manzarek spoke to
Collider.com last year about the composition of Light My Fire: “After I came up with that organ par t – and that was the last thing left to do – we were at the beach house in Venice and I told John, Robbie and Jim ‘Hey, go out to the beach and let me think about this for a second. You guys just go.’ And they walked out to the beach and I went (hums melody) and it just sor t of fell into place as the introduction. I said to the guys ‘C’mon back in. I got it.’ And putting all of that together: Robby’s brilliant creation, A minor to F sharp minor, Light My Fire, the solo
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