The Doors

Among the charismatic groups of the 1960s The Doors seems to be THE band to remember, not that there were only less good, less influential groups, not simply because The Doors is one of those names that went through the decades. Thanks to timeless compositions, committed or shocking texts (for the time), a life of the rockiest roll and the death of their charismatic singer, Jim Morrison, surrounded by mystery. The Doors was founded in 1965 in Los Angeles, composed of John Densmore (battery), Robby Krieger (guitar), Ray Manzarek (keyboard) and Jim Morrison (song) following the meeting of Jim and Ray both film students. This band without bass begins by putting compositions on poems by Jim Morrison, one of the great passions of the gifted frontman. The Doors then recorded a demo and tried to be signed without success, so he accepted to animate a bar and in 1966, The Doors signed for 6 albums on Elektra Records. The first eponymous album was released in 1967, and Light My Fire became the band's first success (after being re-recorded for a single format). The band will become known thanks to its music mixing countless styles, from traditional rock to folk music to Indian music, the band incorporates dozens of influences, all enhanced by Morrison's poetic texts. The group is also known for its frascs and particularly those of Morrison drugged and famous alcoholic. For example, under the influence of LSD, he improvises new lyrics during a concert on The End "Father, I want to kill you. Mother, I want to fuck you all night long", the band is expelled from the club where it plays. The press welcomes the quartet that already records its second album, in just one week the band realizes Strange Days , a blacker album where the lyrics revolve around topics such as malaise, loss of identity and always revolt with a harging Morrison. The seductive frontman quickly becomes a sex symbol and plays his charm and talent to manipulate the crowds by creating chaos or bringing back the calm in the rooms where the group occurs. At the end of 1967 he was arrested on stage for disturbing public order after having made the public hostile to the force of order leading the concert (supposed to have been gassed by a police officer behind the scenes). The group's growing success pushed Morrison to even more excess, and the band hired someone to watch over his singer. In a slightly tense climate, the 3rd album was released: Waiting For The Sun in 1968, the song Unknown Soldier became one of the anti-war hymns for the pacifist movement in the fight against the war of vietnam. Jim Morrison moves away from rock and is increasingly devoted to poetry. He also wrote fewer and fewer songs, on The Soft Parade (1969) he wrote only 4 of the 9 songs on the album. He will require the names of the authors to be indicated on the disk because he disagrees with the texts written by Krieger. In 1969, while their fourth album still hasn't been released, Morrison drunk dead announces that he's going to get naked on stage, the testimonies diverge on the reality of the facts but whatever it is the band is prosecuted for indecent behavior, public nudity, outrage at good morals and public drunkenness. The album then comes out in general indifference. In 1970 the band released a new album with Morrison Hotel (named after a hotel in Los Angeles) and in 1971 after only 10 days in studio the band recorded its latest album with Jim Morrison: L.A. Woman , considered by many as one of their best productions. Jim then decided to leave the group and left to live in Paris, a few months later he died in mysterious conditions (some even speaking of a plot that also killed Jimmy Hendrix , Janis Joplin , Martin Luther King and Malcom X ), he was buried at the Père-Lachaise cemetery in Paris. The band did not separate, however, and was released in 1971 Other Voices and in 1972 Full Circle, both of which were pushed by the public, causing the final split. In 1978 they reshaped to record compositions on poems by Jim Morrison and sort An American Prayer. In 1991 Oliver Stone devoted a film to the famous band with Val Kilmer in the lead role, and in 2002 Manzarek and Krieger decided to give back concerts with the song Ian Astbury (The Cult ), they would be forced to change their name (and take Riders On The Storm ) following the trial of John Densmore and Morrison heirs. In 6 albums (with Morrison) and in just 5 years the band scored the spirits by its contestative side, its crazy story and a music mixing a lot of influences. Enormous influence for many groups The Doors lays the premises of a style that will be deepened by The Stooges or Patti Smith (and later punk). Morrison's stage game will mark the minds and will be taken over by many artists including Iggy Pop or Ozzy Osbournes (Black Sabbath) who will in turn influence a great line of scandalous rock singers. A short but full career and a brand in the incredible rock history...