50 Fun Facts About The Doors

The Doors took their name from a Huxley book that itself referenced a line by which poet?

Huxley's The Doors of Perception (1954) describes his experiment with mescaline.

On the beach in which city did Jim Morrison and Ray Manzarek run into each other in July 1965?

They met in front of Manzarek's house on Fraser Avenue; Morrison confessed he had been writing songs.

Which record executive signed the Doors in August 1966 after watching two sets at the Whisky a Go Go?

He ran Elektra Records and came at the suggestion of Arthur Lee of Love; the club fired the band three days after the signing.

Which Los Angeles band's singer recommended that Elektra's president go and see the Doors?

Arthur Lee's group was already on Elektra; the Doors would soon eclipse them as the label's biggest act.

The Doors' debut album was recorded at which Hollywood studio and released in January 1967?

Its first single, 'Break On Through', stalled at number 126 but became a concert staple.

'Light My Fire' was principally written by which member of the band, though it was credited to all four?

The edited single spent three weeks at number one in 1967; José Feliciano's cover reached number three the next year and won a Grammy.

How many weeks did 'Light My Fire' spend at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1967?

It re-entered the chart in 1968 on the back of Feliciano's cover, peaking at number 87 the second time.

Which word did Ed Sullivan Show executives ask the Doors to drop from 'Light My Fire' in 1967?

They sang it anyway; the band has given conflicting accounts of whether it was defiance or Morrison forgetting.

The Doors had no permanent bassist. On stage, Ray Manzarek covered the low end with what?

His right hand played a Vox Continental organ; studio albums from Strange Days on used session bassists.

Ray Manzarek was born and raised on the South Side of which city?

He was of Polish descent; his grandparents emigrated in the 1890s.

Which Doors song features one of rock's first Moog synthesizers, played by Jim Morrison?

Paul Beaver helped programme it; the album cover was shot in Sniffen Court, an alley in Manhattan.

The Doors' second album cover, showing street performers, was shot in an alley in which city?

Joel Brodsky could not find real performers for every role, so his assistant juggled and a cab driver was paid $5 to hold a trumpet.

'People Are Strange' came out of a walk Morrison took in which part of the Hollywood Hills?

Krieger suggested the walk; Morrison came back euphoric with the early lyrics.

Which 1968 album became the Doors' only number one on the Billboard 200?

It topped the chart for four weeks and carried their second US number one single, 'Hello, I Love You'.

Ray Davies said the riff of 'Hello, I Love You' borrowed from which Kinks song?

Krieger has said the drum beat actually came from Cream's 'Sunshine of Your Love'; Davies chose not to sue.

'Touch Me', from The Soft Parade, features a jazz solo by which saxophonist?

Morrison boasted it was 'the first rock hit to have a jazz solo in it'; Krieger wrote the song.

In which city was Morrison arrested for indecent exposure after a March 1969 Doors concert?

The Dinner Key Auditorium was a converted seaplane hangar with no air conditioning and no seats.

What sentence did Morrison receive after his conviction for the Miami performance?

He turned down a plea deal that would have required a free Miami concert, and remained free pending appeal until his death.

Morrison Hotel is split into two titled sides. One is 'Morrison Hotel'; what is the other?

Henry Diltz shot the cover; the album reached number 4 in the US and became their best UK chart showing at 12.

Which blues-rock guitarist, then an Elektra A&R man, ended up playing bass on 'Roadhouse Blues'?

The regular session bassist was stuck in traffic; ex-Lovin' Spoonful frontman John Sebastian played harmonica under a pseudonym.

The Doors' longtime producer quit L.A. Woman after dismissing which song as 'cocktail music'?

He had produced their first five albums; a persistent rumour wrongly claimed the insult was aimed at 'Riders on the Storm'.

The phrase 'Mr. Mojo Risin'' in the song 'L.A. Woman' is what?

Krieger's guitar intro on the track imitates the sound of a revving car engine.

Which track is known as the last song Jim Morrison recorded before his death?

Morrison whispered a second vocal over the mix at Poppi Studios to create the ghostly echo.

Where was Jim Morrison found dead on the morning of July 3, 1971?

Pamela Courson found him; no autopsy was performed because French law did not require one, and the cause was listed as heart failure.

How old was Jim Morrison when he died?

That put him in the so-called 27 Club with Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin, who had both died the previous year.

Jim Morrison is buried in which Paris cemetery?

His grave is one of the most visited in the city; a bust placed there in 1981 was stolen in 1988.

In which Florida city was Jim Morrison born in 1943?

His father was a Navy officer who rose to rear admiral, so the family moved constantly.

Morrison's longtime companion Pamela Courson died in 1974 at what age?

A California court ruled the pair had a common-law marriage; Morrison's will had named her sole heir.

What was the first album the remaining three Doors released after Morrison's death, in October 1971?

Full Circle followed in 1972; both were largely ignored by the band for decades and got no official US CD release until 2006.

The 1978 album An American Prayer set new Doors music to what?

The poetry was taped in 1969 and 1970; the surviving trio reunited to build the tracks around it.

When the Doors were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993, who sang lead at the ceremony?

Don Was played bass; Ian Astbury of the Cult later fronted Manzarek and Krieger's touring band in the 2000s.

Who played Jim Morrison in Oliver Stone's 1991 film The Doors?

Meg Ryan was Pamela Courson and Kyle MacLachlan played Manzarek.

In 2003 the Doors' drummer vetoed a $15 million offer to use 'Break On Through' in an ad for which company?

He cited Morrison's fierce opposition to licensing; the fight with his bandmates became his book The Doors Unhinged.

Which Doors track showcases the guitarist's flamenco training?

He learned flamenco from scholar Frank Chin in the mid-1960s after teaching himself on a de-tuned ukulele.

A remixed version of 'The End' opens which 1979 film?

The remix pushes Morrison's vocal up in the final crescendo, exposing scat and expletives buried on the 1967 record.

The album version of 'The End' runs to roughly what length?

Its spoken-word section draws on Oedipus Rex, which Morrison had worked on in a student production at Florida State.

The Doors' first single, released at the start of 1967, peaked at what position on the US chart?

'Break On Through' flopped as a single but opened the debut album and every show for years.

How many studio albums did the Doors release with Morrison in their five years on Elektra?

The Doors, Strange Days, Waiting for the Sun, The Soft Parade, Morrison Hotel and L.A. Woman.

Which Doors member played with the Psychedelic Rangers and met Manzarek at meditation classes?

Manzarek was then in Rick & the Ravens with his brothers; the early line-up briefly had bassist Patty Sullivan.

In November 1969 Morrison was charged after harassing staff on a flight to Phoenix to see which band?

He and friend Tom Baker faced a federal charge of interfering with a flight, carrying up to ten years.

Which producer worked on the Doors' first five albums with engineer Bruce Botnick?

Born in Brooklyn in 1935, he later produced Janis Joplin's Pearl.

What did the Doors do on August 21, 1966, that got them fired from the Whisky a Go Go?

They had been signed to Elektra only three days earlier.

Which magazine dubbed the Doors the 'Kings of Acid Rock'?

By 1972 the band had sold over 4 million albums domestically and nearly 8 million singles, among the most successful acts of their era.

Which singer of the Cult fronted 'The Doors of the 21st Century' with Manzarek and Krieger from 2002?

Densmore and the Morrison estate sued over the use of the band's name, and the group eventually toured as Manzarek–Krieger until 2013.

At which 'rundown' Los Angeles club did the Doors hold a residency from February to May 1966?

They shared the bill with 'Rhonda Lane Exotic Dancer' there before graduating to the more esteemed Whisky a Go Go as house band.

Which 1969 Doors album was the band's only one to feature brass and string arrangements?

Morrison had announced he wanted to quit before the sessions; Manzarek talked him into staying six more months to finish the record.

Where did the Doors' first live album, Absolutely Live, peak on the US charts in 1970?

The album also marked the first official release of the lengthy piece 'Celebration of the Lizard'.

Which 1972 album was the last studio record by the post-Morrison trio before they disbanded?

It added funk and jazz elements, but neither of the post-Morrison albums cracked the Top 10, unlike all six albums made with him.

In which German town did Ray Manzarek die in May 2013?

Manzarek was 74 and died of complications related to bile duct cancer, having toured with Krieger until shortly before.

In what year did the Doors receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame?

The honour came four decades after the band formed in Los Angeles, and four years before their documentary When You're Strange won a Grammy.