Tag Archives: Jim Morrison

♫ Hello, I Love You ♫

Posted on by under Bits 'n Pieces, History, music

I was in the mood for something different from my usual fare tonight, so I went in search of and found this old favourite from The Doors!  I wasn’t a huge fan of The Doors back in the day, but they had a few that I really liked … Touch Me, Light My Fire, and this one are the first ones that come to mind, and of those three, this is the only one I’ve never featured here before.

According to SongFacts …

Jim Morrison wrote this in 1965 after seeing a beautiful woman walking on the beach. He wrote these lyrics in this notebook:

Sidewalk crouches at her feet

Like a dog that begs for something sweet

He wrote the rest of the song that night, crafting the most popular song about beachside beauty since “The Girl From Ipanema.” He also popularized a pickup line – “Hello, I love you. Won’t you tell me your name?” – that has yet to work for anyone but Jim Morrison.

The Doors first recorded this song in 1965 when they put it on a six-song demo before Robby Krieger joined the band. They didn’t put it on an album until 1968, when they needed material for their third LP Waiting for the Sun. The plan was to use an extended piece based on Morrison’s poetry called “Celebration of the Lizard” for the entire first side of the album. When that didn’t work out, they looked for other material and dredged up “Hello, I Love You.” It was a good call: The song went to #1 in America, giving them their second (and last) chart-topper, following “Light My Fire.”

Many fans considered this a sellout to Top 40 music. It was very radio-friendly, and not as deep or introspective as previous Doors songs.

The music is similar to The Kinks’ song “All Day And All Of The Night.” So similar, that The Doors paid royalties from the British single to The Kinks after the threat of legal action.

Looking back, Ray Davies was philosophical about the episode, recalling to Mojo magazine September 2012: “The funniest thing was when my publisher came to me on tour and said The Doors had used the riff for ‘All Day And All Of The Night’ for ‘Hello, I Love You.’ I said rather than sue them, can’t we just get them to own up? My publisher said, ‘They have, that’s why we should sue them!’ (laughs) Jim Morrison admitted it, which to me was the most important thing. The most important thing, actually, is to take (the idea) somewhere else.”

Artists to cover this song include Neil Young, The Cure, Missing Persons, Adam Ant, Eurythmics, Simple Minds and Buddy Rich (in a big band style).

Hello, I Love You charted at #1 in the U.S. and Canada, and #15 in the UK.

Hello, I Love You

The Doors

Hello, I love you, won’t you tell me your name?
Hello, I love you, let me jump in your game
Hello, I love you, won’t you tell me your name?
Hello, I love you, let me jump in your game

She’s walking down the street
Blind to every eye she meets
Do you think you’ll be the guy
To make the queen of the angels sigh?

Hello, I love you, won’t you tell me your name?
Hello, I love you, let me jump in your game
Hello, I love you, won’t you tell me your name?
Hello, I love you, let me jump in your game

She holds her head so high, like a statue in the sky
Her arms are wicked, and her legs are long
When she moves my brain screams out this song

Sidewalk crouches at her feet
Like a dog that begs for something sweet
Do you hope to make her see, you fool?
Do you hope to pluck this dusky jewel?

Hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello
I want you, hello, I need my baby
Hello, hello, hello, hello

Source: LyricFind

Songwriters: James Morrison / John Densmore / Ray Manzarek / Robby Krieger

Hello, I Love You lyrics © Doors Music Company, Warner Chappell Music, Inc

♫ Light My Fire ♫ (Redux)

Posted on by under Bits 'n Pieces, History, music

I like Latin music … not all of it, but some.  Tonight’s song was originally released by the American rock band the Doors in 1967, and saw success in both the U.S. and the U.K.  But the following year, it was released by one of my favourite Latin musicians from Puerto Rico, José Feliciano.  Now, I prefer José’s version, but I’m sure many of you remember the one by the Doors best, so I will include both for your listening pleasure.

Most of the song was written by Doors guitarist Robby Krieger, who wanted to write about one of the elements: fire, air, earth, and water …

“I was living with my parents in Pacific Palisades – I had my amp and SG. I asked Jim [Morrison], what should I write about? He said, ‘Something universal, which won’t disappear two years from now. Something that people can interpret themselves.’ I said to myself I’d write about the four elements; earth, air, fire, water, I picked fire, as I loved the Stones song, ‘Play With Fire,’ and that’s how that came about.”

This became The Doors’ signature song. Included on their first album, it was a huge hit and launched them to stardom. Before it was released, The Doors were an underground band popular in the Los Angeles area, but Light My Fire got the attention of a mass audience.

Jim Morrison indicated in his notebooks that he disliked this song and hated performing it. He also seemed to resent that the popularity of the band derived from this song, which he had just a small part in writing.  In 1968, Buick offered The Doors $75,000 to use this song in a commercial as “Come on Buick, light my fire.” With Morrison away, Krieger, Densmore, and Manzarek agreed to allow it. When Morrison found out, he pitched a fit and killed the deal.

This was the last song Jim Morrison performed live. It took place at the Doors concert at The Warehouse in New Orleans on December 12, 1970. Mid-way through the song, Morrison became exasperated and smashed his microphone into the floor, ending the show.  He died in July of the following year.  The Doors’ final performance took place at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles on September 10, 1972.

The Doors were permanently banned from the Ed Sullivan show on 17 September 1967!  According to the official Ed Sullivan Show website, rehearsals for the show went well, and with 15 minutes to air time, Sullivan went to see the band in their dressing room, telling them, “You boys look great, [but] you ought to smile a little more.” Shortly after, a producer from the show came by to inform the band that they needed to change the line “Girl, we couldn’t get much higher” to “Girl, we couldn’t get much better” when performing Light My Fire, ostensibly because the line might be construed as referring to drugs. 

Band members have given varying accounts of whether they ever agreed to change the line or not, but there’s no denying what happened live on the air. After a strong, but unremarkable performance of “People Are Strange,” the band launched into “Light My Fire,” and as the video shows, Jim Morrison sang the original lyric instead of making the suggested change.

After the show, producers said they had hoped to book them six more times, but had decided instead to ban the Doors from the show in the future. Morrison reportedly replied, “Hey, man, we just did the Sullivan show.”

José Feliciano, blind from birth, is a Puerto Rican singer and composer, best known for this song, and his Christmas song, Feliz Navidad.  Robby Krieger said in an interview about the cover: “It’s really a great feeling to have written a classic. I think I owe a big debt to Jose Feliciano because he is actually the one, when he did it, everybody started doing it. He did a whole different arrangement on it.”  I like that, when a musician shares credit when it is deserved.

And so … without further ado … I leave you to choose your version.

Light My Fire
The Doors / José Feliciano

You know that it would be untrue
You know that I would be a liar
If I was to say to you
Girl, we couldn’t get much higher

Come on baby, light my fire
Come on baby, light my fire
Try to set the night on fire

The time to hesitate is through
No time to wallow in the mire
Try now we can only lose
And our love become a funeral pyre

Come on baby, light my fire
Come on baby, light my fire
Try to set the night on fire, yeah

The time to hesitate is through
No time to wallow in the mire
Try now we can only lose
And our love become a funeral pyre

Come on baby, light my fire
Come on baby, light my fire
Try to set the night on fire, yeah

You know that it would be untrue
You know that I would be a liar
If I was to say to you
Girl, we couldn’t get much higher

Come on baby, light my fire
Come on baby, light my fire
Try to set the night on fire
Try to set the night on fire
Try to set the night on fire
Try to set the night on fire

Produced by Paul A. Rothchild

♫ Touch Me ♫ (Redux)

Posted on by under Bits 'n Pieces, music

I have played this one other time, but it’s been a couple of years ago.  The Doors were never my favourite band, but they had 3-4 that I liked a lot, and this is one such!

Doors guitarist Robby Krieger wrote this song as “Hit Me,” based on fights he had with his girlfriend. They lyric was, “C’mon, hit me, I’m not afraid.” In a rare show of restraint, Jim Morrison insisted on changing it to Touch Me.  At the end of the song, Morrison chants “Stronger than dirt!” The line is from an Ajax commercial popular at the time where a white knight rides around destroying dirt. The last four chords of the song were also lifted from the commercial.the doorsMany critics claimed this was a sellout, as the horn and string sections were not typical of The Doors. The band admitted they were trying to broaden their audience and achieve commercial success with this album, which they did.

The sax part was played by Curtis Amy, who was a popular session horn and flute player who got his biggest exposure playing on Carole King’s famous Tapestry album. Jim Morrison remarked that the song was the first rock hit with a jazz solo.jim morrisonSomething that was news to me when I was researching this song tonight … this song was popular around the time Jim Morrison was arrested in Miami for indecent exposure. The song had nothing to do with Morrison’s arrest, apart from an unfortunate title, but some radio stations refused to play it as a result. Morrison was convicted and sentenced to six months in jail for the incident, but he died while the case was being appealed. In 2010, the governor of Florida pardoned Morrison, believing that the conviction was politically motivated and that no conclusive evidence showed that the Doors frontman exposed himself.

Touch Me
The Doors

Yeah!
Come on, come on, come on, come on
Now touch me, baby
Can’t you see that I am not afraid?
What was that promise that you made?
Why won’t you tell me what she said?
What was that promise that you made?

Now, I’m gonna love you
‘Till the heavens stop the rain
I’m gonna love you
‘Till the stars fall from the sky
For you and I

Come on, come on, come on, come on
Now touch me, baby
Can’t you see that I am not afraid?
What was that promise that you made?
Why won’t you tell me what she said?
What was that promise that you made?

I’m gonna love you
‘Till the heaven stop the rain
I’m gonna love you
‘Till the stars fall from the sky
For you and I
I’m gonna love you
‘Till the heavens stop the rain
I’m gonna love you
‘Till the stars fall from the sky
For you and I

Written By Robby Krieger

♫ Light My Fire ♫

Posted on by under music

Last night I played a song by the Animals, thinking that our friend rawgod had asked for an Animals song.  While he appreciated the song, as the Animals are his favourite, he informed me that what he had asked for was a song by The Doors.  🤦  So, let me try this again!  He suggested this one, and it is one of the few songs by The Doors that I like, although my preference is José Feliciano’s version, I am only adding a bit of trivia and otherwise reduxing the song, which I played almost exactly a year ago!

I like Latin music … not all of it, but some.  Tonight’s song was originally released by the American rock band the Doors in 1967, and saw success in both the U.S. and the U.K.  But the following year, it was released by one of my favourite Latin musicians from Puerto Rico, José Feliciano.  Now, I prefer José’s version, but I’m sure many of you remember the one by the Doors best, so I will include both for your listening pleasure.

Most of the song was written by Doors guitarist Robby Krieger, who wanted to write about one of the elements: fire, air, earth, and water …

“I was living with my parents in Pacific Palisades – I had my amp and SG. I asked Jim [Morrison], what should I write about? He said, ‘Something universal, which won’t disappear two years from now. Something that people can interpret themselves.’ I said to myself I’d write about the four elements; earth, air, fire, water, I picked fire, as I loved the Stones song, ‘Play With Fire,’ and that’s how that came about.”

This became The Doors’ signature song. Included on their first album, it was a huge hit and launched them to stardom. Before it was released, The Doors were an underground band popular in the Los Angeles area, but Light My Fire got the attention of a mass audience.

Jim Morrison indicated in his notebooks that he disliked this song and hated performing it. He also seemed to resent that the popularity of the band derived from this song, which he had just a small part in writing.  In 1968, Buick offered The Doors $75,000 to use this song in a commercial as “Come on Buick, light my fire.” With Morrison away, Krieger, Densmore, and Manzarek agreed to allow it. When Morrison found out, he pitched a fit and killed the deal.

This was the last song Jim Morrison performed live. It took place at the Doors concert at The Warehouse in New Orleans on December 12, 1970. Mid-way through the song, Morrison became exasperated and smashed his microphone into the floor, ending the show.  He died in July of the following year.  The Doors’ final performance took place at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles on September 10, 1972.

An additional bit of trivia about the song that I learned last time I played it is that this song got the Doors permanently banned from the Ed Sullivan show on 17 September 1967!  According to the official Ed Sullivan Show website, rehearsals for the show went well, and with 15 minutes to air time, Sullivan went to see the band in their dressing room, telling them, “You boys look great, [but] you ought to smile a little more.” Shortly after, a producer from the show came by to inform the band that they needed to change the line “Girl, we couldn’t get much higher” to “Girl, we couldn’t get much better” when performing Light My Fire, ostensibly because the line might be construed as referring to drugs. 

Band members have given varying accounts of whether they ever agreed to change the line or not, but there’s no denying what happened live on the air. After a strong, but unremarkable performance of “People Are Strange,” the band launched into “Light My Fire,” and as the video shows, Jim Morrison sang the original lyric instead of making the suggested change.

After the show, producers said they had hoped to book them six more times, but had decided instead to ban the Doors from the show in the future. Morrison reportedly replied, “Hey, man, we just did the Sullivan show.”

José Feliciano, blind from birth, is a Puerto Rican singer and composer, best known for this song, and his Christmas song, Feliz Navidad.  Robby Krieger said in an interview about the cover: “It’s really a great feeling to have written a classic. I think I owe a big debt to Jose Feliciano because he is actually the one, when he did it, everybody started doing it. He did a whole different arrangement on it.”  I like that, when a musician shares credit when it is deserved.

And so … without further ado … I leave you to choose your version.

Light My Fire
The Doors / José Feliciano

You know that it would be untrue
You know that I would be a liar
If I was to say to you
Girl, we couldn’t get much higher

Come on baby, light my fire
Come on baby, light my fire
Try to set the night on fire

The time to hesitate is through
No time to wallow in the mire
Try now we can only lose
And our love become a funeral pyre

Come on baby, light my fire
Come on baby, light my fire
Try to set the night on fire, yeah

The time to hesitate is through
No time to wallow in the mire
Try now we can only lose
And our love become a funeral pyre

Come on baby, light my fire
Come on baby, light my fire
Try to set the night on fire, yeah

You know that it would be untrue
You know that I would be a liar
If I was to say to you
Girl, we couldn’t get much higher

Come on baby, light my fire
Come on baby, light my fire
Try to set the night on fire
Try to set the night on fire
Try to set the night on fire
Try to set the night on fire

Produced by Paul A. Rothchild

♫ Touch Me ♫

Posted on by under music

Doors guitarist Robby Krieger wrote this song as “Hit Me,” based on fights he had with his girlfriend. They lyric was, “C’mon, hit me, I’m not afraid.” In a rare show of restraint, Jim Morrison insisted on changing it to Touch Me.  At the end of the song, Morrison chants “Stronger than dirt!” The line is from an Ajax commercial popular at the time where a white knight rides around destroying dirt. The last four chords of the song were also lifted from the commercial.the doorsMany critics claimed this was a sellout, as the horn and string sections were not typical of The Doors. The band admitted they were trying to broaden their audience and achieve commercial success with this album, which they did.

The sax part was played by Curtis Amy, who was a popular session horn and flute player who got his biggest exposure playing on Carole King’s famous Tapestry album. Jim Morrison remarked that the song was the first rock hit with a jazz solo.jim morrisonSomething that was news to me when I was researching this song tonight … this song was popular around the time Jim Morrison was arrested in Miami for indecent exposure. The song had nothing to do with Morrison’s arrest, apart from an unfortunate title, but some radio stations refused to play it as a result. Morrison was convicted and sentenced to six months in jail for the incident, but he died while the case was being appealed. In 2010, the governor of Florida pardoned Morrison, believing that the conviction was politically motivated and that no conclusive evidence showed that the Doors frontman exposed himself.

Touch Me
The Doors

Yeah!
Come on, come on, come on, come on
Now touch me, baby
Can’t you see that I am not afraid?
What was that promise that you made?
Why won’t you tell me what she said?
What was that promise that you made?

Now, I’m gonna love you
‘Till the heavens stop the rain
I’m gonna love you
‘Till the stars fall from the sky
For you and I

Come on, come on, come on, come on
Now touch me, baby
Can’t you see that I am not afraid?
What was that promise that you made?
Why won’t you tell me what she said?
What was that promise that you made?

I’m gonna love you
‘Till the heaven stop the rain
I’m gonna love you
‘Till the stars fall from the sky
For you and I
I’m gonna love you
‘Till the heavens stop the rain
I’m gonna love you
‘Till the stars fall from the sky
For you and I

Written By Robby Krieger

♫ Light My Fire ♫

Posted on by under music

I like Latin music … not all of it, but some.  Tonight’s song was originally released by the American rock band the Doors in 1967, and saw success in both the U.S. and the U.K.  But the following year, it was released by one of my favourite Latin musicians from Puerto Rico, José Feliciano.  Now, I prefer José’s version, but I’m sure many of you remember the one by the Doors best, so I will include both for your listening pleasure.

Most of the song was written by Doors guitarist Robby Krieger, who wanted to write about one of the elements: fire, air, earth, and water …

“I was living with my parents in Pacific Palisades – I had my amp and SG. I asked Jim [Morrison], what should I write about? He said, ‘Something universal, which won’t disappear two years from now. Something that people can interpret themselves.’ I said to myself I’d write about the four elements; earth, air, fire, water, I picked fire, as I loved the Stones song, ‘Play With Fire,’ and that’s how that came about.”

This became The Doors’ signature song. Included on their first album, it was a huge hit and launched them to stardom. Before it was released, The Doors were an underground band popular in the Los Angeles area, but Light My Fire got the attention of a mass audience.

Jim Morrison indicated in his notebooks that he disliked this song and hated performing it. He also seemed to resent that the popularity of the band derived from this song, which he had just a small part in writing.  In 1968, Buick offered The Doors $75,000 to use this song in a commercial as “Come on Buick, light my fire.” With Morrison away, Krieger, Densmore, and Manzarek agreed to allow it. When Morrison found out, he pitched a fit and killed the deal.

This was the last song Jim Morrison performed live. It took place at the Doors concert at The Warehouse in New Orleans on December 12, 1970. Mid-way through the song, Morrison became exasperated and smashed his microphone into the floor, ending the show.  He died in July of the following year.  The Doors’ final performance took place at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles on September 10, 1972.

José Feliciano, blind from birth, is a Puerto Rican singer and composer, best known for this song, and his Christmas song, Feliz Navidad.  Robby Krieger said in an interview about the cover: “It’s really a great feeling to have written a classic. I think I owe a big debt to Jose Feliciano because he is actually the one, when he did it, everybody started doing it. He did a whole different arrangement on it.”  I like that, when a musician shares credit when it is deserved.

And so … without further ado … I leave you to choose your version.

Light My Fire
The Doors / José Feliciano

You know that it would be untrue
You know that I would be a liar
If I was to say to you
Girl, we couldn’t get much higher

Come on baby, light my fire
Come on baby, light my fire
Try to set the night on fire

The time to hesitate is through
No time to wallow in the mire
Try now we can only lose
And our love become a funeral pyre

Come on baby, light my fire
Come on baby, light my fire
Try to set the night on fire, yeah

The time to hesitate is through
No time to wallow in the mire
Try now we can only lose
And our love become a funeral pyre

Come on baby, light my fire
Come on baby, light my fire
Try to set the night on fire, yeah

You know that it would be untrue
You know that I would be a liar
If I was to say to you
Girl, we couldn’t get much higher

Come on baby, light my fire
Come on baby, light my fire
Try to set the night on fire
Try to set the night on fire
Try to set the night on fire
Try to set the night on fire

Produced by Paul A. Rothchild