Remember When The Doors’ First Big Hit Came From Someone Other Than Jim Morrison in 1967?

When The Doors hit the music scene like a sledgehammer in the mid-60s, Jim Morrison’s charismatic presence often made the first impression. The fact that Morrison’s poetic tendencies drove much of the songwriting only enhanced his status as the frontman.

For those reasons, many people likely thought that the group’s first smash hit was a Morrison creation. Instead, it was a true team effort, with Morrison only adding a little bit to the songwriting foundation constructed by one of his bandmates.

Krieger’s Inspiration

The Doors created quite a sensation when they began playing clubs in Los Angeles in 1965 and ’66. Most of the songs that they played at the time derived directly from Morrison’s poetry. From there, Ray Manzarek, the band’s keyboardist, would create chords for the band to play behind Morrison.

But Morrison wisely realized that it would be a difficult burden for him to be the font for all the band’s material. One fateful day in 1966, he told the other three members of the band (Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger, and drummer John Densmore) to compose at least one song each over a weekend’s time.

Whether Densmore or Manzarek tried and failed or simply refused to take the assignment seriously is hard to say. In any case, the only one who returned with a usable song was Krieger. Inspired in part by The Rolling Stones’ song “Play With Fire”, Krieger came up with his own inflammatory title. The song was called “Light My Fire”.

A Team Effort

If you look at the songwriting credits for “Light My Fire”, you’ll note that all four of the band members are listed. Even though Krieger came up with the basics of the song, the other three all made major contributions, without which the song just wouldn’t have been the same.

Densmore toyed with the beat, adding a bossa nova feel to give the song a bit more swing than your typical rock number. Manzarek came up with the opening keyboard riff that sparked the whole thing into action.

As for Morrison, he helped with the lyrics, specifically this memorable couplet: “The time to hesitate is through/No time to wallow in the mire.” Producer Paul Rothchild had the idea to bring Manzarek’s keyboard fanfare back in at the end of the song as a suitable closing. “Light My Fire” was complete. But it still needed tweaking to be a hit.

Cut out the Jams

The Doors worked “Light My Fire” into their live performances in 1966. They’d jam for minutes on end in the middle section. And that’s how they recorded the song as well, with Manzarek and Krieger both indulging in long solos. The song ran for over seven minutes on the band’s 1967 debut album.

But when an enterprising DJ started getting a great response from fans when he played the elongated version on his show, the band realized that the song had potential as a possible single. As a result, they agreed to an edit that dropped the song under three minutes. That’s the version that shot to No. 1 in 1967.

As a result, “Light My Fire” managed to display both the band’s improvisational brilliance and their underrated pop smarts. Along the way, it also proved that they were far from a one-man show.

Photo by Jack Rosen/Getty Images

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