The Doors were an American rock band formed in 1965 in Los Angeles, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, drummer John Densmore and guitarist Robby Krieger. The band took its name from the title of Aldous Huxleys book The Doors of Perception, which itself was a reference to a William Blake quotation, from his famous work The Marriage of Heaven and Hell: If the doors of perception were cleansed every thing would appear to man as it is, infinite.[3] They were among the most controversial, influential and unique rock acts of the 1960s and beyond, mostly because of Morrisons wild, poetic[4] lyrics and charismatic but unpredictable stage persona. After Morrisons death in 1971, the remaining members continued as a trio until finally disbanding in 1973. Signing with Elektra Records in 1966, the Doors released eight albums between 1967 and 1971. All but one hit the Top 10 of the Billboard 200 and went platinum or better. The 1967 release of The Doors was the first in a series of top ten albums in the United States, followed by Strange Days (1967), Waiting for the Sun (1968), The Soft Parade (1969), Morrison Hotel (1970), Absolutely Live (1970) and L.A. Woman (1971), with 21 Gold, 14 Platinum and 5 Multi-Platinum album awards in the United States alone. The bands biggest hits are Light My Fire (US, number 1), People Are Strange (US, number 12), Love Me Two Times (US, number 25), Hello, I Love You (US, number 1), The Unknown Soldier, (US, number 39), Touch Me (US, number 3), Love Her Madly (US, number 11), Riders On The Storm (US, number 14). After Morrisons death in 1971, the surviving trio released a pair of albums Other Voices and Full Circle with Manzarek and Krieger sharing lead vocals. The three members also collaborated on the spoken-word recording of Morrisons An American Prayer in 1978 and on the Orange County Suite for a 1997 boxed set. Manzarek, Krieger and Densmore reunited in 2000 for an episode of VH1s Storytellers and subsequently recorded Stoned Immaculate: The Music of the Doors, with a variety of vocalists. Although the Doors active career ended in 1973, their popularity has persisted. According to the RIAA, they have sold 36.6 million certified units in the US and over 100 million records worldwide, making them one of the best-selling bands of all time. The Doors has been listed as one of the greatest artists of all time by many magazines, including Rolling Stone, which ranked them 41st on its list of The 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. The Doors were the first American band to accumulate eight consecutive gold and platinum LPs. In 2002 Manzarek and Krieger started playing together again, branding themselves as the Doors of the 21st Century, with Ian Astbury of the Cult on vocals. Densmore opted to sit out and, along with the Morrison estate, sued the duo over proper use of the band name and won. After a short time as Riders On the Storm, they settled on the name Manzarek-Krieger and continued to tour until Manzareks death in 2013. Three of the bands studio albums, The Doors (1967), L.A. Woman (1971), and Strange Days (1967), were featured in the Rolling Stone list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, at positions 42, 362 and 407 respectively. The band, their work, and Morrisons celebrity continue to be considered inexorably embedded within the larger counterculture of the 1960s. In 1993, The Doors were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. https://youtube/watch?v=pZhORUIKWtQ
Posted on: Mon, 08 Dec 2014 01:28:03 +0000
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