Light My Fire
| Light My Fire | |
|---|---|
| The Doors | |
| publication | April 1967 |
| length | 7:05 (album) 2:52 (single) |
| Genre (s) | Psychedelic rock |
| Author (s) | The Doors |
| album | The Doors |
Light My Fire is a song by American rock band The Doors from 1967. The piece reached number one on the US singles chart, ranked No. 35 of the 500 greatest songs of all time of Rolling Stone magazine and brought it to million-seller .
History of origin
The keyboardist Ray Manzarek said in an interview that the Doors were no new original compositions in March 1966th The plan to finish several new pieces over the weekend also failed, and only Robby Krieger presented Light My Fire . Mostly written by Krieger, the title was subsequently assigned to the entire band . The group played the song live from May 1966 at Whiskey a Go Go , where it was discovered by Elektra Records in 1965 .
With the music producer Paul A. Rothchild and the sound engineer Bruce Botnick they recorded a total of eleven tracks for their debut album The Doors between August 24 and 31, 1966 in the recording studios of Sunset Sound Recording in Los Angeles , including the two over seven minutes each continuous takes of Light My Fire . The bass lines were based on Fats Domino's Blueberry Hill . Initially, no bass was used for this, but Manzarek played the bass lines on a Rhodes piano bass . Manzarek also played the organ leading to the melody, a Vox Continental . The studio musician Larry Knechtel from the Wrecking Crew amplified the bass effects with his electric bass, then the distinctive reverberation was generated via the echo chamber . The intro is a paraphrase of Bach's Invention 8 (BWV 779) . Rothchild had the idea to use this intro as an outro as well. Light My Fire is an example of psychedelic rock and an early example of jazz rock .
Characteristic for the Doors were extended guitar and organ solos, whereby the original version of Light My Fire on the debut album lasts seven minutes and eight seconds (including reverberation). After initial resistance, the group complied with the record company's request for a shorter version and recorded the piece again. This version was worse, however, so producer Rothchild shortened the album version for the single to two minutes and 52 seconds by cutting out most of the guitar and organ solos.
It is controversial whether the text glorifies drug use. “Light my fire” can mean a joint , but it can also mean “turn on” the protagonist. “Girl we couldn't get much higher” can be understood as a drug-related indication (“high”), but could also be interpreted as a backlash to drug use. In any case, the text says that one should try the best and leave inhibitions behind in the knowledge that the worst can only happen after the inevitable death. An ending relationship can be recognized ("try now we can only lose / and our love become a funeral pyre"). If you wait ("wallow") in the insignificant phases of life ("mire"), then love will lead you to the stake ("funeral pyre"). Manzarek himself had made it clear before the Ed Sullivan Show that it was not a drug song, but a love song.
Publication and Success
First, on January 4, 1967, the debut album The Doors was released. The abbreviated single Light My Fire / The Crystal Ship (Elektra 45615) came on the market in April 1967. While the album received a gold record for $ 1 million in sales on September 11, 1967 , the single sold a million copies. The group presented their first hit live on the Ed Sullivan Show on September 17, 1967. He spent three weeks in the US at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 . In Great Britain it was ranked 49th. It was not until the re-release on the occasion of the Oliver Stone film The Doors that the single came to seventh place in Great Britain in June 1991. Light My Fire was the first number one hit for Elektra Records after 18 years of label history. In the concerts the fans were only interested in Light My Fire , which the singer Jim Morrison was reluctant to do .
Scandal on the Ed Sullivan Show
The Doors' appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show was the first of several national Doors-provoked scandals . CBS producers felt that the word "higher" was inappropriate for a family show. Therefore, the text line “Girl, we couldn't get much higher” for the live broadcast had to be changed to the more harmless “Girl, we couldn't get much better” . In the past, those responsible had tried, with varying degrees of success, to influence the content of the texts by performing artists. Allegedly the band had agreed to the change, but singer Jim Morrison forgot to change the lyrics at the last minute due to nervousness during the performance. Since Morrison had sung the original lyrics, contrary to the wishes of the producers, the group was informed that they would leave it at this show instead of the planned six more invitations. Although the audience applauded, Ed Sullivan was upset and refused to shake hands with Jim Morrison after the performance.
Confrontation with Buick
Buick wanted to use the piece for a commercial ( Come on, Buick, light my fire ). Except for Morrison, who was traveling, the other band members had agreed. Morrison called Buick when he got back and threatened that if the company used the piece, he would hit a Buick with a sledgehammer at a gig. A corresponding scene in The Doors is based on this story, but is purely fictional.
Cover versions
There are at least 138 cover versions . A well-known version comes from José Feliciano in a version produced by Rick Jarrard with the George Tipton Orchestra, which was released in July 1968. This ranked 3rd in the US and 6th in the UK and won a Grammy Award for best pop song of 1969. The song was covered many times in the following years. The Lettermen followed in December 1968 , BJ Thomas released the song on his LP On My Way in December 1968, and Booker T. & the MG's released it in May 1969. Between June 1969 and April 1970, Julie Driscoll & Brian Auger , Stevie took part Wonder , Nancy Sinatra , Jackie Wilson , the Four Tops and Shirley Bassey performed the song.
In addition to the cover versions based on the original version of The Doors, such as Pearl Jam , the song was recorded in various musical styles. There is a Krautrock version of Birth Control ., A Soul version by Al Green and a hard rock version by Led Zeppelin . A trip-hop version is from Massive Attack , and UB40 recorded the song with a reggae twist . In 2000, an orchestral instrumental version appeared on the album The Doors Concerto by Jaz Coleman and Nigel Kennedy . Will Young reached number one in Great Britain with his version based on José Feliciano, which appeared in May 2002 and sold 400,000 copies there. Thanks to Feliciano and Young, Light My Fire is the Doors' best-selling composition.
Web links
- 1998 Fresh Air with Terry Gross Interview with Ray Manzarek about Light My Fire
- Interview with Krieger, in which u. a. about the genesis of "Light My Fire" ( Memento from August 13, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
Individual evidence
- ^ The Wall Street Journal, October 19, 2012, How They Set the Night on Fire
- ^ Fred Bronson, The Billboard Book of Number One Hits , 1985, p. 227.
- ↑ Peter Fornatale, 50 Licks: Myths and Stories from Half a Century of the Rolling Stones , 2013, p. 64
- ^ Joseph Murrells, Million Selling Records , 1985, p. 239
- ↑ Heinz Gerstenmeyer, The Doors - Sounds For Your Soul , 2002, p. 30
- ^ Greil Marcus, The Doors , 2012, no page number
- ↑ Gerald Nachman, Right Here on Our Stage Tonight !: Ed Sullivan's America , 2009, p. 372 f.
- ↑ Cornelius Rings: Pop Stars for Brands. Audio branding. Developments, applications, effects of acoustic identities in advertising, media and society . In: Praxisforum Medienmanagement , Volume 5, (2007), pp. 172–184.
- ↑ José Feliciano - Light My Fire. Retrieved October 3, 2013 .
- ^ 1969 Grammy Awards, at awardsandshows.com. Retrieved October 3, 2013 .
- ↑ Pearl Jam - Light My Fire. Retrieved October 3, 2013 .
- ^ Birth Control - Light My Fire. Retrieved October 3, 2013 .
- ^ Al Green - Light My Fire. Retrieved October 3, 2013 .
- ↑ Led Zeppelin - Light My Fire. Retrieved October 3, 2013 .
- ↑ Massive Attack - Light My Fire. Retrieved October 3, 2013 .
- ↑ UB40 - Light My Fire. Retrieved October 3, 2013 .