THE DOORS’ MUSICAL TASTES: WHAT MUSIC DO THEY GREW UP WITH?

 

What were the musical tastes of the members of The Doors during their formative years?

An interview (link here) with the group from October 1967 provides some interesting insights on the subject. It took place less than a month after the release of their second album, "Strange Days".

First, let's look at the Doors' impressions and interests in music during their teenage years.

Guitarist Robby Krieger states that his earliest memory is of a genre called jug band music, an exciting blend of Blues and New Orleans Jazz played with basic instruments and dating back to the 1920s.

He adds that his real musical training can be traced back to flamenco, as can be heard in the classical guitar introduction he plays in "Spanish Caravan" from The Doors' third album, "Waiting for the Sun".

In another interview from a few months earlier, Krieger cited Paul Butterfield Blues Band's debut album ("Paul Butterfield Blues Band", released in 1965) as a decisive influence in his move towards rock.

As for Ray Manzarek, The Doors' keyboardist, we learn from him that he took his first steps in music in good company: Blues and Jazz. However, he cites two classical composers as being very important in shaping his musical identity: J. S. Bach (1685–1750) and I. Stravinsky (1882–1971).

Drummer John Densmore mentions jazz and jazz drummers as important influences on his early musical interests. Unfortunately, he does not specify which drummers inspired him the most in the interview.

Nevertheless, we know from other interviews that these figures include Elvin Jones and Art Blakey, two of the best jazz drummers of the hard bop style and of the jazz genre in general.

Finally, here is what Jim Morrison says about his early musical influences and preferences.

The singer and frontman of The Doors lists Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis Presley and Little Richard as the artists who first caught his attention. He's talking about the golden age of rock 'n' roll, which started in the mid-1950s and ended at the close of the decade.

We can see how each of these influential artists' vocal styles influenced Morrison's own approach to singing during his career with The Doors.

Finally, we unveil two curiosities from the October 1967 interview cited above.

Firstly, Ray Manzarek reveals his favorite tracks from the band's unforgettable debut album, "The Doors" (released in January 1967). The keyboardist cites "The Crystal Ship" and "Light My Fire" as his preferred tracks from this excellent album.

The second curiosity to emerge is Densmore's favorite song from the band's recently released second LP, "Strange Days". Titled "Moonlight Drive", it is a rock masterpiece in terms of compositional originality, melody, sonic engagement and arrangement.

P.S.: My book "The Doors Through Strange Days"- The most comprehensive journey ever made through The Doors' second LP, is available on Amazon.com, .uk, .mx, .it, etc.

Here’s a link:

Amazon – “The Doors Through Strange Days”