(The Hit Hammer is where I'm reviewing each #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100. Starting from when the chart started in 1958 and eventually working my way to the present. To see my inspiration and more information about this blog, please CLICK HERE)
The Doors - "Hello, I Love You"
Hit Number 1: August 3, 1968
Stay at Number 1: 2 Weeks
Sometimes the Doors' music was hard to understand. Front man Jim Morrison was not only a singer, but was a poet as well. This led many of the Doors' music featuring trippy lyrics that could be left to the listener on how to interpret them. There was a lot of that on the Doors' previous #1 hit, "Light My Fire", but on their second and final chart-topper, there's more simple lyrics, and it's an obvious story being told to us. Morrison meets a girl, and he thinks he loves her, and he wants to know her name. According to legend, the inspiration for "Hello, I Love You" was from Morrison spotting a young black girl at Venice Beach. Judging by what we hear in the song, it's pretty clear that Morrison had "feelings" for her, and with the help of the rest of the band, they came up with "Hello, I Love You".
"Hello, I Love You" does have a tiny bit of controversy attached to it. There were accusations flying around that they stole the song's musical structure from Ray Davies, who had used a similar sound in his band the Kinks' song "All Day and All of the Night". (That song peaked at #7 in 1965. It's a 7) The Doors' lead guitarist Robby Krieger denied that the group ever took any ideas from "All Day and All of the Night", but he did say that the group took the drum beat from Cream's 1967 hit "Sunshine of Your Love". (That one made it to #5. It's a 9) Years later, Davies would comment on the situation, and he seemed to downplay what Krieger said. "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 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." Davies would also say that despite that, they still settled out of court with the Doors.
Even though the song has an interesting path to becoming a #1 hit, it still slaps hard. I can hear the traces of both "All Day and All of the Night" and "Sunshine of Your Love", which doesn't hurt. It's a brief song, but one that capitalizes on its short time-run. Morrison howls and screams throughout the song, which was his trademark sound, and the rest of the band produces some slick rock to help accompany their singer's desperate pleas. It's a step away from what we heard earlier with "Light My Fire", since that song fits more in the psychedelic era, while "Hello, I Love You" was a precursor to 1970s punk rock. In that sense, "Hello, I Love You" is, also, an important piece of rock music. It's no masterpiece, but it's still a slice of solid, respectable rock craftsmanship.
Unfortunately, the Doors didn't last as long as they could've. Morrison died in 1971 of an apparent heart attack, likely a result of heavy drug use. Even though the other three members tried to keep the band going for a couple years, they couldn't do it without their beloved star. They ultimately broke up in 1973, and couldn't contribute any more to the punk-rock movement in the 1970s. Even though their run was brief, the Doors and Jim Morrison are still names that are well-known today, and their music inspired and probably still continues to inspire many. I don't anticipate that changing any time soon.
GRADE: 7/10
JUST MISSED:
Mason Williams' bouncy, catchy instrumental "Classical Gas" peaked at #2 behind "Hello, I Love You" for both weeks it was at #1. It's an 8.
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