(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 refer down below)
The Doors - "Light My Fire"
Hit Number 1: July 29, 1967
Stay at Number 1: 3 Weeks
American pop music has been going around for many years now, almost a century. Many bands/genres have come and gone, with some leaving more of a legacy than others. It doesn't even matter how long a band sustains success. In the case of the Doors, they weren't around for very long, but they stand today as one of the more important and influential rock bands of all time. Part of that has to do with the colorful actions of front man Jim Morrison, but the rest of the band is nothing to scoff at either. They, quite possibly, capitalized on the psychedelic era more than any other artist, incorporating a lot of neat organ solos/riffs, and complex lyrics that are more poetic than nonsensical. For sure, they are a band that would require a special taste to get into their music, but there's good reason for their lasting legacy. "Light My Fire" is part of that reason.
What some people may not know, is that Morrison was also a poet in his spare time, and a lot of the Doors' poetic-like lyrics can be attributed to that. However in "Light My Fire", most of the song, and its lyrics, was said to be written by lead guitarist Robby Krieger. Krieger was inspired by the melody of a song called "Hey Joe" and the lyrics of the Rolling Stones' "Play With Fire". The other Doors chipped in as well, with drummer John Densmore adding in the first snare drumbeat of the song, as well as its Latin rhythm which he requested, Morrison writing the second verse of the song, and organ player Ray Manzarek adding in the organ intro. In the album version of the song, there's a massive instrumental break that makes up most of the song. That is by far the best version of the song, and in my opinion, is what made it great. But unfortunately, we are only discussing the versions that hit #1 on this blog, so that would be the single version that was shortened to make it more radio friendly. Clearly, the public loved that version anyway, otherwise we wouldn't be discussing it at all.
Upon the success of "Light My Fire", the group was invited to play the song on the Ed Sullivan Show. Sullivan was concerned about the lyric that went "Girl we couldn't get much higher", and requested that the band switch the word "higher" to "better". The group agreed to the change, but when they were performing the song on the show, Morrison sang the original lyric anyway. Sullivan got pissed, and refused to shake Morrison's hand when he left the stage. Upon hearing that Sullivan banned the group from performing on the show again, Morrison replied "Hey man. We just DID the Sullivan show". The reason why I bring that fun story up, is that I feel like that was the moment people knew the personality of Morrison, and that he wasn't your typical clean-cut, follow the rules kind of guy. Morrison was a guy who marched to the beat of his own drum, and had a personality that was hard to find. Especially in a time like 1967. I think that's what made people start paying even more attention to the Doors, and helped accelerate their popularity.
When the Doors come up in any conversation, most of us probably think of Morrison. It's hard not to. But in "Light My Fire", Morrison is not the star of the show. That would be the organ-playing mad man Ray Manzarek, who was the true musical genius in the group. He came up with the organ riff, and in the extended album version of "Light My Fire", takes off into an other-worldly solo that is the song's trademark feature. Reportedly in live shows, he'd play the bass line on a Fender Rhodes Piano Bass with his left hand, and played the organ part on a Vox Continental with his right hand. That dude does NOT get the recognition he deserves. And that's part of the problem I have with the cut-down version of "Light My Fire", which hit #1. I've got to have that organ solo.
But what exactly are we left with in the single version? Well, we do still get the organ riff, Morrison's growl of a voice in its entirety, and pretty much are just left without the instrumental solos. This version is still pretty good, but it's not the kick ass banger that it would be if it had been left alone. The end still brings us a trademark Jim Morrison moment when he screams "Try to set the night on FIREEEEE!", so it's good that we still get that. But my final thoughts on this song boil down to: Good, but missing what makes it great. The single version is stripped down to something that's hard to pay much mind to.
As far as the Doors go, their successful timeline was limited due to Morrison's untimely death in 1971. But before that, the group would still score one more #1 hit, so naturally, we will see them again in this blog.
GRADE: 7/10
JUST MISSED:
Stevie Wonder's bouncy soul trip "I Was Made to Love Her" peaked at #2 behind "Light My Fire". It's also a 7. Also for you Stevie Wonder fans, fear not as he will appear in this blog with a boatload of #1 hits later on.
MY INSPIRATION / MORE INFORMATION:
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