Issue No. 12 of Johnny Be Good features one of 45 songs from the book, Anatomy of a Song: The Oral History of 45 Iconic Hits That Changed Rock, R&B and Pop, by Marc Myers. Read John Pearson's review here. Order from Amazon here. Listen to the book on Libro (9 hours, 34 minutes). Each blog will spotlight a song from the book and a guest blogger’s color commentary. Click here to subscribe. Each issue of Your Weekly Staff Meeting will highlight the latest blog.
One of My Top-5 Favorites!
Today’s guest blogger is Suzy West.
Song: #12 of 45
Title: “Light My Fire"
Singers: The Doors
Released: May 1967
I APPRECIATED THIS:
This was definitely a trip down memory lane! I have always considered “Light My Fire” in my Top-5 favorite songs, so I jumped at the chance to learn more about it. Thank you, Marc Myers and John Pearson!
Listen to “Light My Fire,” sung by The Doors.
Bonus! José Feliciano recorded the song in 1968. It is absolutely beautiful! For more, read Marc Myers’ column in the WSJ, Oct. 19, 2012, “How They Set the Night On Fire.”
MY FAVORITE QUOTES:
• “By early1966, skilled rock bands that routinely performed at clubs and theaters in New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco were growing frustrated with their record labels.” Why? The artists “wanted to record longer concert versions of their songs on albums,” but record executives and producers were afraid the extended solos and jams could result in poor album sales. The Doors’ independent record label, Elektra, allowed the band to include the 7:06 minute rendition on their debut album.
• In the mid-60’s, I took it for granted that every home owned a phonograph capable of playing LPs. Now I realize it was a luxury and without it, my early Rock and Roll listening years would have been much different. (Thanks, Mom and Dad!)
WHERE WERE YOU WHEN YOU FIRST HEARD THIS SONG?
In the summer of 1967 when this song topped the charts, I was 12-years-old, living in Inglewood, Calif. My oldest brother had moved out, and my second oldest brother wasn’t home much. That allowed me to sneak into his bedroom and play albums on his turntable before I ever had my own.
I can remember listening to Rock and Roll for hours, with the Doors’ first album being among them. I also remember listening to my favorite L.A. radio station, KMET, which would occasionally play the long version. To this day, when the song comes on in my car, I “wait for it” at the 1:11 mark when the note leading into the instrumental either hits or doesn’t—long or short version—and I’m usually rewarded with a few minutes of my favorite organ solo.
Besides “Light My Fire,” some other famous songs that had shorter edited versions for AM radio include: The Animals’ “House of the Rising Sun” in 1964 (original recording, 4:29; radio version, 2:58); Bob Dylan’s “Like A Rolling Stone” (6:00) in 1965, Vanilla Fudge’s “You Keep Me Hangin’ On” (7:26) in 1967, and Iron Butterfly’s “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” (17 minutes) in 1968. Yes, I owned those LPs too!
JOHNNY BE...GOOD, BETTER, OR BEST?
• GOOD: The history of why the Doors wanted to record this extended version was fascinating. Little did I know at the time that these songs were played live to satisfy LSD-fueled crowds on club dance floors.
• BETTER: Quotes from the three remaining band members brought light to the writing and recording process which included very little input from Jim Morrison, aside from his vocals. Ray Manzarek (keyboardist), Robby Krieger (guitarist), and John Densmore (drummer) were challenged by Jim to “…go home this weekend and write at least one song” for their first album. Songs that inspired the three were “Hey Joe,” “Play With Fire,” and “The Girl From Ipanema.”
• BEST: The Doors themselves, in the end, preferred the single to the album version. Ray Manzarek said, “I first heard the AM single with my wife, Dorothy, in our VW Bug. Dorothy started bouncing up and down like a jumping jack. I was pounding on the wheel. What a feeling!” The song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998.
Suzy likes to visit Hard Rock Cafés on her travels.
THIS ISSUE'S COMMENTARY BY Suzy West
SUZY WEST claims she has “absolutely no musical background or talent.” She does, however, look forward to the day when she will be gifted a singing voice and some sort of musical talent in the Heavens. After serving 21 years as the VP of Operations and Finance of Christian Leadership Alliance, Suzy enjoys helping organizations as a grant writer. She is currently serving GTi HOPE and Kids Alive International.
Stay tuned to read the commentary by Suzy's husband, Jim, on Song #27 of 45, “Maggie May,” sung by Rod Stewart.
NOTE: On a trip to France, Jim and Suzy visited the grave of The Doors singer Jim Morrison at Père-Lachaise Cemetery in Paris. They recall joining hundreds of other reverent fans there that day.
NEXT UP!
Song #13 of 45, “Groovin’,” by The Young Rascals, with commentary by Dave Barton.
______________________
It all started in 2023, when John Pearson read and reviewed a "fun" book, Anatomy of a Song: The Oral History of 45 Iconic Hits That Changed Rock, R&B and Pop, by Marc Myers. Read John's review here. Order from Amazon here. Listen to the book on Libro (9 hours, 34 minutes).
If you'd enjoy being one of 45 guest bloggers, along with John Ashmen, Dick Nelson, Suzy West, Dave Barton, Paul Palmer, Bill Butterworth, Jim West, Melinda Schmidt, Jason Pearson, Gary Rea, Callista Dawson, John Walling, Ed Barrett, Larry Beatty, and others, read more here and contact John Pearson. Click here to subscribe to this blog and enjoy the toe-tapping musicians in each weekly blog post—reminding you of these iconic songs of yesteryear.