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1965

The Doors formed in L.A. with Jim Morrison on vocals, Robby Krieger on guitar, Ray Manzarek on keyboards, and John Densmore on drums.

1966

The Doors were singed by Elektra Records.

1967

January

The band released its self-titled debut album. The Doors' first single, "Break on Through (To the Other Side)," achieved only modest success

June

It was their second single, "Light My Fire," which catapulted the band to the forefront of the rock and roll world, reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart.

December

They released their sophomore album, Strange Days, which featured the smash hit "Love Me Two Times" as well as "People are Strange" and "When the Music's Over."

For the song "Love Me Two Times", the lyrics were written by guitarist Robby Krieger. According to band members, the song was about a soldier/sailor on his last day with his girlfriend before shipping out, ostensibly to war in Vietnam.

The song is about alienation and being an outsider, and Jim Morrison may have addressed the song both to the hippie culture, to outsiders in general or to users of drugs such as LSD, or both. The song came about in early 1967 after guitarist Robby Krieger and a depressed Morrison had walked to the top of Laurel Canyon. Drummer John Densmore believes that the song was the manifestation of Morrison's "vulnerability".

1968

They released a third album, Waiting for the Sun, highlighted by "Hello, I Love You," "Love Street" and "Five to One."

"Five to one" was the approximate ratio of whites to blacks, young to old, and non-pot smokers to pot smokers in the US in 1967. It was also the amount of Vietnamese to American soldiers in Vietnam, although Jim Morrison said the lyrics were not political.

1969

The album: The Soft Parade

After their fourth album, The Soft Parade, was criticized for being too commercial, The Doors returned to their roots on this, which resulted in more simple songs based on The Blues.

1970

The album: Morrison Hotel

On this album, there is a slight steer toward blues, because their previous album, in which they drifted off from their original sound, didn't rate well with the audiences. The strategy worked; even though no major hit singles were drawn from the album, Morrison Hotel reestablished The Doors as favorites of the critics, peaking at #4 on the US album chart.

1971

The album: L.A. Woman

Its style is arguably the most blues rock-oriented of the band's catalog.

July

Morrison died on July 3, 1971 at age 27. He was found in a Paris apartment bathtub. Pursuant to French law, no autopsy was performed because the medical examiner claimed to have found no evidence of foul play. The absence of an official autopsy, and the death certificate not having a reason of death besides heart failure has left many questions regarding the cause of death.

Jim Morrison remains one of the most legendary and mysterious rock and roll stars of all time. He was a gifted lyricist whose poetic odes to rebellion, set to the music of The Doors, inspired a generation of disgruntled youth who found in his words a strong sense of their own hopes and frustrations. His tragic early death from drugs and depression deprived the world of more of the beautiful music and poetry he could have written. Morrison's goal as a lyricist and singer was to open the minds of those who listened to his words, to encourage them to leave behind the familiar in search of the new. As Morrison put it: "There are things known, and there are things unknown, and in between are The Doors."

"Light My Fire" remains The Doors' most popular song, featuring prominently on virtually every major list of the greatest rock songs ever recorded.

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