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Light My Fire
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| "Light My Fire" | |||||
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| Single by The Doors from the album The Doors |
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| B-side | The Crystal Ship | ||||
| Released | 1967 | ||||
| Recorded | Late August - early September 1966 | ||||
| Genre | Psychedelic rock | ||||
| Length | 7:06 (album version) 4:40 (long radio version) 3:07 (single version) |
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| Label | Elektra | ||||
| Writer | Robby Krieger | ||||
| Producer | Paul A. Rothchild | ||||
| The Doors singles chronology | |||||
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"Light My Fire" is a song originally performed by The Doors on their self-titled first album, which was recorded in August 1966 and released in January 1967. It peaked at number one on the Billboard Pop Singles chart in 1967. It was re-released in 1968, peaking at number 87. The first verse of the song was written by Robby Krieger. The second verse was written by Jim Morrison. The Doors took credit evenly each receiving the same share so credit to the song was given to "The Doors".
Cover versions were recorded by Astrud Gilberto, Will Young (whose version hit number one in the United Kingdom), Amii Stewart (whose version got to number 6 in the United Kingdom, in 1979, and to number 8 as a remix in 1985) Natalia Oreiro, Jose Feliciano (whose version won a Grammy in 1969 Best Pop song of the year), Nancy Sinatra, Julie London, Friedrich Gulda, Julie Driscoll & the Brian Auger Trinity, Shirley Bassey, Cibo Matto, Divididos, UB40, Massive Attack, the LN Elektronische Ensemble. Amorphis, Hide, Minnie Riperton, Stevie Wonder, Al Green, Ananda Shankar, Trini Lopez and Train, whose version can be found on the tribute compilation Stoned Immaculate: The Music of The Doors. The Challengers did an instrumental version in 1969, as title track to one of their last albums.
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"Light My Fire" is a prime example of psychedelic rock and an early example of jazz-rock, with long, seemingly extemporaneous instrumental solos (though it was shortened from seven to three minutes for the radio version) and some Eastern influences. There was also a radio edit that was shortened to just under 5 minutes with about half the instrumental portion in place released to radio stations only. Stations playing the under 5 minute version tend to be 60's/70's leaning oldies or classic hits stations. Traditional oldies stations as well as some Adult contemporary stations only played the 3 minute version. Classic rock and album rock stations play the long version. Some classic hits stations though play both the long and short versions depending on the time of day. Its harmonic progression and catchy rhythm (particularly Ray Manzarek's swirling, barrel organ-style keyboard motif) lent itself readily to pop or MOR styled cover versions. Interestingly, neither of the single versions has ever been re-released on CD - not even included on any "Greatest Hits" compilations that the group has released while the long version has been on Greatest Hits Albums.
"Light My Fire" was performed by The Doors on a famous appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show September 17, 1967. In an oft-told legend, The Doors were asked to change the lyrics of the song (specifically, the line "girl, we couldn't get much higher" to "girl, we couldn't get much better") to be more suitable for a coast-to-coast live audience. The band promised to do so, but according to Jim Morrison he forgot to change the lyrics at the last minute and performed the unedited version live on-air, which he attributed to having been nervous. Years later, Ray Manzarek wrote that even after being told to change the lyrics, the band never even considered changing them. Despite applause from the crowd, Ed Sullivan was so upset that he refused to shake Morrison's hand as he left the stage. Backstage, the band was told that, despite being on the verge of signing a seven-episode deal to continue appearing on the program, they would never be on the Sullivan show again. Reportedly, Morrison's cavalier response was: "Hey, man, so what, we just did the Sullivan show!"
John Densmore recalls [1] that when Buick wanted to buy the piece for use in a 1967 TV commercial ("Come on, Buick, light my fire" [2]) and Morrison, who had been out of town, learned that other group members agreed, Morrison called Buick and threatened to have a Buick smashed with a sledgehammer on a TV show should the (presumably ready) commercial be aired.
This song as performed by The Doors is #35 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.[1]
| "Light My Fire" | |||||
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| Single by José Feliciano from the album Feliciano! |
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| B-side | "California Dreamin'" | ||||
| Released | 1968 | ||||
| Format | 7" single | ||||
| Genre | Soft rock | ||||
| Length | 3:33 | ||||
| Label | RCA Victor | ||||
| Writer | Jim Morrison Robby Krieger Ray Manzarek John Densmore |
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| Producer | Rick Jarrard | ||||
| Certification | Gold (USA) | ||||
| José Feliciano singles chronology | |||||
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Vocalist and guitarist José Feliciano experienced significant international success when he released his version of "Light My Fire" in 1968 as a single on the RCA Victor label. It is perhaps the best known cover of this song. Feliciano's remake blended Latin influences, including a mixture of classic Spanish guitar and flamenco, with American pop sounds. The single helped to spur the worldwide success of its album, Feliciano!, which was nominated for multiple Grammy awards in 1969. Feliciano's arrangement of "Light My Fire" has influenced several subsequent versions, including that by Will Young.
| Country | Peak position |
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| Australia | 3 |
| Brazil | 2 |
| Canada | 1 |
| France | 62 |
| Ireland | 14 |
| Netherlands | 24 |
| United Kingdom | 6 |
| United States | 3 |
| "Light My Fire" | |||||
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| Single by Will Young from the album From Now On |
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| B-side | "Ain't No Sunshine" "Beyond the Sea" |
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| Released | 27 May 2002 | ||||
| Format | CD | ||||
| Recorded | 2002 | ||||
| Genre | Pop | ||||
| Label | BMG | ||||
| Writer | Jim Morrison Robby Krieger Ray Manzarek John Densmore |
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| Producer | Absolute | ||||
| Will Young singles chronology | |||||
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Pop Idol UK series 1 winner Will Young covered the song in 2002. Young originally performed a piano version the song in the final 50 of Pop Idol, and again, with a backing track, in the final 10. It was later released as his second single. It went straight to the number one spot in the UK Singles Chart, selling 177,000 copies in its first week of release. The single stayed at number one for two weeks. The cover version was recorded in the style of José Feliciano's version.
Young also performed the song on World Idol, where he came in fifth place.
| Chart | Peak position |
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| Germany | 44 |
| Italy | 4 |
| Netherlands | 35 |
| Republic of Ireland | 5 |
| Switzerland | 76 |
| United Kingdom | 1 |
The song was also covered by disco artist Amii Stewart in 1979 as "Light My Fire/137 Disco Heaven".
Peter Steele of Type O Negative has performed the song live, although no recordings other than bootleg versions are available.
The song was also covered by Scott Stapp with the rest of The Doors on VH1's Storytellers, as well as on a recorded version.
- ^ The RS 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. RollingStone.com. Retrieved on 2007-06-02.
- 1998 Fresh Air with Terry Gross interview of Ray Manzarek with detailed segment about the creation of the song Light My Fire
- "Light My Fire" music video with lyrics
| Preceded by "Windy" by The Association |
Billboard Hot 100 number one single July 29, 1967 |
Succeeded by "All You Need Is Love" by The Beatles |
| Preceded by "Without Me" by Eminem |
UK Singles Chart number one single (Will Young cover version) June 2, 2002 - June 15, 2002 |
Succeeded by "A Little Less Conversation" by Elvis and JXL |
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| Studio albums | From Now On • Friday's Child • Keep On |
| Singles | "Anything Is Possible" / "Evergreen" • "Light My Fire" • "The Long and Winding Road" • "Don't Let Me Down" / "You and I" • "Leave Right Now" • "Your Game" • "Friday's Child" • "Switch It On" • "All Time Love" • "Who Am I" |
| DVDs | Will Young Live • Live in London |
| Related articles | Discography • Pop Idol • World Idol • Mrs Henderson Presents |