The Doors (album)

The Doors
Studio album by
the Doors
ReleasedJanuary 4, 1967 (1967-01-04)
RecordedAugust – September 1966
StudioSunset Sound, Hollywood
Genre
Length43:34
LabelElektra
ProducerPaul A. Rothchild
The Doors chronology
The Doors
(1967) 		Strange Days
(1967)
Singles from The Doors
  1. "Break On Through (To the Other Side)"
    Released: January 1, 1967
  2. "Light My Fire"
    Released: April 24, 1967

The Doors is the debut studio album by the American rock band the Doors, released on January 4, 1967, by Elektra Records. It was recorded in August and September 1966 at Sunset Sound Recorders, in Hollywood, California, under the production of Paul A. Rothchild. The album features the extended version of the band's breakthrough single "Light My Fire" and the lengthy closer "The End" with its Oedipal spoken word section.[4] Various publications, including BBC and Rolling Stone, have listed The Doors as one of the greatest debut albums of all time.[5][6]

The Doors worked on the material of their debut album throughout 1966 at various locations and stages, such as the Whisky a Go Go. The album's recording started after their dismissal from the venue, having just signed with Elektra Records. The recording of The Doors established the band's wide range of musical influences, such as jazz, classical, blues, pop, R&B and rock music.[7] It has been largely viewed as an essential part of the psychedelic rock evolution, while also being acknowledged as a source of inspiration to numerous other works.

The Doors and "Light My Fire" have been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. In 2015, the Library of Congress selected The Doors for inclusion in the National Recording Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[8] The Doors has sold over 13 million copies worldwide as of 2015,[9] making it the band's best-selling album.[10] In 2003 and 2012, Rolling Stone ranked it number 42 on its list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time", repositioning it to number 86 in the 2020 edition.

  1. ^ Smith, Thomas (May 22, 2018). "The Doors' Jim Morrison: 10 Profound, Bizarre and Brilliant Quotes". NME. Retrieved May 16, 2021. The Doors' debut album is undeniably one of the greatest psych-rock records of all time, ...
  2. ^ Gallucci, Michael (October 23, 2015). "Doors Albums Ranked Worst to Best". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved April 27, 2021.
  3. ^ Buskin, Richard. "Classic Tracks: The Doors 'Strange Days'". Sound On Sound. Retrieved June 5, 2021. Engineer and producer Bruce Botnick recorded some of the greatest artifacts of West Coast psychedelia, among them the first five albums by the Doors.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference thedoors.com was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ "The Doors: The Doors". BBC Four. September 26, 2009. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
  6. ^ Runtagh, Jordan (January 4, 2017). "The Doors' Debut Album: Things You Didn't Know". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 26, 2021.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference Gallucci was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ "New Entries to National Recording Registry". Library of Congress. March 4, 2016. Retrieved April 30, 2021.
  9. ^ Moskowitz 2015, p. 222.
  10. ^ Goldsmith 2019, p. 92.