L.A. Woman (song)

"L.A. Woman"
Morrison's handwritten original lyrics
Song by the Doors
from the album L.A. Woman
ReleasedApril 19, 1971 (1971-04-19)
RecordedDecember 1970 – January 1971
StudioThe Doors' Workshop, Los Angeles
GenreBlues rock[1]
Length7:49
LabelElektra
Songwriter(s)The Doors[2]
Producer(s)

"L.A. Woman" is a song by the American rock band the Doors. The song is the title track of their 1971 album L.A. Woman, the final album to feature Jim Morrison before his death on July 3, 1971. In 2014, LA Weekly named it the all-time best song written about the city of Los Angeles.[3]

In 1985, fourteen years after Morrison's death, Ray Manzarek directed[4] and Rick Schmidlin produced a music video for the song. It was aired on MTV and included in the Doors film Dance on Fire.[5]

Band guitarist Robby Krieger has repeatedly cited "L.A. Woman" as the "quintessential Doors song".[6][7][8] In 2013, it was labeled the 40th best classic-rock song by the New York radio station Q104.3.[9]

  1. ^ Brodsky, Greg. "11 Classic Rock Driving Songs: Reader Favorites". Best Classic Bands. Retrieved March 28, 2021.
  2. ^ Botnick, Bruce (2007). L.A. Woman (40th Anniversary edition CD booklet). The Doors. Rhino Records. R2-101155.
  3. ^ "The 20 Best Songs Ever Written About L.A." LA Weekly. October 15, 2014. Retrieved June 19, 2019.
  4. ^ Mr. Mojo Risin': The Story of L.A. Woman Q&A and Performance. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved August 19, 2020 – via YouTube.
  5. ^ "The Doors: The Soft Parade – A Retrospective (1991)". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. 2012. Archived from the original on November 2, 2012. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
  6. ^ Ivie, Devon (September 28, 2021). "The Greatest and Trippiest of the Doors, According to Robby Krieger". Vulture.com. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference Eagle Rock was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Smith, Rob (April 19, 2021). "The Doors' L.A. Woman: The Story Behind Each Track". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
  9. ^ "The Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time: Dirty Dozenth Edition". Q1043.com. p. 2. Archived from the original on December 14, 2013. Retrieved June 15, 2022.