The Doors were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, comprising vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger and drummer John Densmore.

"[17] With Manzarek's encouragement, Morrison sang the opening words of "Moonlight Drive": "Let's swim to the moon, let's climb through the tide, penetrate the evening that the city sleeps to hide."

[20] The five, along with bass player Patty Sullivan,[nb 2] and now christened the Doors, recorded a six-song demo on September 2, 1965, at World Pacific Studios in Los Angeles.

[25] From February to May 1966, the group had a residency at the "rundown" and "sleazy" Los Angeles club London Fog, appearing on the bill with "Rhonda Lane Exotic Dancer".

[26] The experience gave Morrison confidence to perform in front of a live audience, and the band as a whole to develop and, in some cases, lengthen their songs and work "The End" and "Light My Fire" into the pieces that would appear on their debut album.

[nb 4] In early 1967, the group appeared on The Clay Cole Show (which aired on Saturday evenings at 6 p.m. on WPIX Channel 11 out of New York City) where they performed their single "Break On Through".

[41] The Doors made their international television debut on October 16, 1967, performing a live version of "The End" for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) at their Parliament Street Colour Studio in Toronto.

[49][50] The Doors spent several weeks in Sunset Studios in Los Angeles recording their second album, Strange Days, experimenting with the new technology, notably the Moog synthesizer they now had available.

Kerry Magness, Leroy Vinnegar, Harvey Brooks, Ray Neopolitan, Lonnie Mack, Jerry Scheff,[54] Jack Conrad (who played a major role in the post Morrison years touring with the group in 1971 and 1972), Chris Ethridge, Charles Larkey and Leland Sklar are credited as bassists who worked with the band.

[58][59] Prior to the start of the concert, Morrison was either having a private conversation with[60] or kissing a female fan backstage in a bathroom shower stall when a police officer happened upon them.

[59][64] Recording of the group's third album in April 1968 was marred by tension as a result of Morrison's increasing dependence on alcohol and the rejection of the 17-minute "Celebration of the Lizard" by band producer Paul Rothchild, who considered the work not commercial enough.

Following the 1968 release of "Hello, I Love You", the publisher of the Kinks' 1964 hit "All Day and All of the Night" announced they were planning legal action against the Doors for copyright infringement; however, songwriter Ray Davies ultimately chose not to sue.

On March 1, 1969, at the Dinner Key Auditorium in the Coconut Grove neighborhood of Miami, Florida, the Doors gave the most controversial and consequential performance of their career, one that nearly "derailed the band".

[99] While the band was trying faintly to maintain their previous momentum, efforts to expand their sound gave the album an experimental feel, causing critics to attack their musical integrity.

[100] According to Densmore in his biography Riders on the Storm, individual writing credits were noted for the first time because of Morrison's reluctance to sing the lyrics of Krieger's song "Tell All the People".

The 40th anniversary CD reissue of Morrison Hotel contains outtakes and alternative takes, including different versions of "The Spy" and "Roadhouse Blues" (with Lonnie Mack on bass guitar and the Lovin' Spoonful's John Sebastian on harmonica).

Although the Doors continued to face de facto bans in more conservative American markets and earned new bans at Salt Lake City's Salt Palace and Detroit's Cobo Hall following tumultuous concerts,[108][109] the band managed to play 18 concerts in the United States, Mexico and Canada following the Miami incident in 1969,[110] and 23 dates in the United States and Canada throughout the first half of 1970.

[118] The album included rhythm guitarist Marc Benno on several tracks and prominently featured bassist Jerry Scheff, best known for his work in Elvis Presley's TCB Band.

[96] The title track and two singles ("Love Her Madly" and "Riders on the Storm") remain mainstays of rock radio programming,[120] with the latter being inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame for its special significance to recorded music.

For the tours during this period, the Doors enlisted Jack Conrad on bass (who had played on several tracks on both Other Voices and Full Circle) as well as Bobby Ray Henson on rhythm guitar.

[146] The night featured Exene Cervenka and John Doe of the band X, Rami Jaffee of the Foo Fighters, Stone Temple Pilots' Robert Deleo, Jane's Addiction's Stephen Perkins, Emily Armstrong of Dead Sara, Andrew Watt, among others.

[160] The origin of the revival is traced to the release of the album An American Prayer in late 1978 which contained a live version of "Roadhouse Blues" that received considerable airplay on album-oriented rock radio stations.

[166] A second revival, attracting another generation of fans, occurred in 1991 following the release of the film The Doors, directed by Oliver Stone and starring Val Kilmer as Morrison.

Awards and critical accolades: The Doors initially started as a conventional electric blues band, but subsequently enriched their sound with jazz, psychedelic rock, raga, classical references, funk and flamenco.

[157] In live performances, they experimented with free improvisation based on dodecaphonic, cacophonic passages and delay/echo effects,[189] in order to accompany spoken-word poetry sessions or to fill long instrumental jams.

[157] Music journalist and critic David Fricke observed that they were "the first american rock ensemble to regularly blend reverb, echos, fuzz and other innovative sound effects with keyboards and organ, both on studio works and live shows.

A lot of keyboard-based groups of the era should thank them",[191] and praised their efficiency during concerts to "alternate to intense, essential blues numbers jazz-rock instrumentals led by exceptionally dynamic drumming, masterfully calculated guitar insertions and challenging, explorative organ chords: giant rooms where an unlimited set of vocal improvisations has all the space to be delivered".

[192] Manzarek cited a range of influences that include boogie-woogie, Chicago blues, the jazzers John Coltrane, Miles Davis and Bill Evans,[190] and classical composers such as Johann Sebastian Bach, Claude Debussy and Igor Stravinsky.

[169] He was familiar with modal scales and the traditional spanish flamenco,[161] incorporating them all in his guitar style to create an original trademark of versatility that distinguished him from the other rock guitarists of the period.

[157] Densmore was shaped by Elvin Jones, the drummer of John Coltrane's quartet,[169] and by the stylistic features of Latin American percussions, especially the bossa nova rhythms of saxophonist Stan Getz.