:This page is about the band. For their self-titled debut album, see The Doors (album); for the Oliver Stone film, see The Doors (film).

The Doors were an American rock band formed in 1965 in Los Angeles by vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, drummer John Densmore, and guitarist Robby Krieger. They were one of the most controversial bands of their time, due mostly to Morrison's cryptic lyrics and unpredictable stage persona. Since the band's dissolution in the early 1970s — and especially since Morrison's death in 1971 — interest in the Doors' music has remained high. They have sold over 76 million albums worldwide, and still sell 1 million annually.

The origins of The Doors lay in a chance meeting between acquaintances and UCLA film school students Jim Morrison and Ray Manzarek on Venice Beach, California in July 1965. Morrison told Manzarek he had been writing songs and, at Manzarek's encouragement, sang "Moonlight Drive". Impressed by Morrison's lyrics, Manzarek suggested they form a band.

Keyboardist Ray Manzarek was in a band called Rick and The Ravens with his brother Rick Manzarek, while Robby Krieger and John Densmore were playing with The Psychedelic Rangers and knew Manzarek from yoga and meditation classes. In August, Densmore joined the group and along with members of the Ravens and bass player Patty Sullivan, recorded a six-song demo in September 1965. This was widely bootlegged and appeared in full on the 1997 Doors box set.

That month the group recruited guitarist Robby Krieger and the final lineup — Morrison, Manzarek, Krieger and Densmore — was complete. The band took their name from the title of a book by Aldous Huxley, The Doors of Perception, which was in turn borrowed from a line in a poem by the 18th century artist and poet William Blake: "If the doors of perception were cleansed, every thing would appear to man as it is: infinite".

The Doors were unusual among rock groups because they did not use a bass guitar when playing live. Instead, Manzarek played the bass lines with his left hand on the newly invented Fender Rhodes bass keyboard, an offshoot of the well-known Fender Rhodes electric piano, playing other keyboards with his right hand. On their studio albums, The Doors did use bass players such as Jerry Scheff, Doug Lubahn, Harvey Brooks, Kerry Magness, Lonnie Mack, Larry Knechtel, Leroy Vinegar, and Ray Neapolitan. Many of The Doors' originals songs were group compositions, with Morrison or Krieger contributing the lyrics and an initial melody, and the others providing harmonic and rhythmic suggestions, or even entire sections of song (i.e. Manzarek's organ introduction to "Light My Fire").

By 1966 the group was playing The London Fog club and soon graduated to the prestigious Whisky a Go Go. On August 10, they were spotted by Elektra Records president Jac Holzman who was present at the recommendation of Love singer Arthur Lee, whose group was on Elektra. After Holzman and producer Paul A. Rothchild saw two sets of the band playing at the Whisky a Go Go, they signed them to the Elektra Records label on August 18—the start of a long and successful partnership with Rothchild and engineer Bruce Botnick.

The timing was fortuitous, because on August 21 the club fired the band after a profanity-filled performance of "The End". In an incident that foreshadowed the controversy that would follow the group, an acid-tripping Morrison raucously recited his own rendition of the Greek drama Oedipus Rex in which the play's protagonist Oedipus kills his father and has sex with his mother. Morrison's version consisted of "Father? Yes son? I want to kill you. Mother? I want to fuck you".

There was a controversy with the release of the "Hello, I Love You" single in 1968, when the rock press pointed out the song's musical resemblance to The Kinks' 1965 hit "All Day and All of the Night". Members of the Kinks have concurred with music critics: Kinks guitarist Dave Davies has been known to add snippets of "Hello, I Love You" during solo live performances of "All Day and All of the Night" as a sarcastic commentary on the subject. In concert, Morrison was occasionally dismissive of the song, and left the vocal chores to Manzarek.

The Doors' self-titled debut LP was recorded in August 1966 and released in the first week of January 1967. It featured most of the major songs from their set, including the 11-minute musical drama, "The End". The band recorded the album in a few days in late August and early September 1966, almost entirely live in the studio with many songs captured in a single take.

Morrison and Manzarek directed a promotional film for the lead single "Break on Through (To the Other Side)", a significant advance in the development of the music video genre.

The second single, "Light My Fire", became a smash hit in the summer of 1967, and established the group — in the vein of Jefferson Airplane and The Grateful Dead — as one of America's vital counterculture bands. For AM radio airplay, the long middle organ and guitar solos were cut out from the song.

In May 1967, The Doors made their television debut by recording a version of "The End" for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) at their Yorkville Studios in Toronto. It remained unseen since its original broadcast until the release of The Doors Soundstage Performances DVD in 2002. The Doors earned a reputation as a rebellious live act. With his stage presence and skin-tight leather trousers, Morrison became a sex symbol, although he soon became frustrated with the strictures of stardom. Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) network censors demanded that Morrison change the lyrics to "Light My Fire" by altering the line, "Girl, we couldn't get much higher," before the band performed the song live on September 17, 1967, on the Ed Sullivan Show. The line was changed to, "Girl, we couldn't get much better". However, Morrison sang the original line, and on live television with no delay, CBS was powerless to stop it. A furious Ed Sullivan refused to shake the band members' hands, and they were never invited back to the show. According to Manzarek, the band was told they would never do the Ed Sullivan show again; Morrison replied, " So what. We just did the Ed Sullivan Show "—at the time, an appearance was a hallmark of success. Manzarek claims the band agreed with the producer beforehand but had no intention of altering the line. They also performed a new single, "People Are Strange", which they repeated for DJ Murray The K's TV show on September 22.

Morrison cemented his status as a rebel on December 10 when he was arrested in New Haven, Connecticut, for badmouthing the police to the audience. Morrison said he had been maced by a police officer after he was caught backstage with a girl.

On December 24, the Doors taped "Light My Fire" and "Moonlight Drive" live for the Jonathan Winters Show. From December 26 to December 28 the group played at the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco. An excerpt taken from Stephen Davis' book on Jim Morrison p. 219-220:

The next night at Winterland, a TV set was wheeled onstage during the Doors set so the band could see themselves on the Jonathan Winters Show. They stopped playing Back Door Man when their song came on. The audience watched the Doors watching themselves on TV. They finished the song when their bit was done, and Ray walked over and turned the TV off. The next night was their last ever in Winterland.

They played two more dates in Denver on December 30 and December 31, capping off a year of almost constant touring.

The second Doors LP, Strange Days, was less spontaneous than their debut, but it was noted for its evocative lyrics and atmosphere. The closing track, "When the Music's Over", was, like "The End", lengthy and dramatic, and helped establish Morrison's reputation as the shaman of rock. The album was also commercial and featured now-classic Doors songs such as "People Are Strange" and "Love Me Two Times".

As a result of their success, The Doors forfeited their status as underground heroes. They allowed Sixteen magazine to portray them as teen idols and their "spontaneous" stage-show was exposed as not-so-spontaneous. An article by Jerry Hopkins in the February 10, 1968 edition of Rolling Stone typified the fall from grace:

One shtick, or piece of stage-business, missing at the Shrine performance, was Morrison's carefully-executed "accidental" fall from the stage into the crowd. For months this had been a part of the act. It got a lot of screams from the teenyboppers. Then a review appeared in a local newspaper which called the fall one of the phoniest things ever. Morrison was asked if he had read the article. "Yeah", said Morrison, "and I guess he's right." Morrison did not take the fall that night at the Shrine.

In April, the recording of the third album was marred by tension as a result of Morrison's increasing dependence on alcohol. Approaching the height of their popularity, the Doors played a series of outdoor shows that led to frenzied scenes between fans and police, particularly at Chicago Coliseum on May 10.



The band began to branch out from their initial form in their third LP, because they had exhausted their original repertoire and began writing new material. It became their first #1 LP and the single "Hello, I Love You" was their second and last US #1 single. This further isolated them from the underground cognoscenti. In 1969 Rock Encyclopedia, Lilian Roxon wrote that the album "strengthened dreadful suspicion that the Doors were in it just for the money." The LP included "The Unknown Soldier", which was banned from radio play due to controversial lyrics. The group created another self-directed music video for it. "Not to Touch the Earth" was excerpted from The Doors' 30-minute concept piece Celebration of the Lizard, although they were reportedly unable to record a satisfactory version of the entire piece for the LP. This was eventually released on a greatest hits CD compilation.

A month after riotous scenes at the Singer Bowl in New York, the group flew to Britain for its first dates outside of North America. They held a press conference at the ICA Gallery in London and played shows at The Roundhouse Theatre. The results of the trip were broadcast on Granada TV's The Doors Are Open which was later released on video. They played dates in Europe, including a show in Amsterdam without Morrison after he collapsed from a drug binge. Morrison returned to London on September 20 and stayed for a month .

The group played nine more US dates and began to work, in November, on their fourth LP. 1969 started with a sold out show at Madison Square Garden in New York on January 24 and with a successful new single, "Touch Me", (released in December 1968), which hit US #3.

In January 1969, Morrison attended a theater production that changed the course of the band. At the University of Southern California's Bovard Auditorium The Living Theatre he performed a show that appealed to his quest for personal freedom. This resulted in a studio jam in February 25, which became the legendary "Rock Is Dead" session, later released on the 1997 Doors box set. It set the stage for a controversial and notorious episode.

The Miami incident occurred at the March 1, 1969, Dinner Key Auditorium concert in Miami, Florida. Morrison had been drinking since missing his flight to the show.

The 6,900 seat auditorium had been oversold. Morrison drunkely bellowed into the microphone. He shouted: "Anything you want, let's do it", and then, allegedly, exposed himself. In his autobiography, Manzarek claims it never took place.

"That's my contention," Manzarek wrote. "It was mass hypnosis. He told them he was going to show it to them, and by God, they believed he did. He was holding his shirt in front of him, pulling it quickly back and forth, back and forth, like a bullfighter, and saying, 'Did you see it? Did you see it? I showed it to you! It came out. I'm not gonna just let it hang out there. Now watch, I'll do it again.' And he'd go whip, whip back and forth with the shirt. It was hot and there were too many people in the place, and people were going crazy, screaming swirling and pushing at this temporary rickety stage. We thought the stage was going to collapse - eventually a side of it did fall over. It was total insanity."

The incident outraged local authorities and got Morrison busted for obscenity. Gigs all over the US were canceled. "We had our first major tour-a twenty city tour-scheduled at the time, and we were all kind of apprehensive about that," wrote Manzarek. "Twenty cities? Holy cow, we're gonna tour for a month? Until then, we'd never gone out for more longer than four or five days at the most. But every city canceled-nineteen cities, all across the country."

The band confronted Morrison about his alcoholism. The incident remains inconclusive.

Morrison recorded some of his poetry that month and in April began shooting footage for HWY, an experimental film about a hitchhiker, played by himself. The Doors set the poetry session to music for the 1978 album An American Prayer. HWY contains virtually no dialog and circulates among collectors.

Although Morrison received the most attention, getting a larger image on the cover of the group's debut album, he was adamant that all the band members should get recognition. Before one concert when the announcer introduced the group as "Jim Morrison and The Doors", Morrison refused to appear unless he announced the group again as "The Doors" .

While he never felt close to his real-life family, he was protective of his fellow band-members. Reportedly, he once told Ray Manzarek that he never felt comfortable in a social setting unless he or another band member was with him . He turned down solo album opportunities.

In the last two years of his life, Morrison curtailed his intake of drugs and drank heavily, which affected his stage and studio performances. He put on weight and grew a thick beard, causing Elektra to use earlier photos for the cover of the Absolutely Live LP, released in 1970. The album features performances recorded on The Doors' 1970 American tour and at the 1969 Aquarius Theatre gig and includes a full-length live performance of "The Celebration of the Lizard".

The group's only public appearance was on a PBS television special recorded late in April and broadcast the following month. The group performed songs from the upcoming Soft Parade album.

The Doors resumed touring at Chicago Auditorium Theater on June 14 and played two dates at Aquarius Theatre in Hollywood on July 21 and July 22, both later released on CD. The bearded Morrison wore loose clothes and steered the band toward a bluesier direction with songs like "Build Me A Woman", "I Will Never Be Untrue", and "Who Do You Love".

Their fourth album, The Soft Parade (1969), released in July, further distanced the group from their core fan base, containing pop-oriented arrangements and horn sections. The lead single "Touch Me" featured saxophonist Curtis Amy.

While the band was trying to maintain their previous momentum, efforts to expand their sound gave the album an experimental feel, causing critics to attack their musical integrity. Morrison's drinking made him difficult and unreliable, and the recording sessions dragged on for weeks. Studio costs piled up, and The Doors came close to disintegrating .

During the recording of their next album, in November 1969, Morrison found himself in trouble with the law after being abusive to airline staff during a flight to Phoenix, Arizona to see The Rolling Stones in concert. He was acquitted the following April after a steward mistakenly identified Morrison as his traveling companion, American actor Tom Baker .

The group started its year in New York with two well-received nights at The Felt Forum.

The Doors gave two concerts at the Earl Carroll Theatre (then called the "Aquarius" theatre) on Sunset Bvd, Hollywood.

The shows were performed on 21 and 22 July 1969. This was only a few months after the "Miami incident" in March of that year. The shows featured a more laid back, blues style of Doors music. Morrison appeared not as his trademark, "young lion" in black leather pants. Instead, he wore a beard and sported loose fitting carpenter-like pants.

The performances included Morrison sitting on a stool, belting out classics such as, "Back Door Man", "When The Music's Over", and "Light My Fire". "Build Me A Woman", "Mystery Train", and "Who Do You Love" showcased the softer side of The Doors. The usual theatrics from Morrison were much more subdued than from earlier stage performances - convulsing, writhing, and the orgasmic feeling were not present during these nights. But there was definitely an energy felt. The cathartic, spiritual feeling was present and the audience embraced it. Morrison focused on his singing and expressed himself more musically (even shaking maracas during many of the songs), and not on the sexual creature that had taken the stage the past three years. The Doors as a group played with a fluent, yet loose style that exemplified their live music talents and captured the audience with every note.

Some of the songs recorded here were released on The Doors' Absolutely Live album.

The Doors staged a return to form with their 1970 LP Morrison Hotel. Featuring a consistent, hard rock sound, the album's opener was "Roadhouse Blues". The record hit US #4.

The 40th Anniversary CD reissue contains outtakes and alternate takes, including a different version of "The Spy" as well as versions of "Roadhouse Blues" with Lonnie Mack on bass guitar and The Lovin' Spoonful's John Sebastian contributing a bluesy harmonica.

The band continued to perform at arenas throughout the summer. Morrison faced trial in Miami in August, but the group made it to the Isle of Wight Festival on August 29. They performed alongside artists such as Jimi Hendrix, The Who, Joni Mitchell, Miles Davis and Sly & The Family Stone. Two songs from the show were featured in the 1995 documentary Message To Love. In July 1970, The Doors released Absolutely Live. On September 16, Morrison took to the stand, but the jury returned a guilty verdict for profanity and indecent exposure on September 20. Morrison was sentenced to eight months' custody but was allowed to go free pending an appeal.

On December 8, 1970, his 27th birthday, Morrison recorded another poetry session.

During the Doors' last public performance, at the "Warehouse" in New Orleans, Louisiana, on December 12, 1970, Morrison apparently had a breakdown on stage. He slammed the microphone numerous times into the stage floor. Nevertheless, The Doors looked set to regain its crown as a premier act with L.A. Woman in 1971. The album explored their R&B roots, although during rehearsals they had a falling-out with Rothchild. Denouncing the new repertoire as "cocktail music," he quit and handed the production to Botnick. The result is considered a classic Doors album. The singles "Love Her Madly" and "Riders on the Storm" remain mainstays of rock radio programming.

In 1971, following the recording of L.A. Woman, Morrison decided to take some time off and moved to Paris with girlfriend, Pamela Courson, in March. He had visited the city the previous summer and seemed content to write and explore the place.

By June, he was again drinking heavily. On June 16, the last known recording of Morrison was made when he befriended two street musicians at a bar and invited them to a studio. The results were released in 1994 on a bootleg CD titled The Lost Paris Tapes.

Morrison died under mysterious circumstances on July 3 1971. His body was found in the bathtub of his apartment. It was concluded that he died of a heart attack, although it was later revealed that no autopsy had been performed before Morrison's body was buried at Père Lachaise Cemetery on July 7.

There are persistent rumors that Morrison faked his death to escape the spotlight or died at a nightclub and that his body had been surreptitiously taken to his apartment. However, in his book Wonderland Avenue, Morrison's former associate Danny Sugerman states that during his last meeting with Courson — which took place shortly before her own death from a heroin overdose — she confessed that she had introduced Morrison to the drug and because he had a fear of needles, she had injected him with the dose that killed him.

The remaining Doors continued for some time, initially considering replacing Morrison with a new singer. It has been reported that Iggy Pop was one of the singers considered as a possible replacement. Instead, Krieger and Manzarek took over on vocals, released two more albums, Other Voices and Full Circle, and went on tour. Both albums sold less than the Morrison era releases, and The Doors stopped performing and recording at the end of 1972. The last album expanded into jazz territory. While neither album has been reissued on CD in the US, they have been released on 2-on-1 CDs in Germany and Russia.

The third post-Morrison album, An American Prayer, was released in 1978. It consisted of the band adding a musical track to recently rediscovered spoken-word recordings of Morrison reciting his poetry. The record was a commercial success and it was followed by releases of a mini-album of previously unreleased live material.

In 1979 Francis Ford Coppola, who attended the film school at UCLA with Morrison, released Apocalypse Now with "The End" used prominently in the sound track.

In 1983, the live album Alive, She Cried was released. It included a cover version of the Them hit “Gloria”.

In 1991, director Oliver Stone released his film The Doors, starring Val Kilmer as Morrison and with cameos by Krieger and Densmore. British vocalist Ian Astbury of The Cult was Stone's preferred choice to play Morrison, but Astbury chose not to appear in the film. Kilmer's impersonation and the film itself were praised by critics, despite its inaccuracies. Members of the group criticized Stone's portrayal of Morrison as an out-of-control sociopath. Singer Billy Idol had a cameo in the film and recorded a cover of "L.A. Woman."

In 1993, Ray Manzarek, John Densmore, and Robby Krieger reunited for their induction into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Eddie Vedder, lead singer of Pearl Jam, sang vocals. The group performed three songs, Break on Through, Light my Fire, and Roadhouse Blues.

In 2001, Ray Manzarek, John Densmore and Robby Krieger reunited again to perform The Doors' hits as part of the VH1 Storytellers series. Singing with the band were guest lead vocalists, including The Cult's Ian Astbury, Creed's Scott Stapp, Stone Temple Pilots' Scott Weiland, Jane's Addiction's Perry Farrell and Days of the New's Travis Meeks. The show was later released on DVD as VH1 Storytellers - The Doors (A Celebration).

In 2002 Manzarek and Krieger reunited and created a new version of The Doors, called "The Doors of the 21st Century." The lineup was fronted by Astbury, with Angelo Barbera from Krieger's band on bass. At their first concert, the group announced that drummer John Densmore would not perform, and it was later reported that he was unable to play because he suffered from tinnitus. Densmore was initially replaced by Stewart Copeland of The Police, but after Copeland broke his arm falling off a bicycle, the arrangement ended in mutual lawsuits, and he was replaced by Ty Dennis, drummer with Krieger's band. Densmore subsequently claimed that he had in fact not been invited to take part in the reunion. In February 2003, he filed an injunction against his former band mates, hoping to prevent them from using the name "The Doors of the 21st Century." His motion was denied in court in May. Manzarek publicly stated that the invitation for Densmore to return to the group still stood. It was also reported that both Morrison's family and that of Pamela Courson had joined Densmore in seeking to prevent Manzarek and Krieger from using The Doors' name. In July 2005, Densmore and the Morrison estate won a permanent injunction, causing the new band to switch to the name "D21C." It now plays under the name Riders on the Storm. They are allowed to play under names such as "former Doors" and "members of The Doors." Later in July 2007 Densmore said that he would not rejoin The Doors unless it was fronted by Eddie Vedder. Densmore says, "I play with Jim. If there's someone of that level, OK. I'm not gonna join them with Ian. That's not to diss Ian, he's a good singer - but he's no Jim Morrison. Eddie Vedder? My God, there's a singer."

Densmore has been steadfast in refusing to license The Doors' music for use in television commercials, including an offer of $15 million by Cadillac to lease the song "Break on Through (to the Other Side)," feeling that that would be in violation of the spirit in which the music was created. Densmore wrote about this subject for The Nation. He later gave an interview about this to LA Times:

:People lost their virginity to this music, got high for the first time to this music. I've had people say kids died in Vietnam listening to this music, other people say they know someone who didn't commit suicide because of this music…. On stage, when we played these songs, they felt mysterious and magic. That's not for rent.

Ray Manzarek was quoted as saying, "We're all getting older. We should, the three of us, be playing these songs because, hey, the end is always near. Morrison was a poet, and above all, a poet wants his words heard." When Morrison was asked what he would most like to be remembered for, he responded, "My words, man, my words."

Jim Morrison also said: "I like any reaction I can get with my music. Just anything to get people to think. I mean if you can get a whole room full of drunk, stoned people to actually wake up and think, you're doing something."

Their popularity is reflected by continuing sales of their work.

In 2004, Rolling Stone Magazine ranked The Doors #41 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.

A flurry of activity was announced in 2006 for the upcoming 40th anniversary of the group's debut album. This saw another box-set of the studio recordings (see recorded output), a coffee table book "The Doors by The Doors" and the beginning of production of an officially sanctioned documentary about the group.

The Doors, along with the Grateful Dead and Joan Baez, received a lifetime achievement award at the 2007 Grammy Awards.

On February 16, 2007 Ian Astbury quit Riders on the Storm, and relaunched his old band The Cult.

On February 28, 2007, The Doors received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

On March 14, 2007 Brett Scallions, former lead singer of the band Fuel, was announced as the new lead singer of Riders on the Storm.

On July 24, 2007, The Doors released a live 3-Disc album. Recorded at Boston Arena in April 10, 1970.http://thephoenix.com/article_ektid45379.aspx

In 2007, Manzarek described the band's sound as "Bauhaus music. It's clean, it's pure. There is a keyboard on one side, a guitar on the other, drums in the middle, a bass line underneath that and the singer up front and you can hear the words. That's one of the reasons why The Doors' sound is still important today. It's perfectly modern. That's what we wanted."

The first, self-titled album is a regular sight in greatest 100 album lists. Strange Days, Morrison Hotel, and L.A Woman incorporate different styles, including psychedelic pop, hard rock, and blues.

Three non-album tracks have been released, the b-sides "Who Scared You," "Tree Trunk," and a cover of Willie Dixon's "(You Need Meat) Don't Go Further" sung by Ray. "Who Scared You" and "(You Need Meat) Don't Go Further" appeared on the 1972 compilation Weird Scenes Inside The Goldmine. "Who Scared You" was also released on CD in the 1997 box set and "You Need Meat" was included on the new "Perception" box set. "Tree Trunk" has seen no other official release. Additional songs have been only performed live.

In 1978 the surviving Doors re-united to add music to poetry recorded by Morrison in 1969 and 1970. The resulting album was An American Prayer. The album was re-issued on CD in 1995 with bonus tracks "Hour for Magic", "Freedom Exists", "A Feast of Friends", "Babylon Fading", "Bird of Prey" and "The Ghost Song (extended version)".

In 1997 the first archive material was included on the release of The Doors box set. Some of the material had been previously released on bootlegs, the 4-CD set, one of which was a "greatest hits" type CD. A notable inclusion on the compilation was a CD of highlights from the 1970 Felt Forum concert and a cleaned-up recording of the (edited) 1969 "Rock Is Dead" session. The surviving members again re-united to add new musical backing to the solo Morrison song "Orange County Suite".

In November 2000 came the announcement many fans had dreamed of when The Doors announced the creation of Bright Midnight Records, a label through which 36 albums and 90 hours of previously unreleased Morrison-era Doors material would be made available on CD. This was launched with a sampler of forthcoming material, mostly from live concerts. The first full release was a 2-CD set of the May 1970 show at Detroit's Cobo Arena, notable for being, according to Doors manager Danny Sugerman in its liner notes, "easily... the longest Doors' set ever performed." It was followed by two CDs of interviews, mostly with Morrison, and the two 1969 Aquarius shows and one of the rehearsals. A 4-CD set "Boot Yer Butt" included bootleg quality material but sold out nevertheless. It was notable for the inclusion of the only known performances of songs from L.A Woman including the title track and "The Changeling" from The Doors' final recorded show in December 1970, Dallas, Texas. In 2005 a 2-CD concert from Philadelphia in 1970 was released.

Many illegal bootleg recordings are available of the group. Most impressive is a wealth of shows from March 1967 at the legendary Matrix Club in San Francisco. Many shows are available from 1968 when the band reached the height of its popularity, notably two shows in Stockholm, Sweden. The infamous Miami show has become widely available while many 1970 shows, notably a radio broadcast of the June 6 Vancouver show, make the rounds. The complete 1969 Rock Is Dead studio jam was discovered in the mid 1990s.

While the 1999 Complete Studio Recordings box set only included the first six studio albums (omitting "Other Voices & Full Circle), the Perception box set was released on November 21, 2006, and contained those albums plus about two hours of mostly unheard studio outtakes. Each album was represented by two discs: a CD of the album and the bonus tracks, and a DVD-Audio with both stereo and 5.1 surround sound mixes (produced and mixed by Bruce Botnick) in 96kHz/24-bit LPCM, Dolby Digital, and DTS as well as mostly previously released video footage. The discs were accompanied by new liner notes by Botnick and articles from several music critics and historians for each album. Demand was so high for the Perception box set that, according to the Doors' management, Rhino sold all of their stock (20,000 copies) in three weeks. In 2007, was published by Rhino the CD The Very Best of The Doors, celebrating the 40 years of the band.

Current line-up -- "Riders on the Storm" * Brett Scallions - lead vocals, guitar (formerly of Fuel) * Robby Krieger - guitar * Ray Manzarek - keyboards, backing vocals * Ty Dennis - drums, percussion * Phil Chen - bass guitar

Former Members -- "Riders on the Storm" *Ian Astbury - vocals, harmonica *Angelo Barbera - bass guitar *Stewart Copeland - drums, percussion

John Densmore is not a member of the current "Doors" band, entitled "Riders on the Storm". Ironically, his latest biography was entitled the same. He has been awarded an injunction against the band using the name, "The Doors." Furthermore, he has refused to participate in any band activities or functions.

* Best selling music artists * Charles Baudelaire * Arthur Rimbaud

* Light My Fire: My Life with the Doors, by Ray Manzarek, Berkeley Publishing Group, ISBN 0-425-17045-4 * No One Here Gets Out Alive, by Jerry Hopkins and Danny Sugerman, Warner Books, ISBN 0-446-60228-0 * Riders on the Storm: My Life with Jim Morrison and The Doors, by John Densmore, Delta Books, ISBN 0-385-30447-1

*Doors Music,video and Lyrics * Official website * Official Myspace Page * * * John Densmore's Tribaljazz Official Website * Interview with Ray Manzarek on NPR/WHYY's "Fresh Air" * Video interview with Ray Manzarek and Robbie Krieger May 2007 on Classic Rock Central * Video interview with Ray Manzarek and Robbie Krieger for 40th Anniversary on Rhino.TV * Official Riders on the Storm website * Rhino Resurrects the Doors’ Live in Boston 1970

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