You’d think that a guy of his caliber would have only wanted to do his own stuff. GW But he was open to other people writing lyrics? And he taught me some things about writing about universal topics. Who knows if I ever would have even written songs in another situation? Just being with Jim made me write a certain way, because I knew I had to compete with his songs, which were pretty heavy. Then one day he said, “Hey, we don’t have enough songs. That’s not a bad beginning, huh? I had no thoughts of writing songs at first, because Jim was the writer. GW I’ve read that “Light My Fire” and “Love Me Two Times” were the first songs you ever wrote. There’s more listening to the other guys and having that determine what you play. Although we did often play as loud as we could, there was more attention to the music fitting together like a puzzle, which I think happens in jazz more than in rock.

It wasn’t just guys playing as loud as they could with fuzz and giant amps and stuff. The Doors’ music was more like jazz in the way it fit together. ROBBY KRIEGER I think that’s true, in a way. GUITAR WORLD Ray Manzarek recently said thathe considered the Doors an extension of the California cool jazz scene. And they learn that the Quiet Door actually spoke volumes. Now with Oliver Stone’s new film elevating Doors consciousness to its highest level in years, guitarists are rediscovering Krieger’s contributions. The Doors have always remained in the public eye, garnering intense attention from rock fans and gossip-mongers alike.

The doors the unknown soldier