Break On Through: The Doors' First Album Quiz

Answer: Break on Through

"Break on Through (To the Other Side)" was the opening track on "The Doors" album. It featured the driving keyboard sounds of Ray Manzarek as well as the powerful vocals of Jim Morrison. "Break on Through" was released as the band's first single in the USA, but it didn't even crack the Billboard Top 100 charts. Morrison sang these lyrics from the song's opening verse:

"Tried to run, tried to hide
Break on through to the other side
Break on through to the other side..."

Answer: Whisky

The Doors' tune "Alabama Song" featured a catchy melody and a sing-along, tavern-style chorus. It was written circa 1930 by Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill. In "Alabama Song", Jim Morrison sang the following words:

"Show me the way to the next whisky bar
Oh, don't ask why; oh, don't ask why...
For if we don't find the next whisky bar
I tell you we must die, I tell you we must die..."

Answer: Larry Knechtel

Larry Knechtel, born in California, was a prominent session keyboardist and bass player during the 1960s. Knechtel did studio work for such bands as The Beach Boys, The Mamas & The Papas, and Simon & Garfunkel. Knechtel played bass guitar on several songs on "The Doors" album, including "Soul Kitchen" and "Back Door Man." When The Doors performed their songs in concert, Ray Manzarek played the keyboard bass. Bill Wyman played bass for the Rolling Stones, Pete Quaife was the bassist for The Kinks, and John Entwistle played bass for The Who.

Answer: The children

"The End" was an epic saga on "The Doors" album which featured Robby Krieger's hypnotic style of guitar playing as well as Jim Morrison's "free verse" style of singing. In the song's lyrics, Morrison mentioned that "all the children are insane." Some radio station managers refused to play "The End" because of its violent overtones and its length (11:35).

In the 1979 movie "Apocalypse Now", the line "all the children are insane" was played as a forest was being destroyed by a napalm attack.

Answer: Elektra

The Doors recorded their debut album for Elektra Records. The company was co-founded in 1950 by Jac Holzman, who was credited with being Production Supervisor on "The Doors." Paul Rothchild produced "The Doors" album, and Elektra Records achieved considerable success when The Doors became superstars. Between 1967 and 1971, the original four members of the band recorded six albums for Elektra.

Answer: William Blake

William Blake (1757-1827) was the poet who wrote "Auguries of Innocence." This poem was concerned with paradox and perception. Blake wrote, "Hold infinity in the palm of your hand / And eternity in an hour..." Jim Morrison was greatly influenced by Blake's imagery and philosophy of life. Blake once wrote, "The road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom"- words that Morrison certainly espoused during his lifetime.

The song "End of the Night" seems "other worldly" with Ray Manzarek's distinctive keyboard work and Morrison's hypnotic chanting.

Answer: Gentle rain

"The days are bright and filled with pain / Enclose me in your gentle rain..." The Doors' song "The Crystal Ship" featured Jim Morrison in top-notch romantic vocal form as he crooned about a tender moment of love. Morrison ended the tune by singing these words:

"The crystal ship is being filled
A thousand girls, a thousand thrills
A million ways to spend your time
When we get back, I'll drop a line"

Answer: Flyer

The song "Light My Fire" made superstars out of The Doors. "Light My Fire" was released as a single in the USA in January 1967, and it topped the Billboard charts for three weeks. The word "flyer" was not mentioned in the song's lyrics, which were mostly written by guitar player Robby Krieger. Jim Morrison sang these words:

"You know that it would be untrue
You know that I would be a liar...
No time to wallow in the mire
Try now, we can only lose
And our love become a funeral pyre
Come on, baby, light my fire..."

Answer: Willie Dixon

The Doors opened the second side of their debut album with a track called "Back Door Man." This song was composed by blues musician Willie Dixon, born in Vicksburg, Mississippi. On "The Doors" album, composition credit for the song was given to "W. Dixon-C. Burnett." "Back Door Man" was originally recorded by Howlin' Wolf in the early 1960s. Jim Morrison sang these lyrics:

"I'm a back door man
The men don't know
But the little girls understand..."

Chuck Berry was born in Missouri, Otis Redding hailed from Georgia, and Wilson Pickett was born in Alabama.

Answer: Minarets

The Doors' song "Soul Kitchen" was supposedly written in tribute to a soul food restaurant in Venice Beach, California. Jim Morrison sang the lyrics, "Well, your fingers weave quick minarets / Speak in secret alphabets, I light another cigarette..." Morrison also thundered out the line, "Let me sleep all night in your soul kitchen." This tune featured the crisp drumming of John Densmore and the hard-driving organ sounds of Ray Manzarek.