"Whadija say, Jim?" Mr. Morrison Misunderstood Quiz

Answer: Leopard on my right, yeah.

"The Soft Parade" (Jim Morrison), from The Doors' fourth studio album "The Soft Parade", released July, 1969. The album charted at number six in the U.S. on the strength of the hit single "Touch Me", and was the first album to credit the actual songwriter (in the case of "The Soft Parade", Morrison, Krieger, or both) for each song, rather than under "The Doors" collective name.

The spoken introduction of the song, known as "Petition the Lord with Prayer", is followed by the "Sanctuary" segment, which is generally considered to be Jim's response to the legal situations he was experiencing following his arrests at New Haven, Connecticut (1968, disorderly conduct) and Miami, Florida (1969, indecent exposure).

Answer: She moans like a cat...When she wants to be heard.

"My Wild Love" (Morrison, Krieger, Manzarek, Densmore) from The Doors' third album "Waiting For The Sun", released July, 1968. The song was the band's first and only 'a capella' (no instruments) recording. Interestingly, the album's title track would not appear until the 1970 release of "Morrison Hotel". "Waiting For The Sun" would be The Doors' only number one album in the U.S., and the band's first U.K. hit (reaching number 16). The album also features one of my favorite (out of many) songs, the very emotionally charged, in-your-face (but, according to Jim, non-political) "Five to One".

Answer: Give up your vows.

"Roadhouse Blues" (Morrison, Krieger, Manzarek, Densmore), from the 1970 album "Morrison Hotel". A side note: I've also been a loyal Alice Cooper fan since the early 70s, but did not know until I began working on this quiz that the well-known "Woke up this morning and I got myself a beer" line in the song was inspired by Alice himself, after a conversion he and Jim had shortly before the song was recorded. Alice made the statement, and Jim obviously liked the line. Several websites (and Alice as well, via his radio talk show) have verified that this is a true story, and I see no reason why Alice would lie about it. Cool stuff!

Answer: They got some bungalows.

Another nifty piece of trivia concerning "Roadhouse Blues": during an guitar solo break, Jim is heard yelling what sounds like "Do it, Robby! Do it!". Many listeners (myself included) naturally assumed Jim was encouraging guitarist Robby Krieger. Actually, Jim screams out "Do it, Lonnie! Do it!", referring to session guitarist Lonnie Mack. Mack is credited for playing bass on the track, but actually played the lead guitar part as well (on Krieger's guitar). Robby learned and copied several of Mack's lead riffs for later takes of the song.

Answer: Lazy diamond studded flunkies.

"Love Street" (Morrison, Krieger, Manzarek, Densmore), from the album "Waiting For The Sun". The song referred to Rothdell Trail, the street in Laurel Canyon, California that Jim and Pam Courson lived on. Jim nicknamed it "Love Street" because of the many so-called 'hippies' that would pass by. The song was the flip-side to "Hello, I Love You", the number one single off the album.

Answer: Andalusia with fields full of grain.

"Spanish Caravan" (Morrison, Krieger, Manzarek, Densmore), from the album "Waiting For The Sun" (1968). The flamenco style Robby used is known as 'Granadinas', and the opening riff is 'borrowed' from "Asturias" and "Malagueña", two classical pieces from Spanish composer Isaac Albeniz (1860-1909). Andalusia is a Spanish 'autonomous' (self-governed) community located on the southern portion of the country, bordering the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.

Answer: Well, I just got into town about an hour ago.

"L.A. Woman" (Morrison, Krieger, Manzarek, Densmore), from the album "L.A. Woman", released April, 1971. The sixth (and final) album featuring all four original band members, but the first to be produced by the band itself (with Bruce Botnick), as producer Paul Rothchild, unhappy over the direction the band was going, severed ties before recording began.

Besides the title track, The album also featured the moody (and lengthy) "Riders on the Storm". Oh, and "Mr. Mojo risin'"? An anagram of "Jim Morrison".

Answer: Arms that chain us. Eyes that lie.

"Break On Through (To the Other Side)" (Morrison, Krieger, Manzarek, Densmore), The Doors' first single from their first album "The Doors", released January, 1967. While considered a (if not THE) signature song by the band, "Break On Through" did not chart well (number 101 in U.S.), being somewhat overshadowed at the time by "Light My Fire" (three weeks at number one). Both "Break On Through" and "The End" (also on the album) were censored due to lyrical content.

Another interesting fact: The album was recorded (with the exception of the "Light My Fire" 45 RPM single) slightly slower (about a half step) than originally intended.

This discrepancy (discovered by, of all people, a professor from Brigham Young University) was corrected for the '40th Anniversary Mix'.

Answer: My knees got weak.

"Love Me Two Times" (Morrison, Krieger, Manzarek, Densmore), from The Doors' second album "Strange Days", released September, 1967. Reaching number 25 on the U.S. charts, the song was the second single (following "People Are Strange") from that album. "Strange Days" was the only album out of the first six (seven, if one counts the band's first live recording, 1970's "Absolutely Live") that a photo shot of the band was not the primary center focus, as Morrison, for one reason or another, did not want to be on the cover.

The jacket instead shows circus performers, well, performing on a city street. The band can be seen on a poster on the right side of the cover (under the strongman's armpit).

Answer: A thousand girls, a thousand thrills.

"The Crystal Ship" (Morrison, Krieger, Manzarek, Densmore), also from The Doors' debut album, was supposedly 'inspired' (at least the title) by an oil rig off the coast of Isla Vista, California. In my opinion, a very neat piece of information, for as a young lyricist/songwriter living in Long Beach, CA. in the 70s, I saw many oil rigs from the beaches, but was never inspired to compare them to a 'crystal ship' (but then again, I'm not Morrison).

The flip (or 'B') side of the "Light My Fire" single, many believe that "The Crystal Ship" was a love song written by Jim for Mary Werbelow, an early girlfriend of his whom he met in Clearwater, Florida while he was attending St. Petersburg Junior College. Apparently, Mary followed Jim to Los Angeles in 1964, but they broke up in 1965, shortly before Jim and Ray Manzarek began the band.