Fire, Water, and Organ Solos

Fire, Water, and Organ Solos

Flower children with coupons in their pockets

The early ’90s in a young and promising Eastern European country—the largest by size in the region. Around them, stark contrasts: the euphoria of sudden freedom alternated with mild chaos and confusion. Colorful dreams of a bright future clashed with the grayness of everyday life and the looming threat of poverty. The first “threads” from Polish and Yugoslav markets stood out against the dull Soviet clothing and “Kravchuchkas” (small Soviet cars) just beginning to circulate.

The streets played host to their own exotic and mostly colorful spectacle, sometimes resembling a peripheral carnival: representatives of subcultural circles—young, mostly unemployed citizens of the new country with long, often unkempt hair—tried to avoid crossing paths with those who sported shaved heads and wore the strictest, toughest styles. Among the first to gain admiration were Kurt Cobain and Jim Morrison. While the ideology of the American band Nirvana’s frontman was somewhat clear—the grunge aesthetic he championed was timely among young rebels—where did these “flower children” in jeans ripped at the knees come from on the pragmatic and far from romantic streets of Ukrainian cities in the ’90s, long before it became a trend?

One of the main reasons was the 1991 Oliver Stone film The Doors, starring Val Kilmer as Jim Morrison. It is considered one of the best American biopics, and Kilmer, as even members of The Doors admitted, bore a “creepy” resemblance to Morrison and, most interestingly, performed all the vocal parts himself so convincingly that former bandmates didn’t immediately realize it wasn’t Jim singing.

The Doors “Light My Fire”

Thousands of Dollars Down the Drain and a Smashed TV

The Stone film features a storyline about one of The Doors’ most famous and successful songs—“Light My Fire.” In one scene, the band gathers for a rehearsal at a California bungalow by the ocean. Guitarist Robby Krieger announces he has a new riff, everyone, including Jim Morrison, eagerly picks it up, and keyboardist Ray Manzarek asks for a few minutes to come up with a worthy solo. The guys go for a walk along the ocean, and when they return, the absolute hit and new “calling card” of The Doors is ready.

“Light My Fire” was released in April 1967 and later included in the band’s debut album. It topped the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks, and by the end of the year, after selling a million copies, the single went gold. Initially, radio stations refused to play the song because of its length—over seven minutes—so the band had to record a shortened version. The song, as demonstrated in the film, was a product of collective creativity, and to highlight this, Krieger proposed that Stone include a scene where he pulls a piece of paper with the riff’s sketch from his pocket. According to the guitarist, the song is dedicated to the four elements—air, earth, fire, and water—and its key line “Come on, baby, light my fire” was his creation.

An interesting story happened during The Ed Sullivan Show in September 1967. The Doors were invited to perform this hit, which was already wildly popular, but the producers politely asked them to change one line—“Girl, we couldn’t get much higher”—to avoid drug references. Morrison promised not to sing it but ended up delivering the line live, shocking the production team.

It’s said Sullivan was very upset and refused to shake Morrison’s hand afterward. Morrison reportedly blamed his nervousness for forgetting the request. The film portrays this as a deliberate act, emphasizing the “forbidden” word, which boosted the band’s ranking among anti-censorship supporters. In any case, The Doors were never invited back to the Sullivan show.

Clip from Oliver Stone’s film The Doors

That same year, the famous American company Buick offered The Doors $75,000 to use the song in a car commercial. They approached the band while their leader, Jim Morrison, was out of town and agreed without consulting him.

When Morrison found out, he was furious and called Buick to warn that if the commercial aired, he would publicly smash a car with a sledgehammer (!) in front of cameras. In Stone’s film, Val Kilmer’s character, upon hearing “Light My Fire” in a commercial, rages and smashes a TV against the wall. To paraphrase a Ukrainian classic: what true rocker hasn’t smashed a TV in their life?

From Grammy to Ukrainian Listeners

The song’s fate grew even more successful: it won the world’s most prestigious music award—the Grammy. However, the award went not to The Doors members but to Puerto Rican blind singer José Feliciano, who had performed his own Latin-style version of the song for several years, which also gained popularity. Incidentally, a year before winning the Grammy, Feliciano became famous for a controversial rendition of the US national anthem in an original and, to some, quite free-spirited Latin jazz style.

Grammy winner José Feliciano performing “Light My Fire”

Symbolically, “Light My Fire” was the last song The Doors performed in their classic lineup, and the final song Jim Morrison ever sang on stage. This happened on December 12, 1970, at New Orleans’ Warehouse venue.

As expected, a new wave of interest in “Light My Fire” and Morrison’s work, and the band he fronted, began after Oliver Stone’s film release. It is said that other notable Hollywood actors—John Travolta, Richard Gere, and Charlie Sheen—were considered for the lead role. Still, Kilmer remains closely associated with Morrison for many.

Interestingly, a few years before the new Doors cult began, the Soviet vinyl monopoly, the state company Melodiya, launched a revolutionary new series “Archive of Popular Music” for music lovers, a truly groundbreaking move in the usually conservative but already freshening cultural environment. The first record in the series was, bingo, The Doors. Light My Fire.

In 2012, two of the original creators of “Light My Fire,” former Doors members Ray Manzarek and Robby Krieger, performed in Ukraine at a Kyiv venue.

Who would have thought that today fire, light, and warmth are not just empty symbols for us but vital necessities? December 8 marked another birthday of Jim Morrison, and his work remains relevant even after many years. May this song once again light up your home with bright illumination and warm you in the winter cold.

The Doors performing “Light My Fire” on the TV show Malibu U