An American Prayer is album by Jim Morrison with music added by The Doors. In 1978, seven years after lead singer Jim Morrison died and five years after the remaining members of the band broke up, Ray Manzarek, Robby Krieger, and John Densmore reunited and recorded backing tracks over Morrison's poetry (originally recorded in 1969 and 1970). Other pieces of music and spoken word recorded by the Doors and Morrison were also used in the audio collage, such as dialogue from Morrison's film HWY and snippets from jam sessions.
This documentary in the Classic Albums series takes an in-depth look at the album, with commentary from Bruce Botnick, who worked on the album, and the three remaining Doors–guitarist Robbie Krieger, keyboard player Ray Manzarek, and drummer John Densmore…
In 1968, as the Vietnam war raged and the world responded with political turbulence, the Doors made a live appearance at the Roundhouse in London. Captured here are dramatic performances of songs that convey the band's strong messages about the war, such as a powerfully effecting rendition of "Unknown Soldier." While the music plays, the presentation cuts from the live onstage action to display rows of soldiers' graves in a cemetery that looks like Arlington National. Back in the club, Jim Morrison writhes in his tight leather pants and white poet's shirt, flinging his curls and dancing to extended versions of "When the Music's Over," "Five to One," and "Spanish Caravan." The cinematography, in black and white grainy stock, takes care to spotlight each of the band members, not the audience, making this live show seem especially intimate…
The Doors were an American rock band formed in 1965 in Los Angeles, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger, and John Densmore on drums. The band got its name, at Morrison's suggestion from the title of Aldous Huxley's book The Doors of Perception, which itself was a reference to a quote made by William Blake, "If the doors of perception were cleansed, everything would appear to man as it is, infinite." They were unique and among the most controversial and influential rock acts of the 1960s, mostly because of Morrison's lyrics and charismatic but unpredictable stage persona…
The Doors, one of the most influential and controversial rock bands of the 1960s, were formed in Los Angeles in 1965 by UCLA film students Ray Manzarek, keyboards, and Jim Morrison, vocals; with drummer John Densmore and guitarist Robby Krieger. The group never added a bass player, and their sound was dominated by Manzarek's electric organ work and Morrison's deep, sonorous voice, with which he sang and intoned his highly poetic lyrics…