The Doors – Light My Fire (Live in Hollywood Bowl 1968 HD)

“Light My Fire” recorded live on July 5, 1968, at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles.

“Light My Fire” – Single by the Doors from the album The Doors
B-side “The Crystal Ship”
Released January 4, 1967 (album), April 24, 1967 (single)
Length 7:06 (album version), 2:52 (single version)
Label Elektra
Songwriters Jim Morrison, Robby Krieger, John Densmore, Ray Manzarek
Producer Paul A. Rothchild

Most of “Light My Fire” was written by Doors guitarist Robby Krieger, who wanted to write about one of the elements: fire, air, earth, and water. He recalled to Uncut: “I was living with my parents in Pacific Palisades – I had my amp and SG. I asked Jim, what should I write about? He said, ‘Something universal, which won’t disappear two years from now. Something that people can interpret themselves.’ I said to myself I’d write about the four elements; earth, air, fire, water, I picked fire, as I loved the Stones song, ‘Play With Fire,’ and that’s how that came about.”

Krieger came up with the melody and wrote most of the lyrics, which are about leaving inhibitions behind in flames of passion.

At first, the song had a folk flavor, but it ignited when Jim Morrison wrote the second verse (“our love become a funeral pyre…”) and Ray Manzarek came up with the famous organ intro. Drummer John Densmore also contributed, coming up with the rhythm. Like all Doors songs of this era, the band shared composer credits.

This became The Doors’ signature song. Included on their first album, it was a huge hit and launched them to stardom. Before it was released, The Doors were an underground band popular in the Los Angeles area, but “Light My Fire” got the attention of a mass audience.

The band started playing the song in performances in April 1966, and extended it with a jazzy improvisation. When the Doors performed the song at live concerts, Manzarek played the song’s bass line with his left hand on a Fender Rhodes Piano Bass, while performing the main keyboard lines on a Vox Continental using his right hand. When they came to record the song later in the year, producer Paul A. Rothchild brought in session musician Larry Knechtel to overdub a Fender Precision Bass guitar to double the keyboard bass line. Rothchild also suggested that the recording repeat the introductory motif at the end of the track.

To many fans, the single edit was an abomination, and many DJs played the album version once the song took off.

The producers of The Ed Sullivan Show asked the band to change the line “Girl we couldn’t get much higher” for their appearance in 1967. Morrison said he would, but sang it anyway. Afterwards, he told Sullivan that he was nervous and simply forgot to change the line. This didn’t fly, and The Doors were never invited back.

This was the first rock song to feature both a guitar and keyboard in the instrumental section.

The house on Alma Real Drive where Robby Krieger wrote Light My Fire was destroyed in the wildfires which devastated the Pacific Palisades in January 2025.