Light My Fire

There are those songs that tap into something deeper and Light My Fire is certainly one of them.  That is why it remains a staple on my set list.  It’s a timeless classic that audiences young and old request night after night.  — And I love to give it to them.

The song was originally preformed by The Doors and released in 1967.  It spent three weeks at #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100.  Robby Krieger was the primary writer of the song (the chord progression based on John Coltrane’s version of My Favorite Things).

Legend goes, when performing Light My Fire on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1967, Jim Morrison was asked by the show’s producer to change the line “Girl, we couldn’t get much higher,” due to its reference to drug use.  Morrison agreed to make the change, but then in the live performance, on national TV, Morrison sang the original lyric.  Ed Sullivan refused to shake Morrison’s hand as he left the stage.

So, what is it about this song that scares people?  Is it the lyrics, the notes, Morrison’s stage presence?  From my own experience performing Light My Fire, I find the song to be both liberating and empowering – and at its core it’s a primal song.  Without fire, man would not exist.  Great artists, like Morrison, tap into this sense of survival and allow the song to overtake them – and the audience feels it.  It’s always exciting when you don’t know what’s coming next.

Though there is a structure to Light My Fire, there’s plenty of room for improvisation.  It is in this space and freedom that each performer has the liberty to put their stamp on the song and make it their own.  Enjoy.

This entry was posted by admin on Friday, November 13th, 2009 at 11:58 am and is filed under Las Vegas, Musical Legends, Personal. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response below, or trackback from your own site.

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