RIDERS ON THE STORM
Jim Morrison - Robby Krieger - Ray Manzarek - John Densmore
The second single from the album L.A. WOMAN. Chart: #14. Time - 5:00; 7:11.
Flip Side: "The Changeling". Released in U.S.A., June 1971.
Recorded at The Doors' Workshop, Los Angeles, California, USA, December 1970.
Produced by Bruce Botnick, The Doors and Joey Levins.
It is believed that some of the lyrics were inspired by spree killer Billy Cook, who Morrision mentioned in an interview shortly before his death (officially of heart failure, but after a night of heavy drinking after years of alcohol dependency). This would end up being the last song recorded by the classic Doors lin-up as Jim Morrison died and the song entered Billboards Hot 100 the week of his death. -Larry-
Jim Morrison - lead vocals |
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ROBBIE KREIGER - - Classic Rock Revisited
"We were just jamming one day and we were playing "Ghost Riders In The Sky." You know that one? Da dum da dum da dum da dum da dum dum dum dum dum -- kind of aDuane Eddie guitar sound. All of the sudden Jim started singing, ‘Ghost riders in the sky/Riders on the storm.’ It kind of evolved from that. It is kind of the same thing with ghost riders and riders on the storm." When asked if the Doors actually stole the song, Krieger simply smiles and says, "I don't know about that but it was the inspiration!"
RAY MANZAREK
"There is a song called Ghost Riders in the Sky, it's like Mule Train way back ... there was a song! Riders in the Storm is vaguely like Ghost Riders in the Sky, it wasn't going to be called that. But there is a decided relationship between those two songs. If you could ever hear the song, you'd think you know what, it does sound like Riders ...."
BRUCK BOTNICK - 2006 - Mix
"I believe it was one of Jim's poems, and Jim had also come up with the melody as he had on all of his songs. With him it usually wasn't lyrics and then a melody; it all came at once. When he wrote the initial batch of 24 songs [well before The Doors recorded their first album], he sat on the beach with Ray and sang them to him. He wasn't a musician; he just had them in his head. And ‘Riders on the Storm’ came together like that, too, but then, of course, the guys took it from there and heard an arrangement to go with it, and it became quite jazzy as the guys liked to do. The Doors always had one foot in the jazz world and one in the blues world; one in the classical world and another in rock 'n' roll. They were all over the place."
"When we first recorded ‘Riders on the Storm,’ it was a nice, light song. But when we got into mixing it [at Poppy Studios on a Quad Eight board] is when it all came together. I was a nut for sound effects, and I said, ‘I want to try something.’ Elektra Records [The Doors' label] had a bunch of sound effects discs, including one with rain and thunder. I took it off a disc and put it on a stereo tape. Then I just ran the tape in the background while I was mixing because we were already maxed out on tracks. When the [effects] tape ran out, I would just back up the tape somewhere and hit Play again, and then go into record on the stereo [mixdown], and by serendipity, the thunder came where they did; nothing was planned. "
YOU TUBE LYRIC VIDEO YOU TUBE LIVE VIDEO PERFORMANCE Riders on the storm Riders on the storm Into this house we're born Into this world we're thrown Like a dog without a bone An actor out on loan Riders on the storm There's a killer on the road His brain is squirmin' like a toad Take a long holiday Let your children play If you give this man a ride Sweet family will die Killer on the road, yeah Girl you gotta love your man Girl you gotta love your man Take him by the hand Make him understand The world on you depends Our life will never end Gotta love your man, yeah, Wow! Riders on the storm Riders on the storm Into this house we're born Into this world we're thrown Like a dog without a bone An actor out on loan Riders on the storm Riders on the storm X5