Written and recorded for their self-titled, 1967 album, “Break On Through (To the Other Side)” by The Doors would become the first single released by the legendary rock band.
All of the members of the band contributed as songwriters to the track that ended up on the studio album. The iconic guitar riff was inspired by riff in the Paul Butterfield Blues Band’s cover of the song “Shake Your Moneymaker.” Other inspiration for the song included “What I’d Say” by Ray Charles and “One Two Brown Eyes” by Them.
Originally, the lyrics of the song included the repeated refrain, “She gets high!” However, because of the drug associations and other controversy, the producer of the song, Paul A. Rothchild, opted to remove the word “high” in the final mix leaving it instead as just “She get!” The band wasn’t thrilled with the change, but ultimately agreed to leave it as is. In 1999, the song was remastered and “high” was re-added for the rerelease.
“Break On Through (To the Other Side)” was released as the first single by The Doors on New Year’s Day in 1967. The song peaked at 126 on the charts in the United States. Despite this, the song went on to be considered a staple of the band’s and became a consistent track on their live performance set lists.
As a debut, “Break On Through (To the Other Side)” was commended by critics and well received. Billboardcalled it a “powerful debut” and an “excitement filled rocker.” The song has gone on to be considered one of the group’s best. The Guardianranked it number two on the best songs by The Doors of all time.
In 2012, “Break on Through (To the Other Side)” was one of the tracks picked by NASA to play on Mars during a mission.
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