"Gloria" by The Doors

Song#:  1712
Date:  12/03/1983
Debut:  86
Peak:  71
Weeks:  7
Genre:  Rock



Pop Bits:  This controversial band had a run of successful singles and albums beginning in 1967. That all came to an end when charismatic front man Jim Morrison suddenly died in 1971. The band would release a couple of albums after Morrison's death, but his legend would greatly overshadow those releases and in 1973 the band would split. By the end of the 70s, a new generation of music fans were not necessarily familiar with The Doors. An introduction came via the 1979 Francis Ford Coppola film Apocalypse Now. A song from The Doors' self-titled debut album, "The End," was featured prominently in the film and interest in the band grew. It led to a new Greatest Hits package being released, which reached #17 in 1980. Having been rediscovered by a new set of fans, there was hunger for something new from the Morrison-era Doors. The band's label, Elektra, decided to scour the archives for something they could release. They settled on some live, unreleased tracks from various concerts over the years and created the LP Alive, She Cried. This track came from a sound check done at the Aquarius Theater in Los Angeles prior to a concert in 1969. It was edited and issued as a single to promote the album and it reached #18 on the Rock chart. It crossed over to Pop and spend a few weeks roaming around. Surprisingly, the song also got to #18 on the Dance chart. The album would reach #23 and be a gold seller. The band would remain popular over the years with other compilations and live albums being issued. Their most successful LP came in 1985 when the two-disc compilation, The Best of The Doors would get issued. Although it would only peak at #32, over time the album would eventually sell over 10 million copies.

ReduxReview:  I got into The Doors when I was in high school, courtesy of my best friend. The way she discovered the band was just by chance and it turned into a famous story among our group of friends. When listening to the radio on the way to her sister's house one day, she heard the song "Riders on the Storm." She thought it was the coolest song ever and the DJ announced it was by The Doors. When she got to her sister's (who was almost a decade older than us), she said, "I just heard the coolest song! It's by a new group called The Doors!" Her sister just looked at her and laughed and then proceeded to go grab one of her Doors albums. We still laugh about that brand new group called The Doors. We got hooked on the band with "Riders" remaining our favorite track. As for this one, it's an interesting cover that fits the band well. But besides Morrison's horny delivery there's not much else going on here. It's a fun leftover, but I'd rather listen to their classic tracks.

ReduxRating:  5/10

Trivia:  This song was not written by the band. It was a cover of a song written by another Morrison - Van. Van Morrison's band, Them, first recorded the tune in 1964. The garage rock classic was issued as a single and reached #93 in 1965. The song got a second wind the following year and ended up getting to #71 (the same peak as The Doors' cover). The song may have gotten further on the chart, but prominent radio station WLS in Chicago banned the song due to the line "she comes to my room, then she made me feel alright." The considered it too risque and wouldn't play the record. Another garage rock band, The Shadows of Night, recorded the song and changed the controversial line to "she called out my name, that made me feel alright." It was issued as a single and the change helped the band get airplay. In 1966, their version reached #10 on the Pop chart.

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