Break on Through (To the Other Side)
Encyclopedia
"Break on Through" is a song by The Doors
from their debut album, The Doors
. It was the first single released by the band and was unsuccessful compared to later hits, reaching only #126 in the United States
. Despite this, it remains one of the band's signature and most popular songs and became a concert staple.
Twenty-four years after its original US release, "Break on Through" became a minor hit in the UK, peaking at #64 in the singles chart.
' censors objected to the drug use implied by the line "she gets high", which is repeated in the middle section of the song (after the line "everybody loves my baby"). The original album version and all reissues until the 1990s have the word "high" deleted, with Morrison singing "she gets" four times before a final wail. Live versions and more recent, remastered releases have the full line portion restored.
and quite fast-paced, the tune being similar to that of blues
guitarist Elmore James
' "Stranger Blues".
The piece begins with a jazz-flavored drum groove similar to the opening phrases played by Billy Higgins
on Dexter Gordon
's "Soy Califa," in which a clave
pattern is played as a rim click underneath a driving ride cymbal pattern. John Densmore appreciated the new (at the time) bossa nova
craze coming from Brazil, so he decided to use it in the song.
It is then joined in by a disjointed quirky solo on the organ
quite similar to introduction of Ray Charles
' "What'd I Say
", which has a few intentional misplaced notes in it, while the bass-line, similar to a typical bass line used in bossa nova, continues almost unhindered all of the way through the song.
Robby's guitar riff initially came from the Paul Butterfield
cover of Elmore James
' song "Shake Your Money Maker". He changed around some of the notes, as well as the beat and came up with the guitar for the song.
covered the song for The Doors tribute album Stoned Immaculate
. Mexican hard rock band La Cuca has done a cover as a hidden track
in their album La Racha
.
When the Doors were featured on an episode of VH1 Storytellers
, various guest singers filled in for Jim Morrison
. Stone Temple Pilots lead singer Scott Weiland
filled in and sang "Break on Through", along with the song he said inspired him to rock, "Five to One
".
Serbian rock
band Night Shift
covered the song in 2002 on their debut album Undercovers
.
The Doors
The Doors were an American rock band formed in 1965 in Los Angeles, California, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, drummer John Densmore, and guitarist Robby Krieger...
from their debut album, The Doors
The Doors (album)
The Doors is the debut album by the American rock band The Doors, recorded in August 1966 and released in January 1967. It was originally released in significantly different stereo and mono mixes...
. It was the first single released by the band and was unsuccessful compared to later hits, reaching only #126 in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Despite this, it remains one of the band's signature and most popular songs and became a concert staple.
Twenty-four years after its original US release, "Break on Through" became a minor hit in the UK, peaking at #64 in the singles chart.
Overview
The song also appears as track one on the band's debut album. Elektra RecordsElektra Records
Elektra Records is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group. In 2004, it was consolidated into WMG's Atlantic Records Group. After five years of dormancy, the label was revived by Atlantic in 2009....
' censors objected to the drug use implied by the line "she gets high", which is repeated in the middle section of the song (after the line "everybody loves my baby"). The original album version and all reissues until the 1990s have the word "high" deleted, with Morrison singing "she gets" four times before a final wail. Live versions and more recent, remastered releases have the full line portion restored.
Musical Structure and Composition
The song is in 4/4 timeTime signature
The time signature is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats are in each measure and which note value constitutes one beat....
and quite fast-paced, the tune being similar to that of blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
guitarist Elmore James
Elmore James
Elmore James was an American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter and band leader. He was known as "the King of the Slide Guitar" and had a unique guitar style, noted for his use of loud amplification and his stirring voice.-Biography:James was born Elmore Brooks in the old Richland community in...
' "Stranger Blues".
The piece begins with a jazz-flavored drum groove similar to the opening phrases played by Billy Higgins
Billy Higgins
Billy Higgins was an American jazz drummer. He played mainly free jazz and hard bop.Higgins was born in Los Angeles, California. Higgins played on Ornette Coleman's first records, beginning in 1958...
on Dexter Gordon
Dexter Gordon
Dexter Gordon was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and an Academy Award-nominated actor . He is regarded as one of the first and most important musicians to adapt the bebop musical language of people like Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, and Bud Powell to the tenor saxophone...
's "Soy Califa," in which a clave
Clave (rhythm)
The clave rhythmic pattern is used as a tool for temporal organization in Afro-Cuban music, such as rumba, conga de comparsa, son, son montuno, mambo, salsa, Latin jazz, songo and timba. The five-stroke clave pattern represents the structural core of many Afro-Cuban rhythms...
pattern is played as a rim click underneath a driving ride cymbal pattern. John Densmore appreciated the new (at the time) bossa nova
Bossa nova
Bossa nova is a style of Brazilian music. Bossa nova acquired a large following in the 1960s, initially consisting of young musicians and college students...
craze coming from Brazil, so he decided to use it in the song.
It is then joined in by a disjointed quirky solo on the organ
Organ (music)
The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
quite similar to introduction of Ray Charles
Ray Charles
Ray Charles Robinson , known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records...
' "What'd I Say
What'd I Say
According to Charles' autobiography, "What'd I Say" was accidental when he improvised it to fill time at the end of a concert in December 1958. He asserts that he never tested songs on audiences before recording them, but "What'd I Say" is an exception...
", which has a few intentional misplaced notes in it, while the bass-line, similar to a typical bass line used in bossa nova, continues almost unhindered all of the way through the song.
Robby's guitar riff initially came from the Paul Butterfield
Paul Butterfield
Paul Butterfield was an American blues vocalist and harmonica player, who founded the Paul Butterfield Blues Band in the early 1960s and performed at the original Woodstock Festival...
cover of Elmore James
Elmore James
Elmore James was an American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter and band leader. He was known as "the King of the Slide Guitar" and had a unique guitar style, noted for his use of loud amplification and his stirring voice.-Biography:James was born Elmore Brooks in the old Richland community in...
' song "Shake Your Money Maker". He changed around some of the notes, as well as the beat and came up with the guitar for the song.
Covers
Stone Temple PilotsStone Temple Pilots
Stone Temple Pilots is an American rock band from San Diego, California that consists of Scott Weiland , brothers Robert DeLeo and Dean DeLeo , and Eric Kretz ....
covered the song for The Doors tribute album Stoned Immaculate
Stoned Immaculate: The Music of the Doors
Stoned Immaculate: The Music of The Doors is a tribute album dedicated to The Doors. Producer Ralph Sall gathered an assortment of new, classic and iconic artists for the record. Unusually, the surviving members of The Doors played on this "tribute" record. In addition, recordings of Jim Morrison...
. Mexican hard rock band La Cuca has done a cover as a hidden track
Hidden track
In the field of recorded music, a hidden track is a piece of music that has been placed on a CD, audio cassette, vinyl record or other recorded medium in such a way as to avoid detection by the casual listener...
in their album La Racha
La Racha
La Racha is Cuca's third album recorded in 1995 in Zurich, Switzerland. Cuca is a Mexican hard rock band originally from Guadalajara, Jalisco.In this production, Jose Fors withdraws from the band to devote himself fully to painting...
.
When the Doors were featured on an episode of VH1 Storytellers
VH1 Storytellers
Storytellers is a television music series produced by the VH1 network.In each episode artists perform in front of a live audience, and tell stories about their music, writing experiences and memories, somewhat similar to MTV Unplugged...
, various guest singers filled in for Jim Morrison
Jim Morrison
James Douglas "Jim" Morrison was an American musician, singer, and poet, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the rock band The Doors...
. Stone Temple Pilots lead singer Scott Weiland
Scott Weiland
Scott Weiland is an American musician, lyricist, and vocalist, most notable for his work with Grammy Award-winning rock band Stone Temple Pilots. Weiland is also known for his five-year career with supergroup Velvet Revolver as well as his own solo career...
filled in and sang "Break on Through", along with the song he said inspired him to rock, "Five to One
Five To One
"Five to One" is a song by The Doors, from their 1968 album Waiting for the Sun.-Origin:"Five to one" is rumored to be the approximate ratio of whites to blacks, old to young, or non-pot smokers to pot smokers in the US in 1967, depending on whom you ask. A further urban legend has it as the ratio...
".
Serbian rock
Serbian rock
Serbian rock is the rock music scene of Serbia. During the 1960s, 1970s and the 1980s, while Serbia was a constituent republic of Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Serbian rock scene was a part of the SFR Yugoslav rock scene....
band Night Shift
Night Shift (band)
- Underground years :The band was formed in 1991, by the Šćepanović brothers, Milan and Danijel , with their friend Marko Dacić . The official date of the band formation was chosen to be January 11, 1991, when the trio had their first live performance...
covered the song in 2002 on their debut album Undercovers
Undercovers (Night Shift album)
- Night Shift :* Milan Šćepanović * Danijel Šćepanović * Marko Dacić - Additional personnel :* Mirko Vukomanović * Ivana Pavlović * Dejan Cukić - References :...
.
Appearances in media
- In the Oliver StoneOliver StoneWilliam Oliver Stone is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Stone became well known in the late 1980s and the early 1990s for directing a series of films about the Vietnam War, for which he had previously participated as an infantry soldier. His work frequently focuses on...
film, The DoorsThe Doors (film)The Doors is a 1991 biopic about the 1960s-1970s rock band of the same name which emphasizes the life of its lead singer, Jim Morrison. It was directed by Oliver Stone, and stars Val Kilmer as Morrison, Meg Ryan as Pamela Courson , Kyle MacLachlan as Ray Manzarek, Frank Whaley as Robby Krieger,...
, the song is performed three times; first in Ray Manzarek's home, then it's performed live during the band's early days at the London FogLondon Fog (nightclub)The London Fog was a 1960s nightclub located on the Sunset Strip in what was then unincorporated Los Angeles County, California...
, and later in the film at the infamous Miami concert, immediately after Jim exposes himself to the audience and is parading through the crowd to evade the police. The third and final performance is paired with "Dead Cats, Dead Rats", which was often coupled with the song when the band performed it live. - The song is heard in the 1994 film Forrest GumpForrest GumpForrest Gump is a 1994 American epic comedy-drama romance film based on the 1986 novel of the same name by Winston Groom. The film was directed by Robert Zemeckis, starring Tom Hanks, Robin Wright and Gary Sinise...
(along with "Hello, I Love YouHello, I Love You"Hello, I Love You" is a song by The Doors from their 1968 album Waiting for the Sun. It was released as a single that same year, reaching number one in the United States and selling over a million copies in the U.S. alone. In Canada, it hit number one as well...
" and "People Are StrangePeople Are Strange"People Are Strange" is a single released by The Doors in September 1967 from their second album Strange Days which was also released in September 1967. The single peaked at the #12 position of the U.S. Hot 100 chart and made it to the top ten in the Cash Box charts...
") as Forrest takes up ping pong during his tour in VietnamVietnam WarThe Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. "Love Her MadlyLove Her Madly"Love Her Madly" is a song by The Doors, which was released in March 1971. Composed by guitarist Robby Krieger, it served as the lead single from L.A. Woman, their final album with frontman Jim Morrison. Session musician and Elvis Presly TCB Band touring member Jerry Scheff, played bass guitar on...
" and "Soul KitchenSoul Kitchen (song)"Soul Kitchen" is a song by The Doors from their self titled debut album The Doors. It runs 3 minutes and 35 seconds.The punk band X made it a cover at 1980 for their debut album...
" are also featured in the movie - Appears in the video game Tony Hawk's Underground 2Tony Hawk's Underground 2Tony Hawk's Underground 2, also known as THUG 2, is the sixth installment in Neversoft's Tony Hawk's Series and sequel to Tony Hawk's Underground. Tony Hawk's Underground 2 was released on October 4, 2004 for the PlayStation 2, GameCube, Xbox, PC, and Game Boy Advance platforms...
. - Featured on one of the trailers for Disney/Pixar's film Monsters Inc..
- Featured in the trailer for the 2008 film 2121 (2008 film)21 is a 2008 drama film directed by Australian director Robert Luketic and stars Jim Sturgess, Kevin Spacey, Laurence Fishburne, Kate Bosworth, Liza Lapira, Jacob Pitts, and Aaron Yoo. The film is inspired by the true story of the MIT Blackjack Team as told in Bringing Down the House, the...
. - A remixed version of the song is featured in the video game Burnout RevengeBurnout RevengeBurnout Revenge is the fourth video game in the Burnout series of racing games, released for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox on September 13, 2005 and Xbox 360 on March 7, 2006, alongside the PlayStation Portable and Nintendo DS title Burnout Legends....
. It was remixed by BTBT (musician)Brian Wayne Transeau is a classically trained and Grammy-nominated American music producer, composer, audio technician, multi-instrumentalist, singer and songwriter better known by his stage name, BT. He is an artist in the electronic genre...
and it is 7:08 long. - Featured in the 2005 film JarheadJarhead (film)Jarhead is a 2005 biographical drama war film based on U.S. Marine Anthony Swofford's 1991 Gulf War memoir of the same name, directed by Sam Mendes, starring Jake Gyllenhaal as Swofford with co-stars Jamie Foxx, Peter Sarsgaard, and Chris Cooper. The title comes from the slang term used to refer to...
. - Featured on The SimpsonsThe SimpsonsThe Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
during a 4th Season episodeI Love Lisa"I Love Lisa" is the fifteenth episode of The Simpsons fourth season, and originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 11, 1993. In the episode, Lisa gives Ralph Wiggum a Valentine's Day card when she sees that he has not received any. Ralph reads too much into Lisa's...
when Krusty sings during a flashback to 1973. - The song is used in the music/rhythm game Rock Band 3Rock Band 3Rock Band 3 is a music video game, developed by Harmonix Music Systems. The game was initially published and distributed by MTV Games and Electronic Arts, respectively, with Mad Catz taking over both roles a year later. It is the third main game in the Rock Band series...
, with the song being featured in the opening cinematic. - Performed by artist Travis MeeksTravis MeeksTravis Shane Meeks , is an American musician, and is the lead singer, guitarist and song writer for acoustic rock band Days of the New.-Early life and career:...
in November 2002 after performing with The Doors on Stoned Immaculate: The Music of the DoorsStoned Immaculate: The Music of the DoorsStoned Immaculate: The Music of The Doors is a tribute album dedicated to The Doors. Producer Ralph Sall gathered an assortment of new, classic and iconic artists for the record. Unusually, the surviving members of The Doors played on this "tribute" record. In addition, recordings of Jim Morrison...
(contributing vocals to "L.A. Woman" and "The End")