Elektra Records Spotlight: The Doors - Break on Through and End of the Night

Break On Through

End Of The Night

Day four of our Elektra Records spotlight has us, perhaps predictably, moving from Love to The Doors. The two bands were closely tied and it was in fact members of Love that first brought The Doors to the attention of Jac Holzman and Paul Rothchild in the Spring of 1966. It would be a fateful introduction for all involved.

It was immediately clear to all that Elektra Records had something bigger on hand than anything they had ever had before. The Doors were the complete package: charisma, sound, musicianship, songwriting skills, willing to tour and work hard. Perhaps sensing they had finally got one over on Columbia and Capitol records, Elektra Records put everything they had into the band including preferential treatment for studio time and marketing dollars. Elektra would give the band a picture sleeve for the debut single and they even filmed the band on stage to make a video to promote the new band. Not exactly a common move in 1967. Meanwhile, the agoraphobic Love would languish in the mountains above Hollywood, literally looking down at a billboard promoting The Doors' inaugural album. Arthur Lee and his band would be left to watch The Doors make the circuit of TV shows promoting their explosive debut single, Break On Through.

The prophetically titled Break On Through, primarily composed by guitarist Robbie Krieger, was released in February of 1967, weeks after the release of the album and seven months after the song was recorded. The Flip-Side of the debut single, End Of The Night, also appeared on the debut album. It's a gentle number that really showcased Robbie Krieger's under appreciated guitar skills.  

Shout out to staff engineer Bruce Botnick and producer Paul Rothchild for elevating these recordings to a new level.