Weekday Ramble #131: Classic Doors Flops

The Weekday Ramble is a daily dose of sports, music, culture, and more from Rambling On founder Erik Ritland. For more information check us out on Reddit, Twitter, Facebook, or at our website.


Friday July 3, 2015
Today is the 44th anniversary of the death of Jim Morrison. We’re celebrating at Rambling On by highlighting three Doors singles that, although great songs, flopped on the charts.

Break on Through
from the 1967 album The Doors

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Yes, one of the most popular songs in the Doors catalog was a flop, only reaching #126 on the Billboard charts. “Light My Fire,” which was released shortly after, shot to #1 though. Listen to “Break on Through” like it’s the first time you’ve ever heard it and you’ll understand it’s power. Its blues energy is underrated.

Tell all the People
from the 1969 album The Soft Parade

Three singles were pulled from the Doors 1969 effort The Soft Parade and none of them made a dent in the charts: “Wishful Sinful” (#44), “Tell all the People” (#57), and “Runnin’ Blue” (#64). Weird single choices, as the album featured classic “Touch Me” and one of the best riffs in the Doors catalog, “Wild Child.”  Alas, “Tell all the People” is the best of the bunch that were released, its horns and feel unique for the Doors.

You Make Me Real
from the 1970 album Morrison Hotel

Even more surprising is that this was the only single culled from Morrison Hotel, an album that also contained “Roadhouse Blues” (relegated to the b-side of “You Make Me Real”), “Waiting for the Sun,” and “Peace Frog.” It’s a fun, rollicking song, but far from the obvious choice as a single. It stalled at #50.

Erik Ritland is a writer and musician from St. Paul, Minnesota. His blog and podcast Rambling On features commentary on music, sports, culture, and more. He was also Lead Staff Writer for Minnesota culture blog Curious North. Support Erik's music via his Patreon account, reach him via email, or find him on Facebook and Twitter.