The legendary late 1960’s group The Doors, who influenced so many people with its messages of open-mindedness, political cognizance, and peace, was established in Los Angeles. Consequently, it was lumped in with the West Coast rock scene of that period. An incredibly unified collective is present and making music on Doors vinyl records, and it may seem that the members grew up knowing each other. Little does the typical listener guess, though, that these gents were from diverse regions of the country and had unique backgrounds.

A man who a great number of people may see as an L.A. native, lead vocalist Jim Morrison was in reality born in Melbourne, Florida. He lived his childhood moving from place to place, because of his father’s naval service, and was very interested in writing and poetry from throughout time from a young age, which moved him to write poetry and music himself.

Chicago was keyboard player Ray Manzarek’s place of birth. An aspiring lawyer, he ended up dropping out of U.C.L.A.’s law division, then tried out their film school, before he finally went in a separate direction altogether. He chose to become a performer after he recognized that his childhood infatuation with boogie-style piano players was more than only a passing fancy, and he actually felt a real bond with music.

The Upper Atlantic state of Maine was percussionist John Densmore’s kidhood home. He was taught mostly in a jazz style of music, had been interested for some time in Eastern mysticism, and was extremely environmentally mindful for almost all of his life.

The only actual Los Angeles native was guitar man Robby Krieger. He surfed continually all through his adolescence, and had started to play songs at 10 years old when he gave the trumpet a shot. He went on to perform blues on the piano, then graduated to guitar, on which he dabbled in several distinct styles before settling into rock in his late teens.

The men in The Doors, even in view of their separate upbringings, were much the same as each other in some ways. They had all happened upon and been influenced by things remote from most Americans’ regular experiences. Manzarek had wished to make careers out of several quite different areas of study. Krieger’s voyage through music gave him a greater total view of the auditory arts, and his trips into the waves aided him in viewing the world from a different angle. Densmore acquainted himself with the spiritual world and elements of pre-technological life with his interest in mysticism and the natural world, respectively. Morrison’s preoccupation with writing, in particular philosophical pieces, caused him to question existence and hunt for its elementary truths. The group’s seamless formation and production of hallowed vinyl records was possible because the members all understood each other’s need for an extraordinary life beyond societal norms. Therefore, it is no surprise that they displayed the unity so noticeable in their compositions; they were all, ultimately, kindred spirits.

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