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L.A. Woman (song)

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"L.A. Woman"
Morrison's handwritten original lyrics
Song by the Doors
from the album L.A. Woman
ReleasedApril 19, 1971 (1971-04-19)
RecordedDecember 1970 – January 1971
StudioThe Doors' Workshop, Los Angeles
GenreBlues rock[1]
Length7:49
LabelElektra
Songwriter(s)The Doors[2]
Producer(s)

"L.A. Woman" is a song by the American rock band the Doors. The song is the title track of their 1971 album L.A. Woman, the final album to feature Jim Morrison before his death on July 3, 1971. In 2014, LA Weekly named it the all-time best song written about the city of Los Angeles.[3]

In 1985, fourteen years after Morrison's death, Ray Manzarek directed[4] and Rick Schmidlin produced a music video for the song. It was aired on MTV and included in the Doors film Dance on Fire.[5]

Band guitarist Robby Krieger has repeatedly cited "L.A. Woman" as the "quintessential Doors song".[6][7][8] In 2013, it was labeled the 40th best classic-rock song by the New York radio station Q104.3.[9]

Lyrics

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"L.A. Woman" has been viewed as Morrison's "final goodbye" to Los Angeles, before his move to Paris, France.[10] The song's lyrics draw inspiration from John Rechy's transgressive novel City of Night, published in 1963,[11][12] while its title is expressed as a metaphor, personifying L.A. (Los Angeles) as a woman.[4] In author Melissa Ursula Dawn Goldsmith's description, it is also used to describe the city's topography and atmosphere.[13]

In the bridge, Morrison repeats the phrase "Mr. Mojo Risin'," which is an anagram of his name "Jim Morrison".[14] Doors drummer John Densmore later explained the story of the line:

After we recorded the song, he wrote "Mr. Mojo Rising" on a board and said, "Look at this." He moves the letters around and it was an anagram for his name. I knew that mojo was a sexual term from the blues, and that gave me the idea to go slow and dark with the tempo. It also gave me the idea to slowly speed it up like an orgasm.[15]

A yellow sheet of lined A4 paper with the lyrics of the track, handwritten by Morrison, was auctioned in Berkshire, UK for £13,000 on August 4, 2009.[16]

Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[17] Platinum 1,000,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Personnel

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The Doors

Additional musicians

Billy Idol version

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"L.A. Woman"
Single by Billy Idol
from the album Charmed Life
B-side"License to Thrill"
ReleasedJuly 23, 1990[20]
Length
  • 5:29 (album version)
  • 3:58 (single edit)
LabelChrysalis
Songwriter(s)The Doors
Producer(s)Keith Forsey
Billy Idol singles chronology
"Cradle of Love"
(1990) 		"L.A. Woman"
(1990) 		"Prodigal Blues"
(1990)
"L.A. Woman" on YouTube

English singer Billy Idol recorded a version of "L.A. Woman" for his fourth studio album Charmed Life (1990). As the album's second single, Idol's version reached number 52 on the Billboard Hot 100 in October 1990.[21] The song's music video was directed by David Fincher and received heavy rotation on MTV.[22][23]

The Doors and Jim Morrison were an influence on Idol during his early years in the music industry.[24] In a 1990 interview with the Associated Press, Idol commented on his interpretation of the song in comparison to the Doors' original, "Jim Morrison was singing about America or L.A. as a microcosm of an America he was very jaded with, really, to the extent that he left it go to Europe, whereas I'm the other way around. I'm still having a bit of a love affair with America and so it's exciting to be the 'lost angel'."[25]

Charts

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Weekly chart performance for Billy Idol's cover
Chart (1990) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[26] 34
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[27] 40
Ireland (IRMA)[28] 28
Italy (Musica e dischi)[29] 17
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[30] 25
UK Singles (OCC)[31] 70
US Billboard Hot 100[32] 52
US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[33] 18
US Radio Songs (Billboard)[34] 99
US Cash Box Top 100 Singles[35] 46

References

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  1. ^ Brodsky, Greg. "11 Classic Rock Driving Songs: Reader Favorites". Best Classic Bands. Retrieved March 28, 2021.
  2. ^ a b Botnick, Bruce (2007). L.A. Woman (40th Anniversary edition CD booklet). The Doors. Rhino Records. R2-101155.
  3. ^ "The 20 Best Songs Ever Written About L.A." LA Weekly. October 15, 2014. Retrieved June 19, 2019.
  4. ^ a b Mr. Mojo Risin': The Story of L.A. Woman Q&A and Performance. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved August 19, 2020 – via YouTube.
  5. ^ "The Doors: The Soft Parade – A Retrospective (1991)". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. 2012. Archived from the original on November 2, 2012. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
  6. ^ Ivie, Devon (September 28, 2021). "The Greatest and Trippiest of the Doors, According to Robby Krieger". Vulture.com. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
  7. ^ a b c The Doors (2011). Mr. Mojo Risin': The Story of L.A. Woman. Eagle Rock Entertainment. Event occurs at 26:45–33:44.
  8. ^ Smith, Rob (April 19, 2021). "The Doors' L.A. Woman: The Story Behind Each Track". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
  9. ^ "The Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time: Dirty Dozenth Edition". Q1043.com. p. 2. Archived from the original on December 14, 2013. Retrieved June 15, 2022.
  10. ^ Riordan, James; Prochnicky, Jerry (October 30, 1992). Break on Through: The Life and Death of Jim Morrison. HarperCollins. pp. 429–430. ISBN 978-0-688-11915-7.
  11. ^ Allen, Jim (19 April 2016). "The Story Behind the Songs of the Doors' Last Hurrah, L.A. Woman". Ultimate Classic Rock.
  12. ^ Inman, Davis (February 20, 2012). "The Doors, "L.A. Woman"". American Songwriter. Archived from the original on November 7, 2019. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
  13. ^ Goldsmith, Melissa Ursula Dawn (2019). Listen to Classic Rock! Exploring a Musical Genre. ABC-CLIO. p. 95. ISBN 978-1440865787.
  14. ^ "Mr Mojo Risin'". BBC Radio 2. June 29, 2011. Retrieved April 8, 2014.
  15. ^ Weiss, Jeff (January 19, 2012). "L.A. Woman: Track List". LA Weekly. Retrieved February 13, 2021.
  16. ^ "Jim Morrison's lyrics open The Doors at auction for $20,700". Paulfrasercollectibles.com. Archived from the original on March 18, 2012. Retrieved September 4, 2014.
  17. ^ "American single certifications – The Doors – L.A. Woman". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved November 21, 2024.
  18. ^ Gerstenmeyer, Heinz (2001). The Doors - Sounds for Your Soul - Die Musik Der Doors (in German). BoD – Books on Demand. p. 165. ISBN 978-3-8311-2057-4.
  19. ^ Planer, Lindsay. "The Doors – 'L.A. Woman' Review". AllMusic. Retrieved July 10, 2022.
  20. ^ Smith, Robin (21 July 1990). "This Week - The Next Seven Days in View". Record Mirror. p. 28. ISSN 0144-5804.
  21. ^ "Billy Idol Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved March 13, 2022.
  22. ^ Kiang, Jessica (September 29, 2014). "Best to Worst: David Fincher's complete music videography ranked". IndieWire. Retrieved March 13, 2022.
  23. ^ "The Clip List" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 102, no. 36. September 8, 1990. p. 54. Retrieved March 13, 2022 – via World Radio History.
  24. ^ Leas, Ryan (September 16, 2021). "We've Got a File on You: Billy Idol". Stereogum. Retrieved March 13, 2022.
  25. ^ Billik, Kira L. (September 24, 1990). "'Charmed Life' for ex-punk". Centre Daily Times. p. 6B. Retrieved March 13, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  26. ^ "Billy Idol – L.A. Woman". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved March 13, 2022.
  27. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 1286." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved March 13, 2022.
  28. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – L.A. Woman". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved March 13, 2022.
  29. ^ "Classifiche". Musica e dischi (in Italian). Retrieved May 31, 2022. Set "Tipo" on "Singoli". Then, in the "Artista" field, search "Billy Idol".
  30. ^ "Billy Idol – L.A. Woman". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved March 13, 2022.
  31. ^ "Billy Idol: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 13, 2022.
  32. ^ "Billy Idol Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved March 13, 2022.
  33. ^ "Concrete Blonde Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved March 13, 2022.
  34. ^ "Concrete Blonde Chart History (Radio Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved March 13, 2022.
  35. ^ Downey, Pat; Albert, George; Hoffman, Frank (1994). Cash Box Pop Singles Charts, 1950-1993. Englewood, Colorado: Libraries Unlimited, Inc. p. 164. ISBN 1563083167. Retrieved March 13, 2022.
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