How the Doors got started

The Doors were formed in 1965 in Los Angeles, California. Jim Morrison andRay Manzarek had known each other at UCLA where they majored in film. Inthe summer of 1965, Manzarek was on the beach in Venice when Morrison camewalking toward him. Jim sat down and the two them started talking about whatthey had been doing during the summer. Jim said he had been writing some songs.Ray asked him to sing one of them. Jim sang a few lines from Moonlight Drive.Ray was very impressed with the lyrics and suggested the two of them form arock band. Jim said that that was his idea all along.The very first line-up of the band consisted of Jim Morrison and Ray Manzarek,along with Ray's two brothers, Rick and Jim. There was no bass player orregular drummer. They just hired whomever they could whenever they landed agig. Then Ray met John Densmore at the Third Street Meditation center in LosAngeles. Ray and John were both disciples of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi who openedthe center in 1965. Ray invited John to join the group and be their regulardrummer. In late 1965, Rick and Jim Manzarek quit the band as they seemed tobe on a fast road to nowhere. They had shopped a demo tape around with little interest until Billy James at Columbia Records signed them to a deal.However once signed, Columbia did not show much interest in actually developingthe band. On top of all this, they now had to replace Rick Manzarek who hadbeen their guitar player. Ray remembered another guy at the Meditation center who was a guitar player. Hewas a friend of John Densmore, named Robby Krieger. When Robby went to auditionfor The Doors he fit right in. Like the last piece of a jigsaw puzzle, the band was now complete. Ray Manzarek, John Densmore, Robby Krieger and JimMorrison were now, The Doors.