Behind The Song: “Touch Me” | The Doors
Around this time last year, I was a fourth-year English student in the midst of final exam season. Taking on seven classes in order to graduate on time, I wanted to write about something that was close to me yet would be enjoyable to write for my Music Appreciation class final project. I was infatuated with The Doors and Jim Morrison’s inner-poet, but I hadn’t taken a proper dive into their background. Below is the final result: an analysis essay of why I believe “Touch Me” was so brilliant in its execution.
Listen to any playlist curated solely on music from the 1960s and you are sure to come across a song by The Doors, the American rock band best known for their mainstream success in the cultural decade. In what is one of their most recognizable songs, The Doors’ hit song “Touch Me” is featured on the band’s fourth studio album, The Soft Parade, released in 1969. It is perhaps the most starkly unique musical composition that the band has ever written. For the first time, The Doors incorporate extensive brass and string instrumentation into their music, breaking away from their trademark psychedelic rock sound. Fusing together the musical genres of jazz and pop, “Touch Me” notably features some of The Doors’ best work as a band, which is easily discernable in their live performance of the song. The Doors proved their flexibility as musical artists with “Touch Me,” ultimately creating one of the most influential pieces of the 20th century that still remains timeless today.
Formed in 1965, The Doors consist of lead singer Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger, and drummer John Densmore. The band takes its name from a line in English poet William Blake’s book The Marriage of Heaven and Hell, which reads, “if the doors of perception were cleansed everything would appear to man as it is, infinite.” (Blake 26) This demonstrates Morrison’s affinity for poetry and deep fascination with the unknown, which would also later reveal itself lyrically in the band’s music. Moreover, The Doors found their footing in Los Angeles, California, performing in residency at local clubs, until eventually they were signed to Elektra Records and began recording music.
The Doors would release their debut self-titled album just two years after their formation. With their first number-one single being “Light My Fire,” this would solidify the band’s sound as being that of psychedelic rock, integrating a Baroque reminiscent keyboard performance, a jazzy rhythm, and poetic lyrics. Following this newfound success, The Doors almost immediately rose to fame and would continue to have Billboard number-one singles from each of their subsequent albums. However, a lot of the band’s initial success is due to the countercultural movement that America was experiencing in the Sixties. While The Doors were not the only psychedelic rock band popular in the country at the time, their music nonetheless reflects the evolving era of which they were living in.
“...music bad boy Jim Morrison kicked in and opened the ‘doors of perception.”
With America’s involvement in the Vietnam War for several years, a counterculture was increasingly taking over the country in the latter half of the 1960s. Russell Duncan writes, “in the 1960s, the counterculture was composed mainly of teenagers and people in their twenties who believed the Establishment was rotten to the core. This disaffection went to the level of teenage consciousness and into the deepest reservoirs of the self.” (Duncan 152) The large opposition to war among young Americans would in time translate to a general rebellion against authority. This was mainly seen in the way that teenagers and young people grew out their hair, dressed wildly, normalized drug use, and held an ever-increasing appreciation for rock music. Doors lead singer “Jim Morrison is a representative 60s figure precisely because of his self-importance. He stood for the claim that rock became an art form through its pursuit of the extraordinary and the extreme, through the very process of self-indulgence.” (Frith 67) Along with antiwar movements and protests taking place across the country, therein also sprouted the hippie movement and the Summer of Love. In 1967, the same year of The Doors’ release of their debut album, the Summer of Love “was a global event for hippies and youth culture generally and was set to begin on the summer solstice.” (Duncan 161) Together, these events defined America’s new direction in terms of music, fashion, and lifestyles.
With The Doors rising to fame in the midst of this cultural movement, they were perceived as a critical force that endorsed counterculture principles. Duncan, again, writes that “as the upheaval gained momentum, music bad boy Jim Morrison kicked in and opened the ‘doors of perception.’ Morrison covered the Stones’ incendiary Light My Fire (1966/1967) and the transatlantic crossbreeding heightened a generational identification, a shared discourse of youth.” (Duncan 146) Not only were The Doors considered to stand as a representation of this period in American history, but the band themselves were also heavily influenced by current events of the decade. This can be heard in their 1968 album Waiting for the Sun, which features the song “Unknown Soldier.” In this song, The Doors give an almost theatrical performance that conveys a story of an unknown soldier who dies while in combat during the War. The antiwar song also features sounds of military drums, shouted commands, as well as a firing squad – a scene of which the band would dramatically act out in their live performances of the song.
These significant cultural events shaped the course of rock music and would alter the development of this specific genre. It is evident that “apart from the influence of the British invasion, rock in the 1960s also absorbed elements of folk music and dealt with contemporary issues.” (Kamien 410) Because of this, rock music of the time took on a new sound and began experimenting with new instrumentations that would ultimately create new sub-genres of rock. Kamien points out that “the diversity of rock styles is reflected in the many terms that describe the music of this period: fusion, folk rocks, jazz-rock, psychedelic rock, acid rock, art rock.” (Kamien 410) Collectively, this transitional period in rock music is displayed within The Doors’ range of music.
Released in July of 1969, The Doors’ fourth studio album, The Soft Parade, opens with an orchestral arrangement, which can be considered the first indicator of their new musical direction. Following in the same trajectory is the second track on the album, “Touch Me,” which also contains a brass arrangement as well as a string arrangement. These two first songs are a forceful and energetic start to the album, creating a dynamic sound that becomes etched in your mind. As a whole, The Soft Parade is considered to be widely experimental, as the band had not previously incorporated brass or strings in their music. As a result, this album would prove to be one of the most successful albums in the band’s musical career in time.
As a song, “Touch Me” was released as a single and climbed to the third spot on the Billboard charts, which would be their last top ten single. It is known that “since the late 1960s, albums have become the preferred recorded form of popular music for both the industry and the consumer, while singles increasingly have become tied to the album releases.” (Lopes 58) Aside from the achievements the song earned, it is important to understand what exactly renders it to attain the reception it earned.
In terms of instrumentation, the live performance features an orchestral arrangement with 4 trumpets, 4 saxophones, 3 slide trombones, and 4 violins. Kamien writes that “starting in the 1960s, a wide range of instruments not normally associated with popular music was occasionally added to the basic rock group. Rock recordings began to use such diverse sounds as electronic blips, crowd noises, and a symphony orchestra.” (Kamien 414) This is very much true for this experimental song. The chorus melody that encompasses the orchestral backings is outwardly seamless. In the breakdown chorus, only the string section, harpsichord, and vocals can be heard, which reveals the song’s abstraction.
The verse of the song additionally has Doors keyboardist Ray Manzarek simultaneously playing the organ and harpsichord. He plays a climbing key arrangement, creating an ascending effect towards the climax. At the same time, drummer John Densmore keeps a weighty beat that works to ground the song. Ending energetically, the saxophone solo, played by Curtis Amy, reaches high altissimo notes, which is what truly gives the song its powerful ambiance.
For style, “Touch Me” takes a dynamic approach, beginning loud and then fluctuating in degrees of sound thereafter. Additionally, the song has a 4/4 time signature, which Kamien points out that “most rock is based on a very powerful beat in quadruple meter with strong accents on the second and fourth beats of the bar.” (Kamien 414) Meanwhile, the progressions are subtle but ultimately work to move the song along.
“... the grave recitation, framed in flowing hair and dark clothes, playing up to his role as ‘The Lizard King.’ The words themselves are an exercise in grandiloquent poeticism.”
Furthermore, the horn and string instrumentation featured in the song are complimentary to Jim Morrison’s resonant baritone vocals. Kamien notes that “although singing styles vary, they are all different from the crooning sound cultivated by earlier popular vocalists. Rock singers shout, cry, wail, growl, and use guttural sounds.” (Kamien 414) This is especially true for Morrison’s pitch, as he would often sing in a guttural manner, employing that of vibrato in “Touch Me.” Morrison sings the lyrics with a rich emphasis on the vowels, projecting this hard vocal onset. There is a refrain from tenor with Morrison, as his delivery of this song emulates that of a jazz singer.
As mentioned previously, Morrison was a fan of poetry and would incorporate this passion through the medium of music. This can be heard in the poetic lyrics, but more importantly, the vocal delivery that Morrison gives, “on record, the words are articulated in the style of a poem read by a poet, with all attendant stylistic cliches; the grave recitation, framed in flowing hair and dark clothes, playing up to his role as ‘The Lizard King.’ The words themselves are an exercise in grandiloquent poeticism.” (Astor 145) This accurately sums up the habitual poetic nature of The Doors’ lyrics but also highlights the expressiveness of Morrison’s stage presence.
For these reasons, “Touch Me” renders itself as breaking out of the conventional mold that was set for rock music in 1960s America. Although many critics argue that “Touch Me” was wildly experimental in the worst way possible, I feel that the inclusion of the orchestra arrangement provides the song with a fuller and more cohesive sound. There is a sophistication in the use of instrumentation, as well as the unique vocal performance. With the band’s appreciation for jazz, it is obvious that this song is a reflection of this interest – especially heard through the use of a brass section. These elements mingle with one another to generate one of The Doors’ most unconventional, but entrancing songs.
References
Astor, Pete. “The Poetry of Rock: Song Lyrics Are Not Poems but the Words Still Matter; Another Look at Richard Goldstein's Collection of Rock Lyrics.” Popular Music, vol. 29, no. 1, 2010, pp. 143–148.
Blake, William. “The Marriage of Heaven and Hell.” The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Marriage of Heaven And Hell, by William Blake.
Duncan, Russell. “The Summer of Love and Protest: Transatlantic Counterculture in the 1960s.” The Transatlantic Sixties: Europe and the United States in the Counterculture Decade, edited by Grzegorz Kosc et al., Transcript Verlag, Bielefeld, 2013, pp. 144–173.
Frith, Simon. “Rock and the Politics of Memory.” Social Text, no. 9/10, 1984, pp. 59–69.
Kamien, Roger. Music + Connect Access Card: An Appreciation. Mcgraw-Hill Education, 2017.
Lopes, Paul D. “Innovation and Diversity in the Popular Music Industry, 1969 to 1990.” American Sociological Review, vol. 57, no. 1, 1992, pp. 56–71.