Doors Inducted Into the Ultimate Classic Rock Hall of Fame
The Doors have easily earned induction into the 100-percent fan-voted Ultimate Classic Rock Hall of Fame, brushing aside Jimi Hendrix along the way.
Both came of musical age in the late '60s, helping to define the emerging youth culture -- and both Hendrix and Doors frontman a Jim Morrison tragically ended up in the so-called "27 Club" of musicians who've died far too early. But the similarities didn't carry over into your balloting.
The Doors simply walloped their contemporary Hendrix by a margin of 61-to-39 percent in final round voting to waltz into induction this month. Their victory followed earlier successes over Jeff Beck in the opening round, and then Creedence Clearwater Revival in semi-final voting.
This latest honor recognizes a short, but deeply interesting, career that saw the Doors release six Top 10 platinum studio albums over the span of 1967-71. Their four million-selling 1967 self-titled debut contained the brooding and charismatically intense 'Light My Fire,' which became their signature hit. From there, they continued testing rock's boundaries, experimenting further in acid rock, wild poetic license and brass-driven pop. Unpredictable, and occasionally dangerous, the Doors' influence -- and, clearly, the passion their fans have for them -- has lasted long past their relatively brief time as a working unit.
Induction into the Ultimate Classic Rock Hall of Fame follows the 2013 death of Ray Manzarek, who had battled bile duct cancer. Morrison died in 1971, and the remaining members of the the Doors -- Manzarek plus John Densmore and Robby Krieger -- made two records on their own.
Find Out More About Rock's Tragic '27 Club'
See Yearbook Photos of Jim Morrison and Other Rockers