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Love Her Madly

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This article is about the song by The Doors. For the Ray Manzarek film and album, see Ray Manzarek.
"Love Her Madly"
Single by the Doors
from the album L.A. Woman
B-side"(You Need Meat) Don't Go No Further"
ReleasedMarch 1971 (1971-03)
RecordedDecember 1970 – January 1971
StudioThe Doors' Workshop, Los Angeles
Genre
Length
  • 3:20 (album version)[2]
  • 2:45 (single version)
LabelElektra
Songwriter(s)The Doors[a]
Producer(s)
The Doors singles chronology
"You Make Me Real"
(1970) 		"Love Her Madly"
(1971) 		"Riders on the Storm"
(1971)

"Love Her Madly" is a song by American rock band the Doors. It was released in March 1971 and was the first single from L.A. Woman, their final album with singer Jim Morrison. "Love Her Madly" became one of the highest-charting hits for the Doors; it peaked at number eleven on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart and reached number three in Canada. Session musician Jerry Scheff played bass guitar on the song.[4]

Cash Box described the song as being "a precision combination of FM and top forty potentials."[5] Record World called it a "terrific new rocker."[6]

In 2000, Robby Krieger, Ray Manzarek and drummer John Densmore recorded a new version of "Love Her Madly" with Bo Diddley for the Doors tribute album Stoned Immaculate.

Background

[edit]

Band guitarist Robby Krieger wrote "Love Her Madly" during the period of Jim Morrison's trial in September 1970.[1] He composed the music while experimenting on a twelve string guitar, and he was inspired to write the lyrics from his troubles and fights with his then-girlfriend and later-wife Lynn.[7][8] Ray Manzarek has said that the song's title was taken from Duke Ellington's line "We love you madly", a catchphrase which he used to utter to the audience at the end of his concerts.[7][9]

According to longtime Doors producer Paul A. Rothchild, "Love Her Madly" was the song that instigated his departure from the original L.A. Woman sessions, with Rothchild dismissing the song as "cocktail music."[10][11] Conversely, Krieger has claimed that "Riders on the Storm" was the song to which Rothchild was referring.[12][13] Following Rothchild's departure from the project, the Doors opted to self-produce the album, in association with longtime engineer Bruce Botnick.

The B-side of the single, "You Need Meat (Don't Go No Further)," is the only studio recording released by the Doors during Jim Morrison's tenure with the group to feature a lead vocal by keyboardist Ray Manzarek.[14] It is also one of only three non-album B-sides by the Doors, the other two being "Who Scared You?" (B-side of "Wishful Sinful") and the relatively rare post-Morrison track "Treetrunk" (B-side of "Get Up and Dance"). "(You Need Meat) Don't Go No Further" met its first official album release on the Weird Scenes Inside the Gold Mine compilation, and was subsequently included in the 2006 Perception box and as a bonus track on the 2007 reissue of L.A. Woman.[15][16][2]

Personnel

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The Doors

Additional musicians

Chart history

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Chart (1971) Peak position
Australian Go-Set National Top 60[18] 6
Netherlands[19] 4
Canada RPM Top 100 Singles[20] 3
US Billboard Hot 100[21] 11
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[22] 29
U.S. Cashbox Top 100 Singles[23] 7

Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[24] Platinum 1,000,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

[edit]

Footnotes

  1. ^ Although the album liner notes list the songwriters as each of the individual Doors members,[2] guitarist Robby Krieger has been identified as the song's songwriter.[3] Lindsay Planer of AllMusic suggests Morrison was responsible for the lyrics ("Morrison’s poetic imagery holds up").[4]

Citations

  1. ^ a b Bell, Max (April 19, 2021). "The Doors' 'Love Her Madly' – The Story Behind the Song". Louder Sound. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d Botnick, Bruce (2007). L.A. Woman (40th Anniversary edition CD booklet). The Doors. Rhino Records. R2-101155.
  3. ^ Bell, Max (April 23, 2014). "The Story Behind the Doors' 'Love Her Madly'". Classic Rock. Retrieved October 4, 2020.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Planer, Lindsay. "The Doors: Love Her Madly – Review". AllMusic. Retrieved January 25, 2020.
  5. ^ "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. March 27, 1971. p. 24. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
  6. ^ "Picks of the Week" (PDF). Record World. March 27, 1971. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-04-22.
  7. ^ a b c The Doors (2011). Mr. Mojo Risin': The Story of L.A. Woman. Eagle Rock Entertainment. Event occurs at 22:15, 23:20–25:04.
  8. ^ Weiss, Jeff (January 19, 2012). "L.A. Woman: Track List". LA Weekly. Retrieved March 16, 2021.
  9. ^ Runtagh, Jordan (April 19, 2016). "Doors' L.A. Woman: 10 Things You Didn't Know". Rolling Stone. Retrieved July 1, 2022.
  10. ^ Riordan & Prochnicky 2006, pp. 420–423.
  11. ^ "Bam Interview - Paul Rothchild". archives.waiting-forthe-sun.net.
  12. ^ "The Making of … the Doors' Riders On The Storm". Uncut. September 18, 2014.
  13. ^ Giles, Jeff (April 19, 2015). "Revisiting the Doors' Last Album with Jim Morrison, L.A. Woman". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved October 4, 2020.
  14. ^ Blake, Mark (May 20, 2014). "Archive: Ray Manzarek RIP". Classic Rock. Retrieved October 3, 2020.
  15. ^ Thomas, Fred. "Weird Scenes Inside the Gold Mine". AllMusic. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
  16. ^ "Perception". AllMusic. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
  17. ^ a b 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.
  18. ^ "21 August 1971 Singles". Go-Set Magazine (Go-Set Charts, compiled by Barry McKay, at PopArchives.com.au). Retrieved 2010-02-29.
  19. ^ Hung, Steffen. "The Doors - Love Her Madly". Dutch Charts Portal. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2010-02-28.
  20. ^ "Top Singles - Volume 15, No. 15, May 29 1971" Archived 2012-10-24 at the Wayback Machine. RPM (Library and Archives Canada). Retrieved 2010-02-28.
  21. ^ "The Doors Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved July 28, 2022.
  22. ^ "The Doors Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved July 28, 2022.
  23. ^ "CASH BOX Top 100 Singles" Archived 2010-12-13 at the Wayback Machine. Cashbox Magazine Retrieved 2010-02-28.
  24. ^ "American single certifications – The Doors – Love Her Madly". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved November 21, 2024.

Sources

  • Riordan, James; Prochnicky, Jerry (2006). Break On Through: the Life and Death of Jim. First Harper. ISBN 978-0-688-11915-7.
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