WCSX Classic Cuts : Hello, I Love You

WCSX Classic Cuts

The Doors: "Hello, I Love You"

The Hook: Written about a gorgeous black girl Jim Morrison and Ray Manzarek saw on the beach, it was maybe a little closer to a Kinks song than it should have been.

Album: Waiting for the Sun

Year: 1968

Writers: The Doors (Jim Morrison)

Stats: The Doors second (after "Light My Fire") and last number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100.

Background: In a 1980s interview, The Doors' late keyboard player Ray Manzarek recalled when he first heard Jim Morrison sing "Hello, I Love You," and had the realization that it sounded similar to The Kinks' "All Day and All of the Night."

The late Doors keyboardist Ray Manzarek on “Hello, I Love You” and its similarity to The Kinks’ “All Day and All of the Night.” OC:…Kinks song. :27

“I remember sitting on the beach with Jim and he said, 'Hey, I've got a song called "Hello, I Love You.” He said, 'Remember that girl we saw a couple of weeks ago? Listen to the song I wrote about her.' And he starts to sing, 'Hello, I love you', won't you tell me your name?' I’m ‘Oh, it’s great.’ [sings the rhythm] 'Do you hope to pluck this dusky jewel' is about a gorgeous black girl that both of us saw. And I thought to myself, the song is great. And I should have said, 'Jim, I think it's a little too close to The Kinks' song.’"