WCSX Classic Cuts : Moonlight Drive
WCSX Classic Cuts
The Doors: “Moonlight Drive”
The Hook: They recorded it twice with very different arrangements. The second one is on Strange Days.
Album: Strange Days
Year: 1967
Writers: Jim Morrison, Robby Krieger, Ray Manzarek and John Densmore
Stats: The B-side of “Love Me Two Times,” the second single off Strange Days, which reached number-25 on the Billboard Hot 100. “Moonlight Drive” itself never charted.
Background: Although it was the second song The Doors ever recorded, “Moonlight Drive” didn’t make their first album. Guitarist Robby Krieger explains why.
Doors guitarist Robby Krieger on an early version of “Moonlight Drive” being the second song The Doors ever recorded. OC:…on me. :25
“’Indian Summer’ was the very first one and then ‘Moonlight Drive.’ It didn’t sound so great, because we were brand new at the studio and stuff, so we decided, ‘Well, let’s save it for the next album and we’ll re-record it,’ which we did. So we totally re-arranged it. Before it was just more like a blues, it was just [sings], instead of [sings]. I didn’t like it at first, but then it kind of grew on me.”
