Not entirely sure how I got this single but still have it down in the vaults. I don't think it was for sale as such over here in the UK but should check*. I don't think I bought it and may have found it in the bargain bins  . . . . . .and I had the album from an old school friend and he gave it me or somehow I ended up with his copy  . . . . . those were different times and undoubtedly things were starting to get somewhat  er,  . . . . hazy

On this day in music history: August 3, 1968 - “Hello, I Love You” by The Doors hits #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for 2 weeks. Written by The Doors, it is the second chart topping single for the rock band from Los Angeles, CA. With two successful albums in just over a year, The Doors find themselves under pressure to deliver yet again by the beginning of 1968. When work begins on their third album “Waiting For The Sun” in February of that year, the band find themselves seriously short of material. Also adding to the tension, lead singer Jim Morrison begins to spiral out of control, due to his heavy use of drugs and alcohol. He is arrested onstage at a show in New Haven, CT on December 9, 1967, when he taunts the police after a run in with them backstage, charging him with trying to incite a riot. Morrison’s personal issues nearly cause drummer John Densmore to quit, when it seriously hinders the band’s ability to write or record. While searching for song ideas, the other members of The Doors look through volumes of Jim’s poems and find one that he had written in 1965. Titled “Hello I Love You”, the words come to Morrison while he and keyboardist Ray Manzerek, watch a beautiful bikini clad African American woman walking along the beach in Venice, CA. The song is one of the first the band record on a six track demo tape at World Pacific Studios. By the time the album is completed in May of 1968, “Hello” is the obvious choice for the first single from “Waiting For The Sun”, when it is released just ahead of the album in mid June. Entering the Billboard Hot 100 at 77 on July 6, 1968, it rockets to the top of the chart four weeks later. Early pressings of the single are released with the extended title “Hello I Love You, Won’t You Tell Me Your Name?”, which is amended as the song quickly rises on the chart. Also the band’s first single to be issued in stereo, occurring as the record industry begins to adapt to the format, and abandons mono LP’s and singles. Becoming The Doors’ second million seller, the band run into trouble when The Kinks’ song publisher threatens to sue them over the song. The publisher feels that “Hello, I Love You” is too similar to The Kinks’ hit “All Day And All Of The Night”. Though The Doors deny copying the song, the matter is settled out of court between both parties. Just by coincidence, as The Doors are still sitting in the top ten, a cover version of “Light My Fire” by Puerto Rican musician Jose Feliciano also leaps into the top five.  Regarded as one of their signature songs, “Hello, I Love You” is recorded by numerous artists including Adam Ant, Missing Persons, The Cure, Eurythmics, Simple Minds, and Neil Young. “Hello, I Love You” is certified Gold in the US by the RIAA.

"HELLO, I LOVE YOU" 50TH ANNIVERSARY 7" SINGLE AVAILABLE NOW!

“Hello, I Love You” became the band's second #1 hit when it topped the Billboard singles chart for two weeks beginning on August 3, 1968. Exactly 50 years later, a new 7” version of the single with its original b-side “Love Street” is available now. This anniversary release features the rare mono radio mixes of the songs that were given exclusively to radio stations for airplay in 1968.  This version of “Hello, I Love You” was first available last year as part of The Singles collection and is making its vinyl debut here, while the “Love Street” mix is being released commercially for the first time.  The 7” features a recreation of the unique black and white promotional label and is housed in its original Elektra Records paper sleeve.

The Doors - "Hello, I Love You" Official Lyric Video

ORDER THE "HELLO, I LOVE YOU" 50TH ANNIVERSARY 7" SINGLE

*

well clearly I don't know what I was talking about

"The single also became the band's first big UK hit, peaking at number fifteen on the chart".

and wiki interestingly adds

"At the time the single was released, stereo 45 rpm records were generally unknown — especially in the Top 40 format. This recording by the Doors was promoted as the first rock 45 rpm record in stereo. It includes a long musical sweep about 1:20 into the song, starting at the left channel and panning across into the right channel, in a very ostentatious demonstration of stereo effect."