JOSE FELICIANO

'Light My Fire'

Again an odd coincidence and parallel with the first hearing Bob Dylan by someone else (The Byrds - Mr Tambourine Man) I first heard The Doors' 'Light My Fire' by this man. My brother Steve had long come up with interesting taste in music that was a few steps ahead of me(he was four years older than me), Chet Atkins for that guitar picking' country sound, Charlie Byrd, Wes Montgomery for that jazz guitar, and singular unique characters like José and his album featuring the track was rarely off the turntable when he was around.
I preferred The Doors . . . . . . . . . and claimed them for my own

but still thank you José

On this day in music history: June 28, 1968 - “Feliciano!”, the eighth album by Jose Feliciano is released. Produced by Rick Jarrard, it is recorded at the RCA Music Center Of The World in Hollywood, CA from November 21, 1967 - January 6, 7 & 8, 1968. Born in Lares, Puerto Rico, and raised in New York’s Spanish Harlem, Jose Feliciano demonstrates musical talent early on. Blind since birth (due to glaucoma), Jose is taught how to play percussion by an uncle at three. The turning point comes when Feliciano’s father gives him a guitar at nine. Practicing for hours and hours a day, Jose teaches himself the guitar. Taking some formal classical training while attending the Light House School For The Blind, he drops out of school at seventeen to help support his family. At the height of the folk music movement, he plays coffeehouses in New York, and in other cities. While performing in Greenwich Village in 1964, Feliciano is spotted by Jack Somer, an executive at RCA Victor Records, who signs him. Jose records seven albums between 1965 and 1967, finding success in Latin American countries but not in the US. A move to Los Angeles later in 1967 changes the musician’s fortunes at home, in ways that no one will anticipate. Feliciano is paired producer Rick Jarrard, known for producing the Jefferson Airplane’s “Surrealistic Pillow” and his work with Harry Nilsson. Looking to find a balance between Jose’s musical influences, and marrying them to pop styled arrangements, they believe that he can reach a wider audience. In the studio, Jose is backed by veteran jazz musicians Ray Brown (bass), Milt Holland (drums, percussion) and Jim Horn (woodwinds). George Tipton and Perry Botkin, Jr. are brought in to write arrangements for the tracks. The album features covers of recent pop songs from everyone including The Beatles, The Mama & The Papas, and Bobby Hebb. Also covered on the album is The Doors’ “Light My Fire” (#2 Pop, #29 R&B). The L.A. rockers chart topper of the previous Summer, is transformed into a soulful and lush Latin flavored ballad. It’s initially released as the B-side of “California Dreamin’”. A DJ at KJR at Seattle, WA flips it and plays “Light My Fire” instead. It becomes a radio smash, selling over a million copies, and turning Jose Feliciano into a huge star worldwide. The album earns four Grammy nominations, winning for Best New Artist and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance in 1969. In time, “Feliciano!” becomes a landmark album, cementing the commercial viability of Latin American musicians. The album is remastered and reissued on CD in 1994, and is reissued as a 180 gram LP by Speakers Corner Records in 2003. “Feliciano!” peaks at number two on the Billboard Top 200, number three on the R&B album chart, number three on the Jazz chart, and is certified Gold in the US by the RIAA.

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THE DOORS - LIGHT MY FIRE

Interestingly (well to me) I heard the Jose Feliciano single of 'Light My Fire' before the Doors version and it wasn't until my old school friend, Alan Bateman, played me the first album that I really gone blown away by the band. I had loved the Jose Feliciano version which my brother had bought but the opening track of 'Break on Through (To The Other Side)' totally grabbed me and the two tracks over 10 minutes long on each of the album sides [actually Light My Fire was over 7 minutes and The End just 11] were like epic journeys into an LP land never before experienced outside classical music, Break on Through was still more a single! Light My Fire was epic despite Jimbo getting fed up with singing it apparently. Though this may be apocryphal as he had encouraged Robbie to write it. The first album still stays in my top ten of all time . . . . . . . along with the last (L.A.Woman) which is usually top

On this day in music history: July 29, 1967 - “Light My Fire” by The Doors hits #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for 3 weeks. Written by Robby Krieger, John Densmore, Ray Manzarek and Jim Morrison, it is the biggest hit for the L.A. based rock band. Composed mainly by guitarist Robby Krieger, it is credited to the entire band when he brings the unfinished song into the studio (in August of 1966 at Sunset Sound Recorders in Hollywood, CA), for the other band members to expand upon. The nearly seven minute long track is edited down to under three minutes for single release when it receives heavy airplay as an LP cut. The edited mono single version also presents the song at its originally recorded speed. The more commonly heard stereo LP version was mixed at a slightly slower speed due to an error made during the mixing process. Released as the second single from the bands self-titled debut album in May of 1967, it quickly becomes a radio staple. Entering the Hot 100 at #93 on June 3, 1967, it reaches the top of the chart eight weeks later. Shortly after The Doors top the chart, they are invited to perform their number one hit on The Ed Sullivan Show on September 17, 1967. The censors at CBS ask the band to change the lyric “girl we couldn’t get much higher”, to “girl, we couldn’t get much better”, feeling that the original lyric is a drug reference. Jim Morrison initially agrees, then sings the original line anyway during the live broadcast. The move infuriates host Ed Sullivan, leading him to permanently banning The Doors from the top rated variety show. Only a year after the original version “Light My Fire” tops the chart, it becomes a major hit again, when it is covered by musician Jose Feliciano. His version peaks at #3 on the Hot 100 in August of 1968. The song is recorded numerous times over the years by several artists including Shirley Bassey, The Four Tops, Johnny Mathis, Nancy Sinatra, Stanley Turrentine, Al Green, Minnie Riperton, and Amii Stewart to name a few. The jazz/R&B duo Young-Holt Unlimited (“Soulful Strut”) record an instrumental version in 1969, which is widely sampled in later years, most notably as the basis of Above The Law’s hit “Untouchable” in 1990. “Light My Fire” is certified Gold in the US by the RIAA, and is inducted into the Grammy Hall Of Fame in 1998.

with thanks to Jeff Harris' wonderful blog 'Behind The Grooves  On this day in Music History