Roadhouse Blues

The song was recorded over two days, from November 4 to 5, 1969. Producer Paul A. Rothchild insisted on several takes, some of which were included on the 2006 remastered album. Morrison, who was apparently intoxicated,[3] flubbed several lyrics and keep repeating the phrase "Money beats soul every time".[4]

There was more progress on the second day, when resident Elektra Records guitarist Lonnie Mack joined in to play bass[3] (Ray Neapolitan, the regular bass player during Morrison Hotel sessions, had been stuck in traffic).[5] Although there has been speculation that Mack also contributed the guitar solo, he confirmed that he had played bass and nothing else.[6] Mack had quit touring and was working for Elektra at the time, but returned to music after playing bass at the session.[7]

Guitarist Robby Krieger is responsible for all guitar parts on "Roadhouse Blues"; Morrison shouts "Do it, Robby, do it!" (especially audible on the official audio proof of DVD-Audio and Super Audio CD where the single vocal track can be separated from other instruments) at the start of the guitar solo. Ray Manzarek switched from a Wurlitzer electric piano to a tack piano (the same type as used on the Beach Boys' "Good Vibrations").[3] Ex-Lovin' Spoonful frontman John Sebastian contributed harmonica (listed as "G. Puglese" for contractual reasons).

Alice Cooper claimed he was the inspiration for the line "Woke up this morning and I got myself a beer", as stated on his Planet Rock morning show.[8]

A live version appeared on the posthumous album An American Prayer and that same version can be heard again on In Concert and Greatest Hits. On this version, Morrison talks for a short while to a female audience member about his Zodiac sign and, with a sudden, ironic twist that causes the audience to erupt in laughter, denounces his belief in it. The song was also featured twice in the movie The Doors; the studio version in the film, and the aforementioned live version over the end credits.

A studio version of the song with John Lee Hooker sharing vocals with Morrison can be found on the 2000 tribute album Stoned Immaculate: The Music of The Doors.[9]

The Doors

• Jim Morrison – vocals
• Robby Krieger – guitar
• Ray Manzarek – piano
• John Densmore – drums

Additional musicians

• Lonnie Mack – bass
• John Sebastian – harmonica

"Roadhouse Blues"
Promotional single by Status Quo
from the album Piledriver
Released	1972 (1972)
Genre	Hard rock
Length	7:26
Label	Vertigo
Composer(s)	The Doors
Lyricist(s)	Jim Morrison

Status Quo, while touring in Bielefeld, Germany, in 1970,[10] heard the Doors' recording shortly after it was released. They were looking for a change of direction, away from their original psychedelic pop style, and were unsure about what to do; after hearing the song in a club, they enjoyed its 12-bar shuffle and thought it would be a good template for future original material.[11] The group recorded a studio version on the 1972 album Piledriver, with bassist Alan Lancaster taking the lead vocal and featuring an extra verse with three-part harmonies, which the Doors' recording did not have.[10] The lyrics differed from the original; for instance, "I should have made you" instead of "Ashen lady".[12] The track was released as a promotional single, with Black Sabbath's "Children of the Grave" on the B-side.[10]

The song was a regular feature of Quo's live setlist throughout the 1970s, its performance coming towards the end of the show. It was extended to allow a jam session in the middle, featuring snippets of other songs, including the traditional "The Irish Washerwoman" and "Shakin' All Over".[13][14] A 14-minute version appears as the final track on 1977's Live.[15] In 1992, the live album Live Alive Quo featured Roadhouse Medley, which blended other songs into the main Roadhouse Blues riff.[16]

"Roadhouse Blues" was revived for the "Frantic Four" tours in 2013.[17] In 2014, a deluxe reissue of Piledriver included a 15-minute live version, recorded in 1973.[18]

• U.S. hard-rock band Blue Öyster Cult released a live version, recorded December 15, 1981, at the Country Club in Reseda, California, on Extraterrestrial Live, featuring Robby Krieger joining the band on guitar.
• The Jeff Healey band performs a cover of the song in the movie Road House.
• The song was played by the surviving Doors and Eddie Vedder at The Doors' Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction in 1993.[19]

Citations

Sources

• Topanga Corral, the site of the Roadhouse venue that served as the inspiration for the song
• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics