Cover versions of "Light My Fire"

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I once set out to get my hands on as many covers of this song as possible without actually owning the Doors version.

My favourites are a sitar-led one by Gabor Szabo (on Impact no less) and Shirley Bassey's celebrated version.

I know of scores of obscure EZ covers (mainly instrumental) and even heard that Astrid Gilberto sang one. Interested in hearing about other versions or your opinions of the song itself vs Doors original.

― Braces Tower, Friday, 12 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Horace Andy absolutely murders it at the end of Massive Attack's Protection. Ruins the whole album in my opinion.

― Rick, Friday, 12 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

well Minnie ripperton does an absoluetly beautiful version with a bit of sANISH THROWN IN, and doesn't al green do a version as well?

― nicheskin, Friday, 12 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

oops read that as spanish....

― nic, Friday, 12 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Julie London (!)

― Richard Jones, Friday, 12 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Amii Stewart does a kickin' disco version of it, subtitled "137 Disco Heaven". Try and get the album version (from the eponymously titled album) or 12" version of it- it goes on even longer than the original, and it's absolutely brilliant!!!

― Old Fart!!!, Friday, 12 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

The Mops!

― Luke, Friday, 12 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Mae West's is something.

― Mark, Friday, 12 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Braces Tower and me = secretly THE SAME PERSON ;-)

― Jeff W, Friday, 12 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I think Light My Fire must be the most covered song ever

― Robin, Friday, 12 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Wah! Sorry about that Jeff. Still, interesting stuff. I'm in the process of moving at the moment, but when I finally get all my records together, I must list all the versions I have.

The only version I saw which I deliberately didn't buy was on a Johnny Mathis LP I saw at a car boot sale. Somehow I just couldn't bring myself to spend £2 on a Johnny Mathis record...

I'm sure I've got a Booker T & the MGs version. Am I imagining it?

― Braces Tower, Friday, 12 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

you must hear the version by Tammi Lynn which became Dilated Peoples' "Triple Optics"

― Ron, Friday, 12 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Braces - No, you are not imagining it. I have it too, it's great.

I compiled a long list of covers - based on answers I got and info on the web - at the time I asked my question. Shall I e-mail it to you?

― Jeff W, Friday, 12 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

The Amorphis death metal version!!! It's hilarious, the music is pretty much just like the original, with growly vocals.

― Jordan, Friday, 12 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

There's a Beastie Boys version with Miho Hatori from Cibo Matto singing it.

― Honda, Friday, 12 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I assume the Jose Feliciano version was the first you acquired.

― nickn, Friday, 12 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Well, there's Woodstock Al's uh, ahem, interesting take on Light my Fire. :-)

You can find it on the bottom right of this page. Enjoy!

― popmusic, Friday, 12 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

The Al Green version is on Gets Next To You (and the comp Cover Me Green), and the Booker T & the MGs one on The Booker T Set. The Four Tops did it on Soul Spin in 1969, and Isaac Hayes on Live At The Sahara Tahoe. It's obviously become something of a soul standard. I'm a bit mystified as to why.

It's nowhere near the most covered song ever. Yesterday is usually quoted as that, which is even more bewildering. There are at least a few hundred CC Riders too.

― Martin Skidmore, Friday, 12 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Val Kilmer Vs Eddie Vedder who gets closest to the original?

― kiwi, Friday, 12 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

curious that the residents haven't been mentioned -- any question of humour not belonging in music desolves for me whenever i hear 'light my fire' on the residents' 'the third reich and roll' (near 'yummy- yummy-etc.') -- their cover is better even than their own celebrated single cover version of '(...) satisfaction'

the residents humorous and convincingly creepy version reminds us that if 'light my fire' was about the jeckyll'n'hyde possibilities of romance then nobody should be playing with those matches -- the whole album is very funny but 'light my fire' is one of the highlights in my case and so it's usually the first number on that album side ("Hitler was a vegtetarian") to really set me off laughing, uh, still

― George Gosset, Saturday, 13 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Rick: I have another view, I believe Protection before the song ruins the track for me. By far the best bit of the album I'm afraid.

― Chewshabadoo, Saturday, 13 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

There's a great version by Julie Driscoll, Brain Auger and the Trinity which is well worth searching out

― baxter wingnut, Sunday, 14 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

if you tape protection it fits nicely onto one side of a c90 without that last terrible track.

and didn't pop idol will young do a version..?

― matt, Sunday, 14 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Someone mentioned it, but the Shirley Bassey version is truely insane. What is up with this woman? You can't tell me she wasn't deliberately tweaking every note into dementia. She had to know exactly what she was doing.

― Sean, Sunday, 14 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

ah, yes please Jeff. As soon as my records are unpacked, I'll try to add any that aren't there.

Would it be terribly sad of me to knock up a site (using a free host of course) to make this an ongoing project?

― Braces Tower, Monday, 15 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Chewshabadoo - You're entitled to your opinion. How do you think it compares to the original though?

― Rick, Monday, 15 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Dibs on "Brain Auger" for a band name.

― briania, Monday, 15 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

i can't explain why but sparked by this thread i've downloaded 22 versions of 'light my fire' in the last few days. i feel sick.

it's amazing how most of them take the jose feliciano version, which i assume was the first high profile cover, as the starting point, rather than the doors original.

― Graham C, Tuesday, 16 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

one month passes...

Wills (popidol) version is the worst piece of music foisted on us since Ronan Keatings dreadful "Rollercoaster" effort.

― Jarl'rmai, Tuesday, 21 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Please tell me who wrote it????????????????

― john aitken, Wednesday, 22 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Dead C., Michael Morley singing.

― haloist, Thursday, 23 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

john: Robbie Krieger wrote it.

― Jeff W, Friday, 24 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

one month passes...

I think you might all find this site rather interesting... http://covers.wiw.org/

― Mike, Tuesday, 9 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Jackie Wilson and Astrud Gilberto also covered "Light My Fire".

― shannon, Tuesday, 9 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

can someone tell me which is the really raunchy version??? i heard it in a bar a couple of years ago, and loved it!

― aran louise, Thursday, 18 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

five months pass...

An incredible version of "Light My Fire" can be found on the self-titled LP by the U.S. electro/synth group MOEBIUS. The album was released in 1979 by Moonwind Records and features composer STEVE ROACH. Their version is totally robotic electro/disco with bizarre vocals and tons of filtered analog synth sounds! The entire album is UNBELIEVABLE! It was engineered by a very young LES CLAYPOOL (Primus).

NOTE: This is not the well known German ambient group.

― bil, Thursday, 16 January 2003 16:37 (twenty-two years ago)

I've heard that version. Really interesting.

― Jody Beth Rosen (Jody Beth Rosen), Thursday, 16 January 2003 18:55 (twenty-two years ago)

Is it just me, or has no one yet mentioned the TV commercial one that got Morrison all riled up? I remember seeing that in the movie, but I checked it up in Prochnicky's biography and it (the commercial as well as his reaction) really happened.

― Girolamo Savonarola, Thursday, 16 January 2003 19:02 (twenty-two years ago)

i'm pretty certain i've heard a version by (Japan's) Sandii and the Sunsetz ...could have been Sandii solo, though

― t\'\'t (t\'\'t), Thursday, 16 January 2003 19:07 (twenty-two years ago)

ten months pass...

Mike Flowers Pops

― man, Wednesday, 3 December 2003 13:55 (twenty-two years ago)

I tried to track down the various versions last year, and my favourite ended up being the Brian Auger version.

― Daryl Chambers, Wednesday, 3 December 2003 19:03 (twenty-two years ago)

I'm pretty sure Mrs. Miller covered this.

― may pang (maypang), Wednesday, 3 December 2003 19:43 (twenty-two years ago)

I like the Ananda Shankar version.

― DV (dirtyvicar), Wednesday, 3 December 2003 20:26 (twenty-two years ago)

i just got the stevie wonder version last night. jury's still out.

― vahid (vahid), Wednesday, 3 December 2003 20:41 (twenty-two years ago)

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