59 Years Ago: The Doors' 'Light My Fire' Topped the Charts, Changing Rock Music Forever

The year is 1967, and The Doors are establishing themselves in the music world. The Los Angeles-based group weren't yet the mighty countercultural influence they would become, but they were about to start on that path.

In January 1967, The Doors released their self-titled debut album and its first single "Break On Through (To the Other Side)," which provided the band with its initial glimpse of success. Three months later, the album's next single dropped--and everything changed.

Released on April 24, 1967, "Light My Fire" was a mega-hit, climbing to the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 on June 3. Fifty-nine years after it began its three-week stay atop the charts, "Light My Fire" remains The Doors' signature, breakthrough hit.

The impact of "Light My Fire"

The song's mix of Jim Morrison's "obvious and blatantly sexual lyrics" and "definitive psychedelic solos" from keyboardist Ray Manzarek and drummer John Densmore helped "Light My Fire" become "synonymous with the ‘60s psychedelic and sexual revolutions," wrote music reviewer Lindsay Planer in 2022.

In addition to the song's success upon release, The Doors also made it back into the Billboard Hot 100 with "Light My Fire" in 1968 after Jose Feliciano released a cover version. Feliciano's rendition wound up earning him the 1969 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Male Pop Vocal Performance.

In 2021, Rolling Stone ranked "Light My Fire" at No. 310 on its list of the 500 Best Songs of All Time, while New Musical Express (NME) included it at No. 199 on its own 500 Greatest Songs List in 2014.

"Willy-waving rock sorcerer Jim Morrison frotted himself to transcendence, but it was Ray Manzarek's organ freakouts that made this a Doors highlight," NME's Emily Barker wrote.

The Doors became The Doors

After "Light My Fire," The Doors took off, becoming one of the most impactful rock acts over the next four years until Morrison's tragic death on July 3, 1971.

The group would produce one more Billboard No. 1 hit--1968's "Hello, I Love You"--along with a host of other iconic songs, including "Love Her Madly," "Riders on the Storm," "People Are Strange," "Touch Me" and "Love Me Two Times."

To this day, they are a regular presence on greatest rock artist rankings lists from various publications.

This story was originally published by Men's Journal on Jun 3, 2026, where it first appeared in the Entertainment section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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This story was originally published June 3, 2026 at 6:15 AM.