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Touch Me (The Doors song)

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"Touch Me"
Single by the Doors
from the album The Soft Parade
B-side"Wild Child"
ReleasedDecember 1968
RecordedNovember 1968
StudioElektra Sound Recorders, Los Angeles
Genre
Length3:11
LabelElektra
Songwriter(s)Robby Krieger
Producer(s)Paul A. Rothchild
The Doors singles chronology
"Hello, I Love You"
(1968) 		"Touch Me"
(1968) 		"Wishful Sinful"
(1969)
Official audio
"Touch Me" on YouTube

"Touch Me" is a song by the Doors from their 1969 album The Soft Parade. Written by guitarist Robby Krieger in late 1968, it makes extensive use of brass and string instruments, including a solo by featured saxophonist Curtis Amy.[3][4]

It was released as a single in December 1968 and reached No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 (their last Top Ten hit in US) and No. 1 in the Cashbox Top 100 in early 1969 (the band's third American number-one single). The single also did well elsewhere, peaking at No. 1 in the RPM Canadian Singles Chart and at No. 10 in the Kent Music Report in Australia. However, despite the band's commercial success the previous year, "Touch Me" did not chart in the UK Singles Chart.

Composition

According to Bruce Botnick's liner notes, the song was referred to by various working titles; "I'm Gonna Love You", from a line in the chorus, and "Hit Me", a reference to blackjack. The opening line was originally "C'mon, hit me ... I'm not afraid", the line thus reflecting the first person vantage point of a blackjack player.[3] Lead singer Jim Morrison changed the lyric out of concern that rowdy crowds at their live shows would mistakenly believe that "hit me" was a challenge to physically assault him.[5] At the end of the song, Morrison can be heard shouting "stronger than dirt", which was a slogan from an Ajax commercial.[6]

Billboard described the single as having "all the drive and rhythm of their No. 1 winner 'Hello, I Love You'," stating that "the Doors have a smash follow -up here."[7] Cash Box described it as "a marvelous track" in which the Doors "add a helping of beat to their hard-hitting style."[8]

Musical style and structure

Touch Me
A 23-second sample of "Touch Me".
Problems playing this file? See media help.
Cashbox advertisement, December 21, 1968

"Touch Me" incorporates influences from traditional pop music.[9] The introduction is notated in the key of Bb Minor with a 4/4 time signature.[10] The song's writer, Robby Krieger, interpolated the guitar riff from the 1967 Four Seasons song "C'mon Marianne".[6] The track's last section piece includes a jazz-inflected saxophone solo played by Curtis Amy.[3][4] In a 1970 interview with Downbeat Magazine, Morrison reported that he was really proud that "Touch Me" was "the first rock hit to have a jazz solo in it".[11][12]

In the book A to X of Alternative Music, "Touch Me" was described as a "solid gold soul classic".[1] Writing for AllMusic, critic Jason Elias wrote that the song has "the style of pop and pure lounge."[13] Some critics suggested the track blends pop[14] with psychedelic rock; a combination which was unique at the time.[9] It has also been characterized, along with other album tracks, as an early attempt at progressive rock.[2]

Other version

"Touch Me" was remixed with added bass and compression and this version appeared on a 1974 compilation called Heavy Metal released via Warner Bros. Special Products. The song was later released as one of the first downloadable content songs for Rock Band 3, along with several other songs by the band.[15]

Personnel

The Doors

Additional personnel[3]

Charts

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[26] Platinum 1,000,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ a b Taylor, Steve (2006). The A to X of Alternative Music. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 89. ISBN 978-0826473967.
  2. ^ a b Deriso, Nick (July 18, 2015). "Why the Doors Stumbled Through the Experimental The Soft Parade". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Botnick, Bruce; Fricke, David (2019). The Soft Parade (50th Anniversary edition CD booklet). The Doors. US: Rhino Records & Elektra Records. R2-596001, 603497851324.
  4. ^ a b c Goldsmith, Melissa Ursula Dawn (2019). Listen to Classic Rock! Exploring a Musical Genre. ABC-CLIO. p. 94. ISBN 978-1440865787.
  5. ^ Kielty, Martin (July 27, 2019). "Why Jim Morrison Refused to Sing the Original 'Touch Me'". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
  6. ^ a b Weidman, Richie (2011). The Doors FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the Kings of Acid Rock. Backbeat Books. p. 159. ISBN 978-1-61713-017-5.
  7. ^ "Spotlight Singles" (PDF). Billboard. December 21, 1968. p. 64. Retrieved February 22, 2021.
  8. ^ "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. December 21, 1968. p. 14. Retrieved December 8, 2021.
  9. ^ a b Ingalls, Chris (November 7, 2019). "The Doors' 'Soft Parade' Gets the Deluxe Edition Treatment and a Chance for Reassessment". PopMatters.
  10. ^ "Digital Sheet Music – The Doors – Touch Me". Sony/ATV Music Publishing. 27 August 2012. Retrieved March 15, 2021 – via Musicnotes.com.
  11. ^ Weidman, Richie (2011). The Doors FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the Kings of Acid Rock. Backbeat Books. p. 167. ISBN 978-1-61713-017-5.
  12. ^ a b Davis, Stephen (2004). Jim Morrison: Life, Death, Legend. Penguin Books. p. 372. ISBN 1-59240-064-7.
  13. ^ Elias, Jason. "The Doors: 'Touch Me' – Review". AllMusic. Retrieved February 15, 2021.
  14. ^ Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (January 1, 2008). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon & Schuster. p. 255. ISBN 978-1439109397.
  15. ^ IGN staff (October 22, 2010). "The Doors Most Loved Songs Kick Off Rock Band 3 DLC". IGN. Retrieved November 8, 2012.
  16. ^ a b Gerstenmeyer, Heinz (2001). The Doors – Sounds for Your Soul – Die Musik Der Doors (in German). BoD – Books on Demand. p. 97. ISBN 978-3-8311-2057-4.
  17. ^ Larkin, Colin (1997). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music (Concise ed.). Virgin Books. p. 183. ISBN 1-85227-745-9.
  18. ^ Nyman, Jake (2005). Suomi soi 4: Suuri suomalainen listakirja (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. p. 127. ISBN 951-31-2503-3.
  19. ^ "NZ Listener chart statistics for Touch Me". Flavourofnz.co.nz. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
  20. ^ "SA Charts 1965–March 1989". Retrieved September 2, 2018.
  21. ^ Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
  22. ^ "Cash Box Top 100 Singles, February 8, 1969". Archived from the original on January 16, 2018. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
  23. ^ "RPM's 100 Hits of 1969". RPM Weekly. January 10, 1970. Archived from the original on October 20, 2012 – via Library and Archives Canada.
  24. ^ "Top 100 Hits of 1969/Top 100 Songs of 1969". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
  25. ^ "Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, December 27, 1969". Archived from the original on January 25, 2019. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
  26. ^ "American single certifications – The Doors – Touch Me". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved November 21, 2024.
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