Riders on the Storm

"Riders on the Storm" is a song by American rock band the Doors. It was released as the second single from their sixth studio album and last with singer Jim Morrison, "L.A. Woman", in June 1971. It reached number 14 on the "Billboard" Hot 100 in the U.S., number 22 on the UK Singles Chart and number seven in the Netherlands.
Background and composition.
"Riders on the Storm" is a psychedelic rock and jazz rock song which has been classified as a precursor of gothic; the track is notated in the key of E Minor. According to guitarist Robby Krieger and keyboardist Ray Manzarek, it was inspired by the country song "", written by Stan Jones and popularized by Vaughn Monroe. Portions of the song's lyrics were allegedly inspired by spree killer Billy Cook, whom Morrison referenced in a 1970 interview with "The Village Voice", citing Cook as an inspiration for his short film "". Cook had killed six people, including a young family, while hitchhiking to California.
It is popularly believed that "Riders on the Storm" is the song that longtime Doors producer Paul A. Rothchild disparaged as "cocktail music", precipitating his departure from the "L.A. Woman" sessions, as corroborated by guitarist Robby Krieger. Rothchild himself denied this claim, stating that he actually applied this epithet to "Love Her Madly". Following Rothchild's departure, longtime engineer Bruce Botnick was selected to take over production duties, alongside the Doors themselves.
"Riders on the Storm" was recorded at the Doors Workshop in December 1970 with the assistance of Botnick. Morrison recorded his main vocals and then whispered the lyrics over them to create an echo effect. It was the last song recorded by all four members of the Doors, as well as Morrison's last recorded song to be released in his lifetime. The single was released in June 1971, entering the "Billboard" Hot 100 the week ending July 3, 1971, the same week that Morrison died.
Heidegger's influence.
Speaking with Krieger and Manzarek, the German philosopher argues that the line "Into this world we're thrown" recalls Heidegger's concept of thrownness (human existence as a basic state). In 1963 at Florida State University in Tallahassee, Jim Morrison heard a lecture which was influential for him, in which was discussed the philosophers who critically dealt with the philosophical tradition, including Friedrich Nietzsche and also Martin Heidegger. In 2009, Simon Critchley dedicated his column in "The Guardian" to Heidegger's thrownness and explained it using the aforementioned verse of the song. The connection between the thrownness into the world and a dog's life was anticipated by the anti-Heideggerian author Ernst Bloch in his main work "The Principle of Hope" (1954–9).
Legacy.
In subsequent years, "Riders on the Storm" has been frequently included in numerous lists surrounding the Doors greatest songs, and sometimes is positioned in the top place. Doors' drummer, John Densmore, released a book in 1990 entitled "Riders on the Storm", detailing the story of his life and his times with the group. In November 2009, the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame under the category Rock (single). The main concept of the 1986 film, "The Hitcher", was based on the lyrical content of "Riders on the Storm".
Personnel.
The Doors
Additional musicians
Annabel Lamb version.
 
In 1983, Annabel Lamb recorded a studio version of the song. It was released as a single from her debut album "Once Bitten" which peaked at number 27 on the UK Singles Chart. She performed the song later that year on "Top of the Pops".