''Greatest Hits'' is a compilation album by American rock band

the Doors The Doors were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger, and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most controversial and influential rock acts ...

, released in 1980. The album, along with the film ''

Apocalypse Now ''Apocalypse Now'' is a 1979 American epic war film produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The screenplay, co-written by Coppola, John Milius and Michael Herr, is loosely based on the 1899 novella '' Heart of Darkness'' by Joseph ...

'', released the previous year, created for the band an entirely new audience of the generation that did not grow up with the Doors. The album went on to become one of the highest-selling compilations of all time, with combined CD and vinyl sales of 5,000,000 in the United States alone. The album was re-released in October 1996 as an enhanced CD with a different track listing and cover art. The songs "The Ghost Song", "

The End The End may refer to: Films * ''The End'' (1953 film), a film by Christopher Maclaine * ''The End'' (1978 film), a comedy by Burt Reynolds * ''The End'' (1997 film), a Canadian film of 1997 * ''The End'' (1998 film), a skateboarding document ...

" and " Love Her Madly" were added, whereas "

Not to Touch the Earth "Not to Touch the Earth" is a 1968 song by the Doors from their third album ''Waiting for the Sun''. It is part of an extended performance piece called " Celebration of the Lizard" that the band played live multiple times. A 17-minute studio reco ...

" was omitted.

Critical reception

Critic Andy Kellman of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

, reviewing the 1996 reissue, rated ''Greatest Hits'' with three-and-a-half out of five stars, and praised that it compiled "some of the band's most enduring songs", such as "

Light My Fire "Light My Fire" is a song by the American rock band the Doors. It was recorded in August 1966 and released in January 1967 on their eponymous debut album. Released as an edited single on April 24, 1967, it spent three weeks at number one on ...

," " Break on Through", " Touch Me", "

Hello, I Love You "Hello, I Love You" is a song recorded by American rock band the Doors for their 1968 album '' Waiting for the Sun''. Elektra Records released it as a single that same year, which topped the charts in the U.S. and Canada. Although the Doors are ...

" and "

Riders on the Storm "Riders on the Storm" is a song by American rock band the Doors. It was released in June 1971, as the second single from '' L.A. Woman'', their sixth studio album and the last with lead singer Jim Morrison. The song reached number 14 on the U.S ...

". His only complaints were on "Not to Touch the Earth" and "The Ghost Song" as "poor choices" and that it could "have been replaced with any number of more significant songs in the band's catalog".

Track listing

All songs written by all members of the Doors (

Jim Morrison James Douglas Morrison (December 8, 1943 – July 3, 1971) was an American singer, poet and songwriter who was the lead vocalist of the rock band the Doors. Due to his wild personality, poetic lyrics, distinctive voice, unpredictable and err ...

, Ray Manzarek,

Robby Krieger Robert Alan Krieger (born January 8, 1946) is an American guitarist and founding member of the rock band the Doors. Krieger wrote or co-wrote many of the Doors' songs, including the hits " Light My Fire", " Love Me Two Times", " Touch Me", and ...

John Densmore John Paul Densmore (born December 1, 1944) is an American musician, songwriter, author and actor. He is best known as the drummer of the rock band the Doors, and as such is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He appeared on every recordi ...

), except "

" which some sources identify Krieger and Morrison to be the lone songwriters. Details are taken from the 1980 Elektra Records release and may differ from other sources. 1996 additional CD tracks # " Love Her Madly" (Krieger) – 3:17 # "The Ghost Song" (Morrison) – 4:13 # "

" – 6:28 (edited version for George S. Clinton from ''

'' (1979)) # "Wintertime Love" (Japanese 1995 CD version only)

Personnel

Per album notes as shown at the Back cover: The Doors *

– vocals *

– guitar *

– drums * Ray Manzarek – keyboards Additional musicians *

Lonnie Mack Lonnie McIntosh (July 18, 1941 – April 21, 2016), known as Lonnie Mack, was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He was an influential trailblazer of blues rock music and rock guitar soloing. Mack emerged in 1963 with his breakthroug ...

- bass guitar * Doug Lubahn – bass guitar *

Jerry Scheff Jerry Obern Scheff (born January 31, 1941) is an American bassist, best known for his work with Elvis Presley from 1969 to 1977 as a member of his TCB Band and on the Doors' '' L.A. Woman''. Biography Scheff grew up in Vallejo, California. After ...

– bass guitar * Harvey Brooks – bass guitar *

John Sebastian John Benson Sebastian (born March 17, 1944) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist and harmonicist who founded the rock band The Lovin' Spoonful. He made an impromptu appearance at the Woodstock festival in 1969Curtis Amy Curtis Amy (October 11, 1929 – June 5, 2002) was an American jazz saxophonist. Biography Amy was born in Houston, Texas, United States. He learned how to play clarinet before joining the Army, and during his time in service, picked up the teno ...

– saxophone *

Marc Benno Marc Benno (born July 1, 1947 in Dallas, Texas) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. Benno teamed with Leon Russell to form the Asylum Choir in the late 1960s. He launched a solo career in the early 1970s, with the 1972 album ''Am ...

– rhythm guitar Technical * Paul A. Rothchild – production, re-mastering * Bruce Botnick – production (as well as the Doors) * William Gazecki – re-mastering engineer *

Joel Brodsky Joel Lee Brodsky (October 7, 1939 – March 1, 2007) was an American photographer, best known for his photography of musicians, particularly his iconic "Young Lion" photographs of Jim Morrison. In his lifetime, he is credited with photographing o ...

– photography * Ron Coro – original art direction * Ray and Dorothy Manzarek, Ron Coro, Denise Minobe – album design

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

1980 greatest hits albums Albums produced by Paul A. Rothchild The Doors compilation albums Elektra Records compilation albums Albums with cover art by Joel Brodsky {{1970s-rock-album-stub