Who was the first American band to achieve eight consecutive gold albums?
In 1966, The Doors were dropped from a preliminary Columbia Records contract with no warning. In the music scene, most are only as good as their next paycheck, so when the American rock group found that pulled out from underneath them, they had to pivot, and fast.
With heads hung low, the band agreed to a soul-sucking gig at Parthenon Pictures, where they provided incidental music for a Ford Motor Company customer service training film, and over a single day, where they masterminded an instrumental jamming session, the group earned a decent, if dull, $200.
That very same year, Jim Morrison, Ray Manzarek, Robby Krieger, and John Densmore signed on to Elektra Records, swapping a stuffy info-commercial out for a self-titled debut. The band wouldn’t have to wait long for stardom; in fact, Elektra Records went on to purchase the first-ever rock and roll billboard to advertise the project, tagged with the alluring quote “Break on through with an electrifying new album”.
And that’s exactly what the group of hillbillys did when on January 4th, 1967, their sprawling, free-wheeling debut was released into the world, which traversed jazz, blues, classical, pop, and R&B landscapes with aggrandised aplomb. The Doors steadily climbed up the charts, sitting at number two on the Billboard 200, only cast in the close shadow of four beloved Liverpudlians.
Only eight months later, they were back with another entry in their discography, titled Strange Days, and while The Doors continued to cement a longevity and enduring critical acclaim, which was surprising to the band, Strange Days also found mainstream success, reaching the third spot in the United States during a 63-week chart stay. Lead singer Morrison celebrated the project for its totalising narrativisation, noting, “It tells a story. It’s a whole effort”.
Two gold albums in, and the band hadn’t yet reached the apex of their stride, for their next album, 1968’s Waiting for the Sun, became gold-certified, followed in the same vein by 1969’s The Soft Parade and 1970’s Morrison Hotel and the 1970 live album, Absolutely Live, but when Morrison Hotel achieved gold status, the band made history by becoming the first American hard rock group to achieve five consecutive RIAA-certified gold albums.
But still, they wanted more; at the time of the victory, they were on tour, and barely took a beat to celebrate, so instead, they poured their joy and ambition into their next album, LA Woman, which also went on to secure gold status. However, no celebrations were to be had at this point, either, as Morrison passed away in July 1971, only 13 days before they received the honour.
Despite the shocking death, the band managed to bag another gold album with the release of their first post-Morrison project, Other Voices, on which keyboardist Manzarek and guitarist Krieger shared lead vocals.
Beyond an entire album, The Doors enjoyed recognition from the RIAA through their singles, too; so far, 12 of The Doors’ singles have been deemed multi-platinum, platinum, and gold. They’d certainly come a long way from their days of cold, complimentary coffee and Ford Motor Company instrumentals.
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