"Tell All the People" is a song 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 ...

and was written by band guitarist

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 ...

. It was the

A-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...

backed with "Easy Ride" – an outtake from ''

Waiting for the Sun ''Waiting for the Sun'' is the third studio album by the American rock band the Doors. The album's 11 tracks were recorded between January and May 1968 at TTG Studios in Los Angeles. Released by Elektra Records on July 3, 1968, it became the ba ...

'' recorded in March 1968 – and was released in June 1969. Also known as "Follow Me Down" due to the use of the phrase, it was the third single from the Doors' fourth album '' The Soft Parade''. The song's instrumentation incorporates

brass instruments A brass instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by sympathetic vibration of air in a tubular resonator in sympathy with the vibration of the player's lips. Brass instruments are also called labrosones or labrophones, from Latin ...

and other orchestral instruments. In the US, "Tell All the People" reached No. 57 on the '' Billboard'' Hot 100 charts and No. 33 on the '' Cash Box'' Top 100 chart. The US single release of the song contains a longer fade-out and runs few seconds longer than the album version as a result.

Album credits

For the first time on a Doors album, all the songs on ''The Soft Parade'' had individual songwriter credits. Previously, all songs had been credited to the entire group. This change was instigated by usual lyricist

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 ...

, who didn't want people to think he had written the lyrics to "Tell All the People", which includes a line by Robby Krieger encouraging listeners to "...get your guns." Krieger would later say that Morrison didn't like the lyric because he was apprehensive that people would come to the band's concerts with guns. However, Krieger refused to change the line. When interviewed by Jerry Hopkins for ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'', Morrison said: "In the beginning, I wrote most of the songs, the words and music. On each successive album, Robby riegercontributed more songs. Until finally on this album it's almost split between us." According to ''The Doors FAQ'' author Richie Weidman, Morrison's general opinion about "Tell All the People" is that it had "terrible, corny lyrics", but it was overall a "nice song".

Reception

The song received a mixed reaction by critics. '' Creem Magazine'' called it "innocuous enough hippie call-to-arms with none of the jumbled wit of

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

's '

Come Together "Come Together" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, written by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney. The song is the opening track on their 1969 album ''Abbey Road'' and was also released as a single coupled with " Somethi ...

'." ''

'' critic Alec Dubro also related "Tell All the People" with " Touch Me" as "

horn Horn most often refers to: *Horn (acoustic), a conical or bell shaped aperture used to guide sound ** Horn (instrument), collective name for tube-shaped wind musical instruments *Horn (anatomy), a pointed, bony projection on the head of various ...

- string showpieces" for lead vocalist Jim Morrison which "stick that idiocy (of the Doors' typical ''reductio-ad-absurdum'' poetry) right up front and surround it", and derided the orchestral accompaniment as "the most cliche-ridden sounds". '' Cash Box'' described it as "slow, but rippling with the power of a large supporting group" and as having "a mighty sound." '' Record World'' called it "a big new hit – one of he Doors'best ever." Writing for ''

Ultimate Classic Rock Townsquare Media, Inc. (formerly Regent Communications until 2010) is an American radio network and media company based in Purchase, New York. The company started in radio and expanded into digital media toward the end of the 2000s, starting wi ...

'' in a retrospective review, critic Nick DeRiso claims that "Tell All the People" tries "for a (previous Doors hit single) 'Touch Me' kind of alchemy," but instead "comes off as strangely morose." In an

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 ...

album review of ''The Soft Parade'', critic

Richie Unterberger Richie Unterberger (born January 19, 1962) is an American author and journalist whose focus is popular music and travel writing. Life and writing Unterberger attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he wrote for the university newspaper '' ...

described it as an "uncharacteristically wistful" tune that was "not all that good, and not sung very convincingly by Morrison."

References

External links

* {{Authority control Anti-war songs The Doors songs Songs written by Robby Krieger Song recordings produced by Paul A. Rothchild 1969 singles 1968 songs Elektra Records singles