"Touch Me" is a song by

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 ...

from their 1969 album '' The Soft Parade''. Written by 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 ...

in late 1968, it is notable for its extensive usage of brass and string instruments, including a solo by featured saxophonist

Curtis 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 ...

. It was released as a single in December 1968 and reached No. 3 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large adverti ...

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

(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 The Canadian Singles Chart was a chart compiled by the American-based music sales tracking company, Nielsen SoundScan, which began publication in November 1996. It was published every Wednesday and also published on Thursday by ''Jam!''/Canoe. It ...

and at No. 10 in the

Kent Music Report The Kent Music Report was a weekly record chart of Australian music singles and albums which was compiled by music enthusiast David Kent (historian), David Kent from May 1974 through to January 1999. The chart was re-branded the Australian Music ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

. However, despite the band's commercial success the previous year, "Touch Me" did not chart in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

Composition

According to

Bruce Botnick Bruce Botnick (born 1945) is an American audio engineer and record producer, best known for his work with the Doors, the Beach Boys, Eddie Money, Love and film composer Jerry Goldsmith. Early work Botnick engineered Love's first two albums, and ...

's liner notes, the song was initially referred to by its various working titles; "I'm Gonna Love You", from a line in the chorus, or "Hit Me", a reference to

blackjack Blackjack (formerly Black Jack and Vingt-Un) is a casino banking game. The most widely played casino banking game in the world, it uses decks of 52 cards and descends from a global family of casino banking games known as Twenty-One. This fam ...

. 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. Lead singer

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 ...

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. Additionally, at the end of the song, Morrison can be heard shouting "stronger than dirt", which was a slogan from an

Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * ''Ajax'' (play), by the ancient Gree ...

commercial. ''

'' 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." ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an onli ...

'' described it as "a marvelous track" in which the Doors "add a helping of beat to their hard-hitting style."

Musical style and structure

"Touch Me" incorporates influences from

traditional pop music Traditional pop (also known as classic pop and pre-rock and roll pop) is Western pop music that generally pre-dates the advent of rock and roll in the mid-1950s. The most popular and enduring songs from this era of music are known as pop standard ...

. The introduction is notated in the key of Bb Minor with a 4/4 time signature. The song's writer, Robby Krieger, interpolated the guitar riff from the 1967 Four Seasons song " C'mon Marianne". The track's last section piece includes a

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

-inflected saxophone solo played by

. 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". In the book ''A to X of Alternative Music'', "Touch Me" was described as a "solid gold

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest att ...

classic". Writing for

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

, critic Jason Elias wrote that the song has "the style of

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' ( ...

and pure lounge." Some critics suggested the track blends pop with

psychedelic rock Psychedelic rock is a rock music genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound effects and recording te ...

; a combination which was unique at the time. It has also been characterized, along with other album tracks, as an early attempt of

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. I ...

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.

Personnel

The Doors *

– lead vocals *

Ray Manzarek Raymond Daniel Manzarek Jr. (né Manczarek; February 12, 1939 – May 20, 2013) was an American keyboardist. He is best known as a member of the Doors, co-founding the band with singer and lyricist Jim Morrison in 1965. Manzarek was induc ...

– Gibson Kalamazoo organ, celesta *

– guitar *

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 ...

– drums Additional personnel *Paul Harris – orchestral arrangements *

–

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while ...

(solo) * Harvey Brooks – bass guitar

Chart history

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control The Doors songs 1968 singles Cashbox number-one singles RPM Top Singles number-one singles Songs written by Robby Krieger Song recordings produced by Paul A. Rothchild 1968 songs Elektra Records singles