Robby Krieger
Electric Guitar Solo on
Back Door Man

About

Robby Krieger's electric guitar solo is the sole improvisation on The Doors' cover of Willie Dixon's "Back Door Man" from their 1967 self-titled debut album. Krieger takes one chorus of blues in A at a relaxed 89 BPM with a rock feel, interpreting the deep blues classic originally recorded by Howlin' Wolf in 1960. The 12-bar blues form provides a structured framework for Krieger's solo, which blends rock intensity with the blues tradition that inspired it. Jim Morrison's raw vocal delivery channels the song's primal energy, and Krieger's solo maintains that same visceral quality.

Robby Krieger was 19 to 20 years old at the time.