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50 free The Doors trivia questions with answers — music quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
42 free The Doors trivia questions with answers. Doors trivia for people who know why the band had no bass player and what Mr. Mojo Risin' spells. These 50 questions cover the whole arc, from Jim Morrison and Ray Manzarek meeting on the sand in 1965 to Morrison's death in a Paris bathtub six years later, and the two albums the trio made without him. You will find the origin of the band's name (an Aldous Huxley title borrowed from William Blake), the Whisky a Go Go firing, the Ed Sullivan Show dare, the number-one runs of 'Light My Fire' and 'Hello, I Love You', the Miami arrest, the sessions for Morrison Hotel and L.A. Woman, the producer who walked out over 'cocktail music', Oliver Stone's 1991 film and the 1993 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame reunion with Eddie Vedder on vocals. Difficulty runs from easy (who sang lead?) to hard (which session guitarist played bass on 'Roadhouse Blues'?), and every answer is verified against a documented source. No lyrics are quoted, so nothing here will get you flagged for singing along.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01The Doors took their name from a Huxley book that itself referenced a line by which poet?
William Blake
Huxley's The Doors of Perception (1954) describes his experiment with mescaline.
Q 02On the beach in which city did Jim Morrison and Ray Manzarek run into each other in July 1965?
Santa Monica
They met in front of Manzarek's house on Fraser Avenue; Morrison confessed he had been writing songs.
Q 03Which record executive signed the Doors in August 1966 after watching two sets at the Whisky a Go Go?
Jac Holzman
He ran Elektra Records and came at the suggestion of Arthur Lee of Love; the club fired the band three days after the signing.
Q 04Which Los Angeles band's singer recommended that Elektra's president go and see the Doors?
Love
Arthur Lee's group was already on Elektra; the Doors would soon eclipse them as the label's biggest act.
Q 05The Doors' debut album was recorded at which Hollywood studio and released in January 1967?
Sunset Sound
Its first single, 'Break On Through', stalled at number 126 but became a concert staple.
Q 06'Light My Fire' was principally written by which member of the band, though it was credited to all four?
Robby Krieger
The edited single spent three weeks at number one in 1967; José Feliciano's cover reached number three the next year and won a Grammy.
Q 07How many weeks did 'Light My Fire' spend at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1967?
Three
It re-entered the chart in 1968 on the back of Feliciano's cover, peaking at number 87 the second time.
Q 08Which word did Ed Sullivan Show executives ask the Doors to drop from 'Light My Fire' in 1967?
Higher
They sang it anyway; the band has given conflicting accounts of whether it was defiance or Morrison forgetting.
Q 09The Doors had no permanent bassist. On stage, Ray Manzarek covered the low end with what?
A Rhodes Piano Bass, left-handed
His right hand played a Vox Continental organ; studio albums from Strange Days on used session bassists.
Q 10Ray Manzarek was born and raised on the South Side of which city?
Chicago
He was of Polish descent; his grandparents emigrated in the 1890s.
Q 11Which Doors song features one of rock's first Moog synthesizers, played by Jim Morrison?
Strange Days
Paul Beaver helped programme it; the album cover was shot in Sniffen Court, an alley in Manhattan.
Q 12The Doors' second album cover, showing street performers, was shot in an alley in which city?
New York
Joel Brodsky could not find real performers for every role, so his assistant juggled and a cab driver was paid $5 to hold a trumpet.
Q 13'People Are Strange' came out of a walk Morrison took in which part of the Hollywood Hills?
Laurel Canyon
Krieger suggested the walk; Morrison came back euphoric with the early lyrics.
Q 21The Doors' longtime producer quit L.A. Woman after dismissing which song as 'cocktail music'?
Love Her Madly
He had produced their first five albums; a persistent rumour wrongly claimed the insult was aimed at 'Riders on the Storm'.
Q 22The phrase 'Mr. Mojo Risin'' in the song 'L.A. Woman' is what?
An anagram of Jim Morrison
Krieger's guitar intro on the track imitates the sound of a revving car engine.
Q 23Which track is known as the last song Jim Morrison recorded before his death?
Riders on the Storm
Morrison whispered a second vocal over the mix at Poppi Studios to create the ghostly echo.
Q 14Which 1968 album became the Doors' only number one on the Billboard 200?
Waiting for the Sun
It topped the chart for four weeks and carried their second US number one single, 'Hello, I Love You'.
Q 15Ray Davies said the riff of 'Hello, I Love You' borrowed from which Kinks song?
All Day and All of the Night
Krieger has said the drum beat actually came from Cream's 'Sunshine of Your Love'; Davies chose not to sue.
Q 16'Touch Me', from The Soft Parade, features a jazz solo by which saxophonist?
Curtis Amy
Morrison boasted it was 'the first rock hit to have a jazz solo in it'; Krieger wrote the song.
Q 17In which city was Morrison arrested for indecent exposure after a March 1969 Doors concert?
Miami
The Dinner Key Auditorium was a converted seaplane hangar with no air conditioning and no seats.
Q 18What sentence did Morrison receive after his conviction for the Miami performance?
Six months' hard labour and a $500 fine
He turned down a plea deal that would have required a free Miami concert, and remained free pending appeal until his death.
Q 19Morrison Hotel is split into two titled sides. One is 'Morrison Hotel'; what is the other?
Hard Rock Café
Henry Diltz shot the cover; the album reached number 4 in the US and became their best UK chart showing at 12.
Q 20Which blues-rock guitarist, then an Elektra A&R man, ended up playing bass on 'Roadhouse Blues'?
Lonnie Mack
The regular session bassist was stuck in traffic; ex-Lovin' Spoonful frontman John Sebastian played harmonica under a pseudonym.
Q 24Where was Jim Morrison found dead on the morning of July 3, 1971?
In a bathtub in his Paris apartment
Pamela Courson found him; no autopsy was performed because French law did not require one, and the cause was listed as heart failure.
Q 25How old was Jim Morrison when he died?
27
That put him in the so-called 27 Club with Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin, who had both died the previous year.
Q 26Jim Morrison is buried in which Paris cemetery?
Père Lachaise
His grave is one of the most visited in the city; a bust placed there in 1981 was stolen in 1988.
Q 27In which Florida city was Jim Morrison born in 1943?
Melbourne
His father was a Navy officer who rose to rear admiral, so the family moved constantly.
Q 28Morrison's longtime companion Pamela Courson died in 1974 at what age?
27
A California court ruled the pair had a common-law marriage; Morrison's will had named her sole heir.
Q 29What was the first album the remaining three Doors released after Morrison's death, in October 1971?
Other Voices
Full Circle followed in 1972; both were largely ignored by the band for decades and got no official US CD release until 2006.
Q 30The 1978 album An American Prayer set new Doors music to what?
Morrison's recorded poetry readings
The poetry was taped in 1969 and 1970; the surviving trio reunited to build the tracks around it.