In 1969, The Doors broke away from their signature blues-rock sound with The Soft Parade. The experimental fourth studio album was a major departure for the band as it incorporated strings, saxophones, and a title track that started with a sermon.
Written by lead singer Jim Morrison, the song “The Soft Parade” closed the album with a nearly nine-minute piece that started with Morrison declaring, “When I was back there in seminary school, there was a person there who put forth the proposition that you can petition the Lord with prayer… You cannot petition the Lord with prayer!”
Bandmates Ray Manzarek, Robby Krieger, and John Densmore then began playing the multi-stylistic song that took fans on a winding trip with jazz-influenced and psychedelic rock passages.
“We had made three albums with the same formation, and at some point or another when you make albums you want to do an album with expanded sound,” Manzarek once explained in an interview posted by Best Classic Bands. “So you want to have some horns and strings. My God, everybody did it. And we were gonna do it too. I want some strings. I want some jazz arrangements. I want some classical arrangements. And everyone said yes. Great idea. And a record label that said it was fine.”
Due to the song’s complex studio orchestrations, The Doors rarely played “The Soft Parade” live. While they played a version of the song at their Madison Square Garden show in early 1969, the complete version of “The Soft Parade” was only performed once on camera, on the PBS TV special Critique later that year.
Filmed on a PBS soundstage in New York, “The Soft Parade” was introduced by the Village Voice’s Richard Goldstein as a “new song.” What followed was a sprawling nearly-10-minute performance, with a bearded Morrison screaming and moving wildly onstage. According to Songfacts, it remains the only known complete live performance of “The Soft Parade.”
Manzarek described the performance, which also featured The Soft Parade tracks “Tell All The People” and “Wishful Sinful,” as “all four Doors in perfect sympatico,” the outlet shared.
A post on Manzarek’s official website explained that The Doors’ PBS appearance came after Morrison’s arrest for lewd behavior in Miami resulted in the cancellation of the band’s tour.
“Public Television provided the only alternative for The Doors to present themselves in an uncensored environment,” Manzarek’s site explained. “The result is an arresting display of a mature band at the peak of its musical powers.”
Morrison died just two years after the PBS “The Soft Parade” performance, at age 27 in Paris.
Nearly 60 years later, “The Soft Parade” remains one of The Doors’ most ambitious songs—a strange musical journey that could only come from a band willing to experiment with a completely unexpected sound at the height of their fame.
Related: 1967 Classic Rock Hit, Tied to Banned TV Appearance, Climbed the Charts Again 20 Years Later
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