Jimmy The Back Door Man

Florida State University: Toward a Greater University......This is a public relations film on Florida State University that, in two brief scenes, features a young Jim Morrison years before his more recognized role as lead singer for The Doors.


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Back Door Man:

Wha, yeah! C'mon, yeah Yeah, c'mon, yeah Yeah, c'mon Oh, yeah, ma Yeah, I'm a back door man I'm a back door man The men don't know But the little girl understand Hey, all you people that tryin' to sleep I'm out to make it with my midnight dream, yeah 'Cause I'm a back door man The men don't know But the little girls understand All right, yeah You men eat your dinner Eat your pork and beans I eat more chicken Than any man ever seen, yeah, yeah I'm a back door man, wha The men don't know But the little girls understand Well, I'm a back door man I'm a back door man Whoa, baby, I'm a back door man The men don't know But the little girls understand

A Willie Dixon blues song from 1961, it has been covered by John Hammond Jr. and Howlin' Wolf, among others. The Doors decided to cover this after their guitarist, Robbie Krieger, heard John Hammond Jr.'s version.

A "Back Door Man" is a guy who has relations with a woman while her husband has been out slaving away to provide for her. The usual guilty perpetrator if a wife was caught cheating was a regular tradesman caller (Ice Man, Insurance Salesman etc.). He would then run out the back door as the husband entered the front door.

The "Back Door Man" theme has been taken up in several Soul and Blues songs, including "Back Door Santa" by Clarence Carter. (thanks, Gary - Thetford, England, for above 2)
At a show at Winterland in San Francisco, they stopped in the middle of this when their taped performance came on The Jonathan Winters Show. They watched the segment from a TV on stage, picked up their instruments, and finished the song.

In 2000, the surviving members of the Doors taped a VH1 Storytellers episode with guest vocalists filling in for Morrison. Former Cult lead singer Ian Astbury sang on this. He became their new lead singer when Robbie Krieger and Ray Manzarek re-formed The Doors a few years later.

The Doors played a lot of Blues songs in their early days when they were playing clubs, but this is the only one they recorded until 2 years later, when they did "Crawling King Snake" on L.A. Woman.

The Doors performed this at the Isle of Wight Festival in 1970. The Doors didn't play well, as Morrison was worried about his trial resulting from a Miami concert where he exposed himself to the crowd.

The Doors were playing this in New Haven, CT on Dec. 9, 1967 when Jim Morrison was arrested on stage for breech of peace. He was angry about being confronted backstage by police after he was seen in a sexual encounter with a young girl. He went on a tirade against the police and exposed himself on stage, prompting his arrest.

Jim Morrison left out lyrics from the original version about being accused of murder.

Wha, yeah! C'mon, yeah Yeah, c'mon, yeah Yeah, c'mon Oh, yeah, ma Yeah, I'm a back door man I'm a back door man The men don't know But the little girl understand Hey, all you people that tryin' to sleep I'm out to make it with my midnight dream, yeah 'Cause I'm a back door man The men don't know But the little girls understand All right, yeah You men eat your dinner Eat your pork and beans I eat more chicken Than any man ever seen, yeah, yeah I'm a back door man, wha The men don't know But the little girls understand Well, I'm a back door man I'm a back door man Whoa, baby, I'm a back door man The men don't know But the little girls understand