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Song · The Doors

“Back Door Man” by The Doors

From the album The Doors (1967)

“Back Door Man” by The Doors appears on 21 radio countdowns from 8 stations between 1982 and 2024. It was first released in 1967 on the album The Doors. Its best result is #204 on the KLOS Memorial Day 500 (1982). In the combined RockLists rankings it is #922 classic rock song of all time.

21countdowns

8stations

#204best position

0#1 finishes

0top 10 finishes

1982–2024years charted

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Video from YouTube (The Doors - Topic). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

"Back Door Man" is the Doors paying their dues to the blues on their self-titled 1967 debut, taking a Willie Dixon song first recorded by Howlin' Wolf and giving it a slow, knowing leer. It's one of a whole run of Dixon-Wolf numbers that rock bands couldn't keep their hands off, and the title explains the appeal: old Southern slang for a man carrying on with a married woman and slipping out the back before her husband walks in, a rascal the blues had been singing about long before Wolf got to him.

Jim Morrison takes the vocal, with Ray Manzarek on keyboards, Robby Krieger on guitar and John Densmore on drums. Paul A. Rothchild produced, and Bruce Botnick engineered and mixed.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

RockLists rankings

Classic Rock

#922 of all time

Hard Rock & Metal

#571 of all time

All Rock Formats

#1,944 of all time

All-time and decade countdowns

Year	#	Station	Countdown	of
1982	204	95.5 KLOS	KLOS Memorial Day 500 (1982)	499
1991	400	WNEW-FM	WNEW Firecracker 500 (1991)	500
1994	360	KISW	KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1994)	1000
1995	492	KISW	KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1995)	1000
1996	670	KISW	KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1996)	1000
1997	708	102.3 WBAB	WBAB Top 1,023 Rock and Roll Songs of All Time (1997)	1023
1998	441	KISW	KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1998)	1000
1999	434	KISW	KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1999)	998
2002	682	92.3 KGON	KGON Top 923 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2002)	923
2004	675	92.3 KGON	KGON Top 923 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2004)	923
2011	382	100.7 WZLX	100.7 WZLX Top 1100 Countdown (2011)	1100
2012	385	100.7 WZLX	100.7 WZLX Top 1200 Countdown (2012)	1200
2013	280	100.7 WZLX	100.7 WZLX Grand Jam 1000 (2013)	1000
2013	277	100.7 WZLX	100.7 WZLX Firecracker 500 (2013)	500
2014	321	100.7 WZLX	100.7 WZLX 1K Countdown (2014)	1000
2015	278	100.7 WZLX	100.7 WZLX Top 1007 Classic Rock Countdown (2015)	1007
2015	398	100.7 WZLX	100.7 WZLX Firecracker 500 (2015)	499
2016	789	100.7 WZLX	100.7 WZLX Top 1007 Countdown for 2016	1007
2021	492	WCSX	WCSX Rock & Roll 500 (2021)	499
2023	488	Q104.3	Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2023)	1043
2024	670	Q104.3	Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2024)	1043

Also listed as: Backdoor Man.

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