Spanish Caravan
"Spanish Caravan" is a 1968 song written by Robby Krieger, and credited to Jim Morrison, Ray Manzarek, Robby Krieger and John Densmore that was released on The Doors' 1968 album Waiting For The Sun.
Background and recording
"Spanish Caravan" was written by Robby Krieger around late 1966.[1] He was inspired by, and took parts from the songs, "Asturias" by Isaac Albéniz, and "Adiós Granada" by Tomas Barrera, and Rafael Calleja.[2] The song was written to showcase Krieger's flamenco guitar skills, which he started learning when he was 17.[3][4] According to John Densmore, "In rehearsal, I always asked Robby to play flamenco so I could watch his picking. His right hand looked like a crab with many legs crawling over the strings."[3][5] The song was recorded on January 15, 1968, from 5:00pm-12:00am.[1] Mixing was done by May 3, 1968.[1]
Composition
The song starts with a flamenco intro, played by Krieger, and is joined by Harpsichord, played by keyboardist Ray Manzarek, later in the intro. The first verse mentions places like Portugal, Spain, and Andalusia, the southernmost part of Spain. When the chorus ends, the flamenco guitar stops, leading into an Acid rock instrumental, with use of the fuzz box. The second verse refers to the romanticized, and mythic wealth of the Iberian Peninsula, which attracted many explorers from across Europe.
Release and reception
"Spanish Caravan" was released on July 3, 1968, along with the rest of the Waiting For The Sun album.[6][1] During an interview with Rainier Moddemann of The Doors Quarterly, Robby Krieger stated that the band was sued for borrowing from "Asturias." The Doors were forced to give up some money, but only a little. Krieger explained, "They didn't get very much, 'cause it's such a widely known thing, but they claimed they owned this little something stupid."[4] The song was later included in the 1972 compilation Weird Scenes Inside The Gold Mine.
Pitchfork stated that "Spanish Caravan", and the previous song on the album, "The Unknown Soldier", felt more meandering than the band's longest pieces. They then called both songs "start/stop multi-sectional three-minute songs".[7] Rolling Stone called Krieger's flamenco guitar playing "stirring," while AllMusic called it "interesting."[8][9] Contrary to the previous 3 opinions, critic Bob Shayne of the L.A. Free Press commented that "Spanish Caravan" included some of the worst lyrics he had ever heard in his life.[3]
Live performances
The first live performance of "Spanish Caravan" was on January 6, 1967, at the Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco.[3] John Densmore mentioned in his autobiography, "Riders On The Storm" that the people in the first few rows stared at the band like they were from another planet. He also stated, "[During] Robby's solo in 'Spanish Caravan," Jim [Morrison] got down on his knees to get a closer look at Robby's fingers."[3][5]
The most famous performance was at the Hollywood Bowl, on July 5, 1968.[10][3] Other performances include one at the Roundhouse in September of 1968, and the final performance at Madison Square Garden on January 24, 1969.[11][12] As of 2026, Robby Krieger still performs the song on tour, starting around 2010.[2]
Personnel
Details are taken from the 2019 Rhino Records reissue liner notes.[13]
The Doors
- Jim MorrisonTemplate:Sndvocals
- Ray ManzarekTemplate:Sndharpsichord and Gibson G-101
- Robby KriegerTemplate:Sndflamenco and electric guitar
- John DensmoreTemplate:Snddrums
Additional musicians
- Douglas Lubahn - electric bass
- Leroy Vinnegar - acoustic bass
Technical
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "The Doors Studio Dates & Info". https://mildequator.com/recordinghistory/studioinfo.html.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Fanelli, Damian (January 8, 2018). "Watch Robby Krieger Play The Doors' "Spanish Caravan" with a String Quartet" (in en). https://www.guitarworld.com/artists/watch-robby-krieger-play-doors-spanish-caravan-la-philharmonic-quartet-flamenco.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Weidman, Rich (2011-10-01) (in en). The Doors FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the Kings of Acid Rock. Backbeat Books. ISBN 978-1-61713-110-3. https://books.google.com/books?id=HjPcWkEPSR8C&pg=PT175#v=onepage&q&f=false.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Songfacts. "Spanish Caravan by The Doors - Songfacts" (in en). https://www.songfacts.com/facts/the-doors/spanish-caravan.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Densmore, John (1991-09-01) (in en). Riders on the Storm: My Life with Jim Morrison and the Doors. National Geographic Books. ISBN 978-0-385-30447-4. https://books.google.com/books/about/Riders_on_the_Storm.html?hl=hy&id=FzSNEAAAQBAJ.
- ↑ "Music – The Doors". https://thedoors.com/music.
- ↑ Berman, Stuart (December 5, 2006). "The Doors: Perception" (in en-US). https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/9691-perception/.
- ↑ "The Doors: Album Guide | Rolling Stone Music". rollingstone.com. http://www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/the-doors/albumguide.
- ↑ The Doors: Waiting for the Sun Tracks & Reviews | AllMusic, https://www.allmusic.com/album/waiting-for-the-sun-mw0000193597, retrieved on 2026-11-09
- ↑ "The Doors | Hollywood Bowl 1968". https://mildequator.com/performancehistory/concertinfo/1968/680705.html.
- ↑ "The Doors | Madison Square Garden 1969". https://mildequator.com/performancehistory/concertinfo/1969/690124.html.
- ↑ "The Doors | London - The Roundhouse 1968 Night #1". https://mildequator.com/performancehistory/concertinfo/1968/680906.html.
- ↑ Template:Cite AV media notes