The band took its name from the title of Aldous Huxley's book The Doors of Perception, itself derived from a line in William Blake's The Marriage of Heaven and Hell: "If the doors of perception were cleansed, everything would appear to man as it is: infinite."

From February to May 1966, the group had a residency at the "rundown" and "sleazy" Los Angeles club London Fog, appearing on the bill with "Rhonda Lane Exotic Dancer". The experience gave Morrison confidence to perform in front of a live audience, and the band as a whole to develop songs such as "The End" and "Light My Fire" which would appear on their debut album. Ray Manzarek would later say that at the London Fog the band "became this collective entity, this unit of oneness ... that is where the magic began to happen."

People are strange when you're a stranger
Faces look ugly when you're alone
Women seem wicked when you're unwanted
Streets are uneven when you're down

Network executives asked that the word "higher" be removed. The group appeared to acquiesce, but performed the song in its original form, either because they had never intended to comply with the request or because Jim Morrison was nervous and forgot to make the change. (Manzarek has given conflicting accounts.) Either way, "higher" was sung out on national television, and the show's host, Ed Sullivan, canceled another six shows that had been planned. After the program's producer told the band they would never play on the show again, Jim Morrison reportedly replied: "Hey man. We just did the Sullivan Show."

According to Morrison's old friend from UCLA, Dennis Jakobs, Jim spent the summer after his graduation in 1965 living on Jakobs' rooftop in Venice Beach. He spent his time writing the poetry which would become a lot of the Doors' early songs, all while living on a diet of "canned beans and LSD."

On December 9, 1967, Morrison was kissing a fan backstage prior to the start of a concert when a police officer happened upon them. Unaware that he was the lead singer of the band about to perform, the officer told Morrison and the female to leave, to which Morrison said, "Eat it." The policeman took out a can of mace and warned Morrison, "Last chance", to which Morrison replied, "Last chance to eat it." Jim and the fan were were both sprayed. The concert was delayed for an hour while Jim recovered, after which The Doors took the stage very late. Halfway through the first set, Morrison proceeded to create an improvised song about his experience with the "little men in blue". The police took offense, and the concert ended abruptly, with Morrison being dragged offstage and arrested.

Come on, come on, come on, come on
Now touch me, babe
Can't you see that I am not afraid?
What was that promise that you made?
Why won't you tell me what she said?

"Celebration of the Lizard" was originally intended to be released as one full side of the band's third studio album, Waiting for the Sun, but producer Paul Rothchild didn't consider it commercial enough. A complete live performance of the piece would later appear on the band's 1970 live album Absolutely Live.

After their first album was released, Buick offered the Doors $75,000 to use "Light My Fire" in a commercial. While the rest of the band had approved the offer, Morrison flew into a rage when told of the plan to change the lyric to "Come on Buick, light my fire." He called Buick and threatened to personally smash a Buick with a sledgehammer on television, should the commercial be aired.

The car was christened "The Blue Lady" by Morrison's friend, Babe Hill. It was named after a character in a screenplay Morrison had been working on. Jim enjoyed freaking out his passengers, especially the one in what he called "the death seat," by driving the wrong way down alleyways at top speed. Hill recalls him wrecking the Blue Lady by driving into the curb. "We were right in the back of the Beverly Hills Police Department. They called a tow truck and a cab. The undercarriage was wiped out. I was just holding on, saying, 'Here we go, we're going to die.'"