There is something in the music business called “The Third Album Syndrome.” When an act starts out, they usually have enough material to record at least two albums and, if they are successful, after that, they go on tour and don’t have time to write a third album. That third album gets written in bits and pieces and sometimes, doesn’t live up to the quality of the first two. The Doors had that problem. That third album came with a lot of difficulty. Jim Morrison was being a pain in the neck and would walk out of sessions for no apparent reason. At one point, drummer John Densworth, just threw his drum sticks to the floor and walked out saying he was done with the Doors. But, the group finally got the album completed and Waiting For the Sun was their first and only number one album. It was a great third album.

There are two singles which were released from the album. “The Universal Soldier,” an anti-Vietnam War song, came out first but didn’t make much of an impression, peaking at 39 on the U.S. charts. The second single made up for all of that. “Hello, I Love You” became their second and last number one song in the U.S. In was number one in Canada and number 15 in England, making it their first charting song in England since “Light My Fire.”

There was some talk that “Hello, I Love You” was very similar to the Kinks song “All Day and All of the Night.” No official accusations were ever made, but it is said that Dave Davies, the guitarist for the Kinks, noticed the similarity and complained about it. I just listened to both songs, and I don’t hear it. The basic beat is sort of the same, but the songs are very different.

For some reason Jim really didn’t like “Hello, I Love You.” Quite often, during concerts, he would turn the singing over to Ray Manzarek for this song.

Jim Morrison wrote the song one day when he and Ray were in Venice, California, just watching the girls go by. Jim saw this striking black girl walking on the beach and the music for “Hello, I Love You” came into his head. The words came later, but he had the start of his song.

Even this early, the Doors were starting to fall apart. Things got worse and worse until 1971, when on a trip to Paris with his girlfriend Pamela Courson, Jim Morrison died while bathing in his hotel tub. No cause of death was ever revealed, but it is assumed that drugs and alcohol had something to do with it. “Hello, I Love You” is the last number one the Doors ever had.

“Hello, I Love You” debuted on the pop charts on July 13, 1968 and stayed at the top for two weeks.