• Writers: The Doors
• Producer: Paul A. Rothchild
• Recorded: Summer 1967 at Sunset Recorders in Hollywood, California
• Released: September 1967
• Players:
  Jim Morrison — vocals
  Ray Manzarek — keyboards
  Robby Krieger — guitar
  John Densmore — drums
• Album: Strange Days (Elektra, 1967)
• Also On:
  13 (Elektra, 1970)
  The Best Of The Doors (Elektra, 1973)
  The Doors Greatest Hits (Elektra, 1980)
  The Best Of The Doors (Elektra, 1987)
  Greatest Hits (Elektra, 1996)
  The Complete Studio Recordings (Elektra, 1999)
• Self-deprecating in spots, “People Are Strange” was Jim Morrison‘s reaction to the way people were treating him and the other members of the Doors — first in Los Angeles and then around the country — as the group became ever more popular.
• The song peaked at Number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100, a comedown from the Number One showing of the previous single, “Light My Fire,” but attributable to intense competition in the pop market from the likes of the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and Jefferson Airplane, among others.
• The Doors wrote and recorded the Strange Days album while its predecessor and the single “Light My Fire” were scaling the charts and making the group the hottest new arrival of the year.
• After the success of the Doors’ debut album, Elektra had advance orders of more than 500,000 copies for Strange Days.
• Between the two albums, Sunset Recorders had expanded its recording capacity from four to eight tracks, which gave the Doors greater opportunity to expand its sound.
• The Strange Days album peaked at Number Three on the Billboard 200 but was only certified gold, a disappointment after The Doors sold more than a million copies.

FAST FORWARD:

• Morrison died of mysterious causes on July 3rd, 1971, in Paris. Recently, the owner of a club in Paris has offered a conflicting version of the events of the night of Morrison’s death, which could possibly lead to a new investigation.
• The three surviving members recorded two more albums before breaking up in 1973.
• The Doors’ own label Bright Midnight Records has issued rare and unreleased music from the Doors’ vaults. The CDs are available at the band’s official website, thedoors.com.
• The Doors were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on January 12th, 1983, with Pearl Jam lead singer Eddie Vedder joining the surviving musicians for two songs.
• Krieger and Manzarek reunited in 2002 under the Doors banner, with Police drummer Stewart Copeland and Cult singer Ian Astbury. Copeland and Astbury have both since departed, and vocals are being handled by Fuel singer Brett Scallions.
• Densmore and Morrison’s parents and in-laws filed suit over the use of the name, Morrison’s likeness, and other Doors-related issues. As a result, the group had to change its name once again. Krieger and Manzarek now bill themselves as Riders On The Storm.

The Doors are in the midst of an ongoing 40th anniversary celebration, which has included the authorized biography called The Doors By The Doors and a 12-disc box set called Perception.