As part of NPR's 50th anniversary, we're looking back at other cultural milestones of 1971. That year The Doors released their final album L.A.... The Doors' Jim Morrison Died In 1971, The Same Year ...

From the late ‘60s to the start of the ‘70s, The Doors emerged as the figureheads for a bold new guard in rock, sharing a string of unprecedented albums that forever altered the face of popular music.

Like many of the bands we still adore today—Nirvana, The Beatles, and The Jimi Hendrix Experience—The Doors had a short lifespan. Active from 1965 to 1973, and deeply affected by frontman Jim Morrison ...