Feature Song: “People Are Strange”
I have decided to take advantage of there being five Sundays in March to do a mini series on two artists that I have featured previously over the last year. Both Haley Reinhart (DUTC#8) and Morgan James (DUTC#15) have been featured singers with the music collective Post Modern Jukebox (PMJ), an oft-used group for this blog, and both Reinhart and James have recorded and performed as solo acts, which will be the focus of this series. There will be two posts from each artist and the final post is a performance by both Reinhart and James.
Haley Elizabeth Reinhart (1990) is an American singer, songwriter and actress from Wheeling, Illinois. Like many singer-songwriters these days, like it or not, she rose to prominence after placing third in the tenth season of American Idol, and if you can believe all the comments on her YouTube videos, she should have won. Her debut album, Listen Up! Was released in 2012 to widespread acclaim, and she became the first American Idol contestant to perform at Lollapalooza. Throughout 2015, Reinhart collaborated with Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox. Her initial video was a cover of Tove Lo’s “Habits,” and two months later, she did a cover of Meghan Trainor’s “All About the Bass,” singing alongside Morgan James and Ariana Savalas. She did several more videos with PMJ including an amazing cover of Radiohead’s “Creep,” and then toured with the group throughout North America, Europe, and Australia for several months. She continues to record and perform, with a second album, Better, released in 2016, a second album, “What’s That Sound,” 2017 and two Eps, “Bulletproof” (2019), and “Off The Ground” (2022). Reinhart made her live action acting debut in the 2020 film, We Can Be Heroes.
“People Are Strange” is a song by the Doors, which appeared on their second studio album, Strange Days (1967), which is to this day one of my favorite albums of all time, and one I listen to fairly regularly even today. The song was written by Jim Morrison and guitarist Robby Krieger, although the whole band is credited on the album. According to drummer Jon Densmore, the song was inspired by a walk along Laurel Canyon in the Hollywood Hills area of Los Angeles. Given the area and the year, the title seems fitting!
First up The Doors, followed by Reinhart’s live performance at the Whiskey A Go Go, accompanied by none other than Robby Krieger on guitar and backup vocals. I am providing two videos of this, one of just the song and one with an intro by Krieger telling the story about how the song came to be. Take your pick or indulge and watch both!
The Doors. “People Are Strange.” 1967 (Official Audio).
Haley Reinhart. “People Are Strange.” Live at The Whiskey A Go Go, 2020. Extended version.
Haley Reinhart. “People Are Strange” Live at The Whiskey A Go Go, 2020.
Los Angeles 2024
I love The Doors. I guess if I had to pick one album only, I’d probably go with their 1967 eponymous debut. I also dig many songs from their other albums including “People Are Strange”. I had not heard of Haley Reinhart before, I think. Her live performance of the song with Robby Krieger is pretty cool!
Same here. I like that first album a great deal as well. Pretty cool indeed!
I really thing this is my favorite Doors song, great to hear that story by Krieger. Haley did a great job.
Love the Doors original, and Reinhart’s version with Krieger is pretty good too.