The Doors!

[Kiki]

Since it's The Doors' 40th anniversery this year I wanted to pay tribute to that amazing 60's band by making a thread 'bout them.

Here's to The Doors!!!

And rest in peace, Jim Morrison... wherever you are.

 

[Winslow Leach]

I hate to nitpick, buuuuuuuuuut.....

The Doors actually formed in the summer of 1965. But '67 was the year of their debut album, the year when most people heard them for the first time.

Anyway, I'm a big fan of the Doors. I discovered them my freshman year in high school. Every week when I'd get my allowance, I'd run down to the record store and pick up one of their albums on cassette (in those days I couldn't afford CDs).

Although Jim Morrison was the front man, Ray Manzarek, Robbie Krieger and John Densmore were equally important. In fact, before concerts, Morrison would tell the announcer to introduce the group as "The Doors" and NOT "Jim Morrison and the Doors," as announcers would frequently intro them. If Morrison heard his name mentioned separately from the band, he would refuse to go on, until the "error" was changed.

I always tell newbies to the Doors (I'm not calling you a "newbie," Kiki, 'cause you're obviously a fan), DON'T judge Jim Morrison by Oliver Stone's historically inaccurate film. Stone presents Morrison in a one-dimensional, often negative way. From the various books, articles and interviews I have read, Morrison was far from the rather sociopathic madman Stone chose to portray him as. True, Jim Morrison had his share of problems and demons. But he was also highly intelligent (his IQ was said to be 149), funny, caring and generous to his fans.

Ray Manzarek despises the Stone film, and spends several pages in his autobiography, Light My Fire, separating fact from fiction.

And yes, Jim Morrison is one of those "is he still alive?" celebrities. Because he supposedly died of a "heart attack" at age 27, speculation has been raging since July 3, 1971, the day his body was found in a Paris bathtub, that Jim faked his death to live the life of an anonymous poet. That he was hastily buried without an autopsy or funeral of any kind has further fueled rumors that the Lizard King is alive and well. Unfortunately, the truth is Morrison's excessive lifestyle eventually caught up with him, and he is buried in Paris's Pere Lachaise cemetery, along with Oscar Wilde, Balzac and other artistic greats. He is also the only American to be buried there.

After Morrison's death, the three surviving Doors recorded two more albums, Other Voices and Full Circle, with Manzarek and Krieger handling the vocals. Around this time, the band considered hiring a new frontman. Believe it or not, Iggy Pop was seriously a contender! But in the end, the band decided to call it quits, reuniting in 1978 for An American Prayer, an album of spoken-word poems by Morrison set to music.

In 2002, Manzarek and Krieger started a new band, The Doors of the 21st Century. Drummer John Densmore was forced to quit, due to tinnitus. The new frontman was The Cult's Ian Astbury for a while, until he left for other projects.

Sadly Danny Sugerman, the Doors' second manager, who had been with the band since the age of 12 (answering their fan mail) passed away in 2005, due to lung cancer.

On a happier note, last month the Doors received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

I highly recommend three books about the Doors:

No One Here Gets Out Alive - Jerry Hopkins & Danny Sugerman. This was the first major Doors biography, published in 1980, just as the band was getting rediscovered by a new generation of fans, thanks to Coppola's use of "The End" in Apocalypse Now, and a new compilation album.

Riders on the Storm - drummer John Densmore's recollections of life with Morrison and Co., published around the time of the Stone movie.

Light My Fire - Ray Manzarek's autobiography. Unlike Densmore and Krieger, Manzarek knew Morrison the longest. They met as students at UCLA film school, went their separate ways, and later met by chance on the beach at Venice. It was there in July, 1965 that the two of them talked about forming a rock band.

 

[Kiki]

Thank you for replying Windlow- I love meeting fans of The Doors!

Yeah, The Doors *were* actually formed in '65, but they released their first vinyl recordings back in '67.

I totally agree, the Oliver Stone film was not an accurate depiction of The Doors or Jim Morrison. Sure Jim had his problems, like the rest of us, and yes, he was somewhat drugged out a bit, but in real life he spoke with more assertiveness and intelligence. He was a smart guy, and an amazing poet. Yeah... I also heard Ray Manzarek say in an interview that he didn't approve of the film and actually despised it. Personally, I thought the Stone movie was a slap in the face to Jim and Ray, who both went to UCLA film school, to make a mediocre film.

I heard that Jim Morrison either died from heart failure, drug overdose or suicide... but I'm not sure. At 27, too. Wow. Same age as Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin. Same year I think, as well. One day I'd like to visit Jim's grave in Paris.

Man, I'm sorry to hear about Danny Sugerman... may he rest in peace with Jim. But yeah- on a happier note, I'm rapt to here The Doors received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame!

But yeah... I thought it would be a good idea to pay tribute to The Doors... an incredible band. Yeah, okay, I wasn't around in their hayday, but I have been a fanatic for years. They're songs saved me. They preserved me. For better or for worse, they stuck in me like the sarts from h***... or heaven, maybe?

Btw, I have never read a book about the band,but I'd love to- so thanks for the recommendations, I'll look into getting them!

 

[Ilikemuppets]

Here's to the Doors!

 

[Kiki]

I heard that Jim Morrison either died from heart failure, drug overdose or suicide... but I'm not sure. At 27, too. Wow. Same age as Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin. Same year I think, as well.

Sorry, Joplin and Hendrix actually died the year before Jim Morrison did, in 1970. Just wanted to clear that up.

I wanted to share this picture with you guys. I'm sure quite a few of you have seen it though. I have a massive poster of it up in my room, it's really beautiful, it's called The Spirit Of Jim Morrison:

http://imagecache2.allposters.com/images/pic/20/WAG2295.JPG

 

[Winslow Leach]

Cool poster, Kiki!

Yeah, the Stone film is atrocious. I mean, so much of what Stone "re-created" is available on tape. He could have easily gone with the original source rather than create his own "vision" of what originally happened.

For instance, the Ed Sullivan scene. If you look at the actual performance, Jim sings the song mostly with his eyes closed, and in a quiet, somewhat subdued manner. He doesn't shout "HIGHER!" into the camera and jump around the stage as Stone has him do.

Stone claims the New Haven concert where Jim was arrested onstage for breaking obscenity laws (basically making fun of the police) happened in 1968. Uh-uh. My dad was actually at that show, and it took place in December, 1967, at the old, now long gone New Haven Arena. And the girl Morrison was with backstage prior to the show was not the reporter character from the film (who herself was a composite of several people), but simply a fan. As I said...Jim loved his fans!

Speaking of fans...

The Doors' fans in the film are portrayed as screaming teenyboppers. This, according to Manzarek, is another falsity. According to Ray, most of their fans were quiet and respectful during their concerts. Their fans didn't try to rush the stage or childishly call out for "Light My Fire" during other songs.

What really bothers Ray Manzarek is the way Stone portrayed his friend. As I mentioned in my earlier post, Morrison was far from the crazed figure Stone shows him as. Manzarek is particularly irked by the UCLA scene in which a professor (played by Stone) shows Morrison's movie. Manzarek claims Morrison's student film was absolutely nothing like what Stone put together (and yet Stone pompously claims in his DVD commentary on the film that this is a close version of the student film Jim made...when Stone himself didn't even see the original; I believe it is lost). Ray says Morrison's student film had nothing to do with Nazis, and was a complete slap in the face to his friend's work.

Speaking of Stone's DVD commentary, it's a hoot to hear him come off as a "fan" of the group, but he frequently gets facts wrong. "Jim did this," "Jim did that"...all you need to do is pick up a Morrison bio, skim a few pages, and find out how wrong Stone was. He even repeatedly calls one of the Doors' most famous songs "Killer on the Road" instead of "Riders on the Storm." I mean, come on! If he can't even get the title of a song correct...

Anyway, before Stone came aboard, a Doors movie had been in the works for about a decade. Various directors, such as my man Brian De Palma, Martin Scorsese, Alex Cox and Francis Ford Coppola, among others, were at one time mentioned or rumored to make a Doors film. Even Ray Manzarek offered his services, but no studio would bite.

Some of the actors considered for Morrison over the years included John Travolta, Charlie Sheen, Richard Gere (huh?), Tom Cruise (double huh?), Ian Astbury, Kyle MacLachlan (who ended up playing Manzarek in the Stone film), and Michael Hutchence of INXS. Travolta came closest to playing Morrison in the early 80s in a film directed by Brian De Palma. I have several old issues of "Rolling Stone," and there are small articles talking about the proposed film, which unfortunately never got off the ground.

The sad part of the Stone film (as if it wasn't sad enough already) was that John Densmore and Robbie Krieger both gave their blessings and worked as technical consultants (Densmore can be seen early in the film as a producer recording Jim's last session: "Hey man, why aren't the Doors in on this?") Stone rejected or ignored most of their suggestions.

Ray Manzarek, despite being offered a chance to consult on the film, wisely declined.

And where the heck was Morrison's famous leather jacket? Val Kilmer, who played Morrison, never wears it once in the film.

 

[Winslow Leach]

Brian Jones - died July 3, 1969 - 27 years old

Jimi Hendrix - died September 18, 1970 - 27 years old

Janis Joplin - died October 4, 1970 - 27 years old

Jim Morrison - died July 3, 1971 - 27 years old

Kurt Cobain - died April 5, 1994 - 27 years old

 

[Winslow Leach]

Here are a few cool Morrison quotes:

A friend is someone who gives you total freedom to be yourself.

I see myself as a huge fiery comet, a shooting star. Everyone stops, points up and gasps, "oh look at that!" Then, whoosh, and I'm gone...and they'll never see anything like it ever again, and they won't be able to forget me--ever.

Expose yourself to your deepest fear. After that, fear has no power, and the fear of freedom shrinks and vanishes. You are free.

I think the highest and lowest points for a musician are the most important. Everything in between is, well...in between.

 

[Ilikemuppets]

That a really nice picture, Katie!

 

[Winslow Leach]

Oh yeah, one other thing about the Stone film that is totally inaccurate:

In the UCLA scene, the students boo Morrison's "film," and he quits the school.

In actuality, Morrison made two student films AND received an undergraduate degree in Cinematography at UCLA film school. He never quit.