Densmore - The Doors Unhinged: Jim Morrionss Legacy Goes on Trial

ADVANCE PRAISE FOR THE DOORS: UNHINGED

There are some of us out there who still have principles and cannot be bought. John is one of them. He is not for sale and that is his gift to us.

Tom Waits

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame musician

When you read in these pages about the difficulties in communication suffered by and between surviving band members, you become witness to something very similar to the grief and heartbreak felt by parents who have lost a young child. It wasnt just Jim Morrison that they lost, but their kid, their band, The Doors.

Though its something I dont like to think about, there will come a time when I will be a Dead Rock Star. I can only hope that in my inevitable absence there will be someone with the integrity and principled behavior of Mr. Densmore looking after whatever legacy our group may leave behind.

Eddie Vedder

Film composer and lead singer for Pearl Jam

John Densmores latest book is exceptional. As usual the writing is excellent but the conflicts he endured in standing up for Jim Morrison long after he left the earth can provide inspiration for all who read the amazing story of what took place behind The Doors.

Michael Blake

Oscar-winning author of Dances with Wolves

John Densmore has repeatedly protected his band and its legacy under circumstances in which it would have been much easier to simply do nothing and collect a check in exchange for that passivity. He believes, however, that the continuing meaning of The Doors music is more important than money. Or perhaps he believes that the more meaningful The Doors music remains, the more successful it will be. In either case he has shown great courage and a determination to take the long view and the high road virtues that are important and all too rare both in the world of rock & roll and well beyond it.

Anthony DeCurtis,

Contributing Editor, Rolling Stone

Those of us who were on the bus in the sixties and took that magical and dangerous trip, came out of that experience with a code that would guide us for the rest of our lives. The lesson was to live your life as if there were something bigger than your own mortality at stake. That art, for example, gifted by the muse, is bigger than the artists who create it.

I am forever grateful to John Densmore, not only for enduring the crucible described in this book, but for never wavering from the code that some of us still hold so dear. Because the music that The Doors created is so important to so many people, its worth is much greater than the sum of its parts; and certainly greater than their commercial success. Because John Densmore believes this, we are all in his debt. Not only for renewing our belief in the transcendent magic of The Doors, but for staying true to the best ideals of our generation.

Jim Ladd,

DJ and author

The Doors: Unhinged

Jim Morrisons Legacy Goes on Trial

By John Densmore

Copyright 2013, John Densmore

All rights reserved.

PERCUSSIVE PRESS

Front cover photo: Joel Brodsky

Back cover: Fredric Goodich, ASC

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013900072

To Danny Sugerman
Who used to drive me crazy,
But at his final crossing,
Checked out like a
Bodhisattva

First and foremost, I want to thank Andrea Cagan for all the meticulous editing, encouragement, guidance, and humor!

Second, there would be no book without Jerry Mandel, my trusted barrister who stood by my side for years and has become a great friend. Hes still there.

So is my soul mate, Ildiko von Somogyi.

Jeff Forer, who represented the Estate. Steve and Clara Morrison, who have now been united with their son Jim.

Penny Courson, whose daughter Pam has also been united with Jim.

Emily and James.

Paul Fedorko for representing me and for who he is as a person.

Friends and fellow writers Sam Joseph and Bernie Schwartz, for editing.

Stewart Copeland, Anthony DeCurtis, and Nigel Williamson for their testimony.

Luka D. for staying on my case.

Leslie Neale, Brad Schreiber, Jim Southwick, Andrea Grefe, Jerry Swartz, Randall Wixon, Marilyn Jordan, Kelly, Jeff, Rio, and Samara.

Don Sloggy and the Lost Dogs.

I want my readers to note that the testimony covered in this book is just a small portion of the weightiness of the entire trial.

I would like to thank Shepard Fairey for his unique eye that so masterfully shaped the cover of this book. He got inside The Doors.

And finally, all the fans who stayed with me through thick and thin. And also, beneath the intensity of this project, all those who I have carelessly omitted.

Part of the proceeds from sales of this book will go to the Occupy movement.

We feared that the music which had given us sustenance,
was in danger of spiritual starvation.

We feared it losing its sense of purpose, we feared it
falling into fattened hands,

We feared it floundering in a mire of spectacle,
finance, and vapid technical complexity.

Patti Smith

Just Kids

Fuck you! Jim Morrison yelled.

His outburst shocked the rest of us. It was 1968, we were on a break from rehearsing, and Jim had never raised his voice to us like that before.

Fuck you guys! he repeated. I thought it was supposed to be all for one and one for all. I thought we were supposed to be brothers!

Jim, we are, man! Ray responded meekly. Nothing has changed.

Everything has fucking changed, Ray! Jim said. Everything!

Why? Ray asked. I dont understand. Just because we signed a contract to get a load of money for a fucking song in a Buick commercial why has everything changed?

Jim spoke from a deeply wounded place, actually pulling a knife out that he felt we had stabbed into the bands unspoken mission statement:

A band of musicians (warriors) who used
musical notes instead of arrows, and always
aimed for the listeners heart.

In Rays autobiography, he described this next comment as Jim stabbing The Doors in our collective heart:

Because I cant trust you anymore, Jim snapped. Its fucking industry! Its corporate! Its the devil, you asshole. Jim continued ranting. We always agreed that our music would never be used in commercials. You guys just made a pact with the devil.

Robby got defensive. The hell we did.

Oh yes you did, Robby. He shows you what you want and then he puts a little twist in it. Makes you say yes to him when you know you shouldnt Jim was pacing. But you go along with it because the deals just too good. It tastes too good. He stopped and stared at our keyboard player. Its too much money, isnt it, Ray?

Rays fur arched up along his back. Fuck you, Jim.

I know you, Ray, Jim said. Youre only in it for the money.

Ray retaliated. I just wanna make music. And if we can make some money at it thats cool with me.

Ray was trying to smooth things over, but his feeble attempt at fathering was failing. In his book, he described Jim during this period as over the top, gone, while he described himself as trying to maintain the dream ($?), hoping Jim would snap out of this phase he was in. Hoping that it was a phase. An aberration, a momentary aberration. Hoping that Jim would come to his senses and we could resume our grail quest together (for more $?). The four of us. The Doors.

Lots of money, Jim mumbled loud enough so we all could hear.

Whatd you say? Ray asked.

You heard me.

Robby tried breaking the tension. Well, its too late.

Oh, yeah? Well see about that. Jim upped the ante. Im gonna smash a fucking Buick to dust onstage. Its gonna be part of my new act. Smash a Buick to Smithereens. Well see how they like that. And then Im gonna get Abe [our attorney] to sue their asses. For big fucking bucks, Ray. For a lot more than their shitty little contract. Then lets see if they still want to use a Doors song to sell a sports car.