A BOOK ABOUT JIM MORRISON

I  WORKING AT A BOOK ABOUT THE LIZARD KING
ALL COMENTS WILL BE ON MY BOOK
BEST COMENTS WILL RECIEVE A FREE BOOK
NO MATHER THE LANGUAGE OF YOUR COUNTRY, I WILL TRANSLATE.

Film spectators are quiet vampires.
Jim Morrison

Morrison Death Questioned Again

The mysterious death of tragic THE DOORS star JIM MORRISON is under scrutiny again, thanks to a new book.
Morrison died of an apparent drug overdose in a bathtub in Paris, France, on 3 July, 1971, but a new tome is out to prove otherwise.
THE LOST DIARIES OF JIM MORRISON is a literary novel of the singer's intimate experiences from Paris to Morocco, Egypt to Africa, and Amsterdam to Prague - post 1971.
Author MARSHAL LAWRENCE PIERCE insists his book is fictional, but he hopes it again raises questions about one of the rock world's most mysterious deaths.
No one saw Morrison's body after his alleged death. He was buried quickly with a relatively secret funeral. Even representatives of Morrison's record company never saw the body.

Jim Morrison Mystery At Norwegian Soccer Club

Tragic rock legend JIM MORRISON is at the centre of a soccer club mystery in the Norwegian mountain town of Sogndal.
Over 100 huge, spray-painted images of the dead THE DOORS frontman have sprung up on walls around the local club in the past week and club officials are puzzled as to why - but they hope his presence might help them win a few games.
Stadium boss YNGVE HALLEN has reported the matter to police, and plans to remove most of the images, but he's keen to keep some of the better portraits of Morrison - because they might help bump up attendance.
Hallen, his players and fans will get the chance to see whether Morrison can light the team's fire and help them break on through their dark days when Sogndal host rivals ODD GRENLAND OF SKIEN this Sunday (22JUN03).

Jim Morrison Wanted Out Of Cemetery

Bosses of the French cemetery housing JIM MORRISON's tomb want to kick him out - 33 years after his death.
CHRISTIAN CHARLET, the manager of Paris' PERE LACHAISE CEMETERY, complains that flocks of mourners take pictures of the former DOORS frontman's resting place; leave notes, flowers and cigarette butts; and smoke marijuana, requiring a guard.
He says, "We'd like to kick him out because we don't want him. He causes too many problems."
The cemetery, which celebrates its 200th anniversary this month (MAY 2004), is the final resting place of OSCAR WILDE, FREDERIC CHOPIN and EDITH PIAF, among a long list of other notable figures.

Doors Fans Can Now Stay At Jim's Last Us Home

Fans of tragic rocker JIM MORRISON can now rent out THE DOORS star's last-known US address - and buy dirt from his garden.
Realtor CHERI WOODS stumbled across the West Hollywood apartment block Morrison and his girlfriend PAMELA COURSON called home in 1970 while she was looking for a property to develop.
She had no idea of the block's connection to rock history until her new tenants started referring to apartment 8216 as `Morrison's Place.'
Woods persuaded the tenants of the apartment to move into another unit and started a 15 month renovation of the whole property to give Doors fans a flavour of what the place was like when their hero lived there.
She says, "The place was like a jungle, in serious disarray, so I set about cleaning it up and, while I was at it, I restored the Morrison apartment and gave it a little flavour with vintage furniture and fixtures. I even put Jim Morrison posters up."
Cheri has already had two paying tenants, who have paid the $200 (GBP105.30)-per-night to stay in a piece of rock history, and she's using the Internet and word-of-mouth to bring in more Doors fans.
The enterprising realtor is also offering daily tours of the West Norton Avenue property, which includes the chance to check out scratch marks Morrison left on outer walls as he attempted to drive his girlfriend's car in and out of the yard - while drunk.
The tour culminates in a small meditation garden Woods has created, where fans can gather their thoughts.
And fans who can't make it to the property can still own a little piece of the place - Woods is selling Zip-loc bags of dirt from the garden on eBay.
Woods explains, "When I dug up the front garden I had this pile of dirt and instead of paying to get it removed, I decided to sell it.
"I get up to $20 for a bag and I'll keep selling it until it's gone. Those who buy a bag get a certificate of authentication and a little piece of Jim Morrison."

Lost Morrison Photographs Show Jim Playing Baseball

Lost photographs of rock legend JIM MORRISON playing baseball with a family he befriended, are being offered to subscribers of the Doors Collectors Magazine as free gifts.
One fan, calling herself LANA, made editors of the internet fanzine aware of the snapshots she found while clearing through family keepsakes.
She informed DCM writers that she met Morrison at Los Angeles club the Whisky-A-Go-Go in 1969 and took him home to meet her parents.
The eight photographs feature the Doors singer "hanging" with the family and playing baseball with Lana's siblings.
DCM editors are giving away a shot from the set with every purchase of merchandise bought from them while stocks last.
Fanzine writer KERRY HUMPHREYS says, "When I share my Doors/Morrison collection with friends, the Lana photos absolutely get the single biggest reaction of any item I own!
"They show a side of Jim that not many people have ever seen or even know about."

Morrison's Scribbled Poem On The Auction Block

A scribbled poem JIM MORRISON wrote for a stewardess who once joined him for dinner is expected to fetch $20,000 (GBP11,100) at an upcoming auction.
The tragic frontman of THE DOORS wrote the impromptu poem on a napkin at the Casa Escobar in Santa Monica, California, in the summer of 1968 after trying to woo a young diner called CAROL.
According to the stewardess selling the unique rock memorabilia, Morrison invited Carol and a friend at his table, where they chatted about airlines and flights.
To mark the occasion, the rocker/poet then asked a waiter for a pen and wrote a poem based on the conversation they'd just had.
The scribbled poem is being offered by internet fanzine Doors Collectors Magazine.

The Doors Release Rare Live Cuts

The surviving members of rock icons THE DOORS have agreed to release 15 concert recordings available for download on the group's website. The shows on offer all took place between 1967 and 1970, when frontman JIM MORRISON was still alive, and the venture offers fans the chance to download entire concerts or find their favourite Doors live tracks. The concert footage, most of which has never been released, features shows from New York's Felt Forum and a 1967 performance at San Francisco's intimate Matrix club. Many of the recordings stems from shows taped in 1970 for The Doors' ABSOLUTELY LIVE album.

Morrison's Mystery Home Revealed By Bodyguard

JIM MORRISON's longtime bodyguard has exploded the myth the rock legend was an irresponsible rebel, revealing for the first time that THE DOORS frontman owned a secret house. For decades it has been believed the hedonistic rocker lived in a tiny hotel room near his record company's offices on La Cienega Avenue in Los Angeles, but his minder TONY FUNCHES reveals Morrison was actually a homeowner. Speaking exclusively to The Doors Collectors Magazine, Funches says, "He owned a place on the Kings Road (in Los Angeles). It was above the (Sunset) Strip, not far from the Continental Riot House (Hyatt Hotel nickname). "Kings Road, at that time, was a winding street... It was and still is a very beautiful street with well-kept homes and manicured lawns and landscaping. "The one time I was there with him, the place was virtually empty, except for the usual bachelor fruit crates, and a lamp here and there." Funches claims Morrison bought the house as "a tax write-off." He adds, "He needed the tax write-off, and Jim was told he could benefit from having the security and comfort of a home instead of the room at the Alta Cienega (hotel)... but he rarely visited the place."

Morrison Tipped Big For Bad Service

Rock legend JIM MORRISON used to shame waiters and waitresses who dished up bad service to him and his friends - by heavily tipping them. The late DOORS frontman hated rudeness from people who thought he and his pals were just hoodlums, and he loved it when they had no idea who he was. The rocker's longtime bodyguard TONY FUNCHES tells the Doors Collectors Magazine, "The man tipped rude service extravagantly. I witnessed this numerous times, especially on a road trip when he and I grabbed a couple of honeys and drove up from LA to San Francisco." Funches recalls Morrison, himself and their road trip girlfriends stopped at one roadside cafe and were served by a bitter old waitress, who didn't approve of hippies or blacks. The bodyguard continues, "When Jim left an extravagant $50 tip, she came running out of the restaurant after us, demanding to know why (he left the tip). Jim replied, 'For such great service.'"

Lost Morrison Coin For Sale

Lost Morrison Coin For Sale

A rare JIM MORRISON silver coin is being offered to fans of THE DOORS through the rock group's online fanzine.
Production of the commemorative coin, which features the rock legend's face, was halted in 1991 when group drummer JOHN DENSMORE refused to endorse the idea.
But by the time Densmore aired his grievance about the coin, a handful had already been made.
For years, the coin was considered a myth, but the Doors Collectors Magazine online claims to have one of the original silver tributes in mint condition.
A spokesman for DCM says, "The idea for the coin was proposed to RAY (MANZAREK) and ROBBY (KRIEGER) at a Doors meeting in 1991 and both loved the idea - they signed the permission papers for the limited edition set to be made. For some reason John didn't make it to this particular meeting and didn't know anything about the coins.
"Someone screwed up and production on the coins began without John's needed approval. When Densmore found out about the coins and disliked the idea, production was halted immediately, and the manufactured were recalled and destroyed. None were supposedly ever sold. But somehow a few slipped out - this is one of the few coins that still exist today."
Fans are being invited to bid for the coin on the DCM website.

Morrison's Final Notebook For Sale

THE DOORS frontman JIM MORRISON's last handwritten journal will be sold at auction at the end of the month (JUL06). Morrison, who died in 1971 from a suspected heart attack in Paris, France, left a book with his final thoughts, songs and poems. It is being auctioned at Cooper Owen's Music Legends sale at Abbey Road Studios in London on 28 July. Estimated to be worth between GBP80,000 ($148,000) and GBP100,000 (GBP180,000), the journal contains 20 pages of previously unseen poems and random Morrison thoughts. Also included are variant versions of published Morrison poems THE ANCIENT ONES and THE HITCHHIKER. Accompanying the journal is a photograph, thought to be one of the last ever taken of the rocker.

Lost Jim Morrison Song Found

Lost Jim Morrison Song Found

Late DOORS frontman JIM MORRISON is to make an unlikely comeback - an unreleased song featuring the rocker has been found. WOMAN IN THE WINDOW will feature on a forthcoming album by US rockers SATELLITE PARTY. The new song will feature both Morrison and vocals from Satellite Party. An industry insider says, "To hear Morrison performing on a new track is obviously going to be a dream come true for fans. It's being tipped as a massive hit." The RIDERS ON THE STORM icon died of heart failure in 1971, aged 27.

Morrison Song Used In New Eco Campaign

Rock legend JIM MORRISON is helping the fight against global warming from beyond the grave, with the release of a song he wrote. Environmental campaigners have taken a poem, WOMAN IN THE WINDOW, written by Morrison shortly before he died in 1971, and set it to music, with the help of NEW ORDER and former JANE'S ADDICTION star PERRY FARRELL. The track was given to Farrell by the Jim Morrison estate. It will be released as a single in April (07). DAN MORRELL, founder of the Global Cool campaign, says he chose the song because it contains predictions correctly made about the state of the world - including the line, "Man you are evil, get out of my garden." Morrell says, "It's very strange to hear this thing recorded more than 30 years ago that seems so relevant to the environmental challenge we face today."

Grammy Honours For The Doors, The Grateful Dead And Baez

The Grammy Awards got off to an early start last night (10FEB07) when iconic rockers THE DOORS, folk singer JOAN BAEZ and rockers THE GRATEFUL DEAD picked up prizes for lifetime achievement. Opera singer MARIA CALLAS, saxophonist ORNETTE COLEMAN and soul band BOOKER T AND THE MGS were also honoured by the US Recording Academy on the eve of the main Grammy ceremony, which will be held at Los Angeles tonight (11FEB07). The Doors' guitarist ROBBY KRIEGER said the band's late singer JIM MORRISON would have been "very honoured". He added, "People think he was anti-establishment, but in reality he wanted to be bigger than the BEATLES." The absence of deceased Grateful Dead stars was also noted, with drummer BILL KREUTZMANN saying, "I wish the rest of my brothers in the band could be here." MARY J BLIGE leads nominations at tonight's ceremony.

The Doors Join Walk Of Fame

The Doors Join Walk Of Fame  01 March 2007

Legendary rockers The Doors have been handed a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame.

The honour coincides with the band's 40th anniversary and was received by bandmembers Robby Kreiger and Ray Manzarek.

"Jim always used to say: The west is the best!" Krieger said, referring to Jim Morrison, the group's singer who died in 1971.

"It has been an incredible 40 years and now I'm back with Ray and we're still playing, and you know, it may never end."

According to the Associated Press, a statement from drummer John Densmore read: "It is a great honour to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame ... a street that Jim Morrison, Robby Krieger and I traipsed up and down, going into bars, asking if they'd hire a rock band."

The group rose to fame in the late 1960s and produced the hits Break On Through (To The Other Side) and Light My Fire.

Their star is the 2,329th on the Walk of Fame. Other recipients of the honour this year include Hilary Swank and Donald Trump. People selected to receive them are deemed to have made a significant contributions to the entertainment industry.

Doors Make Back Catalogue Available To Download

THE DOORS are the latest veteran act to make their entire back catalogue of music available to download online. The band, whose frontman JIM MORRISON died in 1971, have given permission for all six of their studio albums to be released as digital downloads. Keyboardist RAY MANZAREK says, "The delivery system is what it is. If everyone is on their computer, that's fabulous. "But although you gain the ease of access, you do lose the sense of an artifact." Last week (ends23MAR07), SIR ELTON JOHN made tracks from more than 30 of his albums available to download digitally.

Manzarek: 'Stone Missed The Doors Of Perception'

THE DOORS keyboardist RAY MANZAREK has slammed director OLIVER STONE for misrepresenting his band in the 1991 biopic of the band. Manzarek, 68, claims Stone's THE DOORS painted an "over-sensationalised" picture of late singer JIM MORRISON, and missed the point the psychedelic rockers were trying to make. Manzarek says, "He over-sensationalised. I don't think he knew what psychedelia was all about. "(Mind-altering drug) LSD opens the doors of perception, and once you step through, you never want to go back, because you realise you've been in a closed state of mind. "What a joyous state! We made music from that perception. He missed that entirely."

Doors Album Photographer Brodsky Dead At 67

Doors Album Photographer Brodsky Dead At 67

Iconic rock photographer JOEL BRODSKY has died at his home in Connecticut. The lensman, who famously captured the likes of ARETHA FRANKLIN, JIM MORRISON and ISAAC HAYES for classic album covers, suffered a heart attack on 1 March (2007). He was 67. Among the 400-plus album covers Brodsky shot were THE BEST OF THE DOORS, which featured a bare-chested Morrison with his arms outstretched, and Hayes' BLACK MOSES album. He won a 1967 Grammy Award nomination for his cover of The Doors' debut, THE DOORS. In total, Brodsky captured five of the group's album cover shots. He also became famous for shooting album covers for artists signed to Memphis, Tennessee soul label Stax. A retrospective of Brodsky's photo art is being planned for Los Angeles' Morrison Hotel Gallery later this year (2007).

Doors Fans Challenge Miami Governor Over Morrison Charges

Fans of rock legends the DOORS are petitioning Miami, Florida's new Governor in an effort to wipe late singer JIM MORRISON's record clean. After years of challenging Morrison's 1969 indecency charges, fans gave up their fight to clear their hero's name, but the group's Doors Collectors Magazine reveals they're finding more favour with politician CHARLIE CRIST. Doors superfan DAVE DIAMOND, from Ohio, has challenged the Governor, asking him to look at the "ridiculous charges" brought against Morrison. In a posting on the DCM website, editors write, "Dave Diamond has submitted to the new Florida Governor Charlie Crist, the perfect list of reasons why he should support us in our quest to expunge Jim Morrison's record of the bogus charges stemming from the 1969 Miami concert. "No matter what happened at that concert or how you feel about the man himself, the prosecution and agencies involved in this matter denied James Douglas Morrison his constitutional rights."

Miami Governor 'Seriously Considering' Morrison Pardon

A Florida governor is "seriously considering" pardoning dead rock star JIM MORRISON of his indecent exposure conviction. Fans of the late singer's band THE DOORS and the group's Doors Collectors Magazine (DCM) have requested Morrison's record be cleared of the 1969 charges, following his premature death in 1971 from heart failure. Miami governor Charlie Crist was challenged with a petition by the DCM last month (Mar07), and has now questioned the legality of the charges for himself - accusations fans have branded "bogus". He says, "He died when he was 27. That's really a kid, when you think about it, and obviously he was having some challenges. There's some dispute about how solid the case was." The Doors keyboardist Ray Manzarek yesterday (17Apr07) expressed his delight at the news and reiterated Morrison's innocence, saying he only pretended to expose himself at the 1969 concert. He adds, "(Morrison) taunted the audience. 'I'm going to show you! I'm going to show it to you!' Then he took his shirt off, held it in front of him like a bullfighter's cape, (and) wiggled it around as if there was something going on behind it. "Florida is Jim's home state. He's a Florida boy. Wouldn't it be great if Florida could finally say, 'Hey, native son, Your name is cleared. We recognise you as a young American poet." Crist's legal team is currently reviewing the case and will determine whether to clear the

Jim Morrison's First Poem Added To Hall Of Fame

Jim Morrison's First Poem Added To Hall Of Fame

RAY MANZAREK's marriage certificate and the handwritten lyrics to JIM MORRISON's first poem have been added to the Rock + Roll Hall Of Fame as part of a new 40th anniversary tribute to THE DOORS. The Doors memorabilia was added to the Cleveland, Ohio museum when the group was inducted to the Hall Of Fame in 1993, but new items have been added to coincide with a new Break On Through - The Lasting Legacy Of The Doors exhibition. The show is the first to be endorsed by Morrison's family. The new items also include Robby Krieger's custom Gibson guitar and a promotional record that came with purchases of toothpaste and shampoo. But the highlight is sure to be the poem Not To Touch The Earth, which tragic frontman Morrison's wrote when he was a child.

Morrison's Door Disappears From Ebay.Com

Morrison's Door Disappears From Ebay.Com

Morrison's Door For Sale

The front door of the home rock legend JIM MORRISON lived in for six years of his life is up for sale on auction website eBay.com. The door, which fronted the Clearwater, Florida home owned by The Doors star's grandparents Paul and Caroline Morrison, was carefully removed by contractors working for building company Triangle Development when the house was demolished to make way for a condominium project, which is currently under development. Triangle bosses, realising the importance of the door, preserved it and other artifacts to memorialise the late singer/songwriter. In a tribute to Morrison, St. Petersburg, Florida artist Judith Dazzio painted the door with the mural she calls When The Music's Over. A doorbell on the frame plays three different short clips from the song when pressed. The auction ends on 28 October (07); the current bid stands at $2,500 (GBP1,250). Proceeds from the auction will go to charity.

The decorated bathroom door from JIM MORRISON's childhood home has been removed from auction website eBay.com a day after going under the hammer. The Love Her Madly door, painted by artist Doug Wright, was displayed at a Music of The Doors philharmonic concert in Buffalo, New York on Saturday (02Feb08) - and then put up for auction to raise cash for local charities. But the item was mysteriously absent from eBay on Sunday (03Feb08). The door was taken from the former Clearwater, Florida home of The Doors star Morrison's grandparents, and featured a novelty doorbell that played snippets from the group's hit Love Her Madly. It's the fourth door from the home Wright has turned into a canvas for his art. The winning bidder was offered the chance to own a commemorative book with a notarised certificate of authentication for the door and a DVD documenting the dismantling of the house it came from.

Kilmer Relished Bathtub Death Scene In The Doors

Kilmer Relished Bathtub Death Scene In The Doors

VAL KILMER couldn't wait to die in THE DOORS - because he was tired of playing rock legend JIM MORRISON.
The movie star admits reliving The Doors singer's life took a huge toll on him, and he relished the bathtub death scene in the Oliver Stone biopic because he knew it would be the last thing he'd have to do as the tragic rocker.
He tells WENN, "I was relieved to die in The Doors, just so I didn't have to do anything else.
"Jim Morrison was such a great character but such a tragic guy. He wasn't that much fun. He was goofing around a lot but that's coming out of a lot of turmoil with his behaviour that was so extreme.
"Plus Jim Morrison just jumped off the stage once a night. I had to do it 15 times in a row.
"It (the role) took it's toll physically, so I remember being in that bathtub for the death scene thinking, `Ah, this is great! I hope I don't breathe and blow the shot because I was very happy to die."

Jim Morrison's Dad Dead

Late THE DOORS star JIM MORRISON's father has died, aged 89.
There are 2 rare pictures with Jim and his father George.
Rear Admiral George Morrison died of natural causes on 17 November (08).
A veteran of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, Morrison was largely disowned by his rock star son, who insisted his parents were dead in early interviews.
The feeling was mutual - the seaman rarely discussed his son as he rose up the ranks.
In 1990, Morrison visited his son's grave in Paris, France and had a plaque installed.
Shortly after the Morrisons moved to Coronado, California in 2002, the admiral's wife died, and reports suggest he has been in declining health ever since.
Rear Admiral Morrison's private memorial service was held last Wednesday (26Nov08) at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery in San Diego, California.

Depp To Narrate Doors Documentary

JOHNNY DEPP has reportedly signed up to narrate a forthcoming documentary about THE DOORS.

The iconic rock band enjoyed huge success in the 1960s with songs such as Riders on the Storm and Light My Fire, but split up in 1973 when singer Jim Morrison was found dead.

According to Screen Daily, the PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN star will voice Tom DiCillo's feature film When You're Strange.

The movie premiered at the Sundance Film Festival last month with a narration track by DiCillo, but it is thought Depp will record an updated version.

"Johnny saw the film early on," said producer Peter Jankowski. "We showed him an early cut and he responded very strongly to the subject matter."

It is thought that THE DOORS have sold around 80 million albums worldwide.

Depp has something of an affinity with controversial figures such as Morrison, having recently narrated GONZO: THE LIFE AND WORK OF DR HUNTER S THOMPSON.

Fanzine Bosses Uncover Lost Jim Morrison Painting

Fanzine Bosses Uncover Lost Jim Morrison Painting

A lost painting commissioned by THE DOORS star JIM MORRISON just before his death has been turned into a new must-have poster for his fans.
Artist T.E. Breitenbach created The Morrison Triptych at the request of the rock legend during the winter of 1970/71 - months before the singer/poet's death in Paris, France.
Morrison planned to use the piece as the cover of an album of poetry - but he died without telling anyone of his wishes, and Breitenbach's creation became a forgotten piece of rock art.
Now, the editors of fanzine Strange Days Newsletter have unearthed the painting and correspondence between the artist and Morrison.
A spokesman says, "T.E. Breitenbach had previously sent a letter to The Doors' office telling them how he admired their music and Morrison's lyrics. In the letter, Breitenbach offered to paint an album cover for Jim or The Doors.
"Morrison immediately replied and sent his ideas for the painting, along with two autographed, private editions of his poetry.
"After Breitenbach finished the painting, Morrison was very pleased and asked if he could use it on the cover of his poetry album that he was currently working on. The deal was set but Jim passed away in Paris on July 3rd, 1971 before his album was complete. In 1978, the producers of the An American Prayer album didn't know of Jim's ideas for the Triptych cover, so it was never used."
Strange Days editors have been given permission to offer a limited edition poster set of the painting to fans, who will also receive a copy of Morrison's letter to Breitenbach, describing his ideas for the project.
The insider tells WENN, "It's very interesting reading."

Jim Morrison's Ghost Spooks Historian

Jim Morrison's Ghost Spooks Historian

Tragic rock legend JIM MORRISON's ghost has left a music historian spooked after making an appearance in a photo taken at THE DOORS singer's grave.
The 1997 picture of Brett Meisner was taken by the rocker's grave at the Pere Lachaise cemetery in Paris, France - but the writer didn't notice the Morrison-like apparition behind him until he revisited the snap in 2002, and posted the shot online.
The photo has been authenticated by experts and is now being used to promote new book Ghosts Caught on Film 2: Photographs of the Unexplained.
But Meisner now states he regrets going to visit Morrison's grave because he has been plagued by eerie events ever since.
He tells Britain's Daily Express newspaper that his marriage broke down and a close friend died of a drug overdose, and now he’s become a target for Morrison fans who insist the rock star’s ghost is haunting them.
He says, "At first it was sort of interesting to see how many people felt a spiritual bond with Jim and the photo, but now the whole vibe seems negative.

Alice Cooper Inspired Doors Lyric

ALICE COOPER has said that a casual utterance of his was the inspiration for a famous DOORS lyric.

Speaking on his breakfast show Planet Rock, the 60-year-old rocker told of a conversation with Jim Morrison just prior to a DOORS recording session.

"I said that I had got up this morning and got myself a beer and while we're talking he just writes that down. So they go in and they're doing the song and the next thing I hear is 'Woke up this morning and I got myself a beer' and I went 'I just said that a second ago!'", said Cooper.

The story is to be included in a DOORS special which is scheduled to for 6pm on July 27th on Planet Rock, reports Uncut.

Cooper also said how he saw the singer indulging in plenty of his legendary debauched behaviour.

"There was no such thing as a dare. He would jump out of cars and roll down hills," he added.

When You're Strange Movie Review

Expertly assembled with an array of never-seen footage, this film documents the Doors in a fairly straightforward way, telling their story with remarkable detail but never quite getting beneath the surface.

What makes it interesting is the way DiCillo puts the band's brief five-year career in context with the world around it. By any measurement, 1966 to 1971 were volatile years in America as the flower-power promise of youth was crushed by a series of horrible assassinations and premature deaths, then silenced by a right-wing political and social snap. The Doors traversed this turmoil mainly due to Jim Morrison's raw sex appeal, mercurial talent and addictive obsessions. In this account, the other three seem like fairly normal guys who never really indulged at all.

Surely the truth lies somewhere in between, but then Morrison isn't around to defend himself. What we have instead is the terrific raw footage: performances, interviews and home movies. And it's especially well-edited into a fluid account accompanied by Depp's almost too-cool narration. Alongside such scenes as the Doors' notorious appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, we clearly see the bandmates' classical and jazz musical influences, which is what made them so unusual at the time (and still today). Not to mention Morrison's passion for film and philosophy.

On stage and off, Morrison oozed charisma, charming everyone with his velvety voice and dazzling grin. Meanwhile, we see that behind the scenes the band was struggling to keep Morrison on his feet, dubbing his destructive side "Jimbo".
DiCillo also documents this side of the story with telling detail, including the legendary Miami concert that almost destroyed the band. Although beyond drug-speak, we never quite understand why they took their name from a William Blake poem: "If the doors of perception were cleansed every thing would appear to man as it is, infinite."

It's rather odd that DiCillo never quite cracks through the legend. Most of this information is already on public record, so the film's real strength is the superb archival footage that shows vividly what all the fuss was about.
Watching the Doors play now is still a revelation, because there's never really been a band like them since. So this film is not only an important document, it's also essential for Doors fans.

Review by Rich Cline

Doors Lyrics To Go On Sale

JIM MORRISON's handwritten lyrics for THE DOORS' track L.A. WOMAN are set to sell at auction for $30,000 (£20,000).
The words to the song, written on a sheet of A4 paper, are surrounded by doodles and sketches which Morrison scribbled as he wrestled with the lyrics.
Officials at British auction house Cameo will sell the memorabilia next month (Aug10).

A spokesman says, "This is one of the original drafts and he would have read from it in the recording studios."

QUOTES BY JIM MORRISON

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

Actually I don't remember being born, it must have happened during one of my black outs.
Jim Morrison

Blake said that the body was the soul's prison unless the five senses are fully developed and open. He considered the senses the 'windows of the soul.' When sex involves all the senses intensely, it can be like a mystical experence.
Jim Morrison

Death makes angels of us all and gives us wings where we had shoulders smooth as ravens claws.
Jim Morrison

Drugs are a bet with your mind.
Jim Morrison

Each generation wants new symbols, new people, new names. They want to divorce themselves from their predecessors.
Jim Morrison

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

Film spectators are quiet vampires.
Jim Morrison

Friends can help each other. A true friend is someone who lets you have total freedom to be yourself - and especially to feel. Or, not feel. Whatever you happen to be feeling at the moment is fine with them. That's what real love amounts to - letting a person be what he really is.
Jim Morrison

Hatred is a very underestimated emotion.
Jim Morrison

I am interested in anything about revolt, disorder, chaos-especially activity that seems to have no meaning. It seems to me to be the road toward freedom... Rather than starting inside, I start outside and reach the mental through the physical.
Jim Morrison

I believe in a long, prolonged, derangement of the senses in order to obtain the unknown.
Jim Morrison

I like any reaction I can get with my music. Just anything to get people to think. I mean if you can get a whole room full of drunk, stoned people to actually wake up and think, you're doing something.
Jim Morrison

I like people who shake other people up and make them feel uncomfortable.
Jim Morrison

I see myself as an intelligent, sensitive human, with the soul of a clown which forces me to blow it at the most important moments.
Jim Morrison

I think in art, but especially in films, people are trying to confirm their own existences.
Jim Morrison

I think of myself as an intelligent, sensitive human being with the soul of a clown which always forces me to blow it at the most important moments.
Jim Morrison

I'm interested in anything about revolt, disorder, chaos, especially activity that appears to have no meaning. It seems to me to be the road toward freedom.
Jim Morrison

If my poetry aims to achieve anything, it's to deliver people from the limited ways in which they see and feel.
Jim Morrison

It's like gambling somehow. You go out for a night of drinking and you don't know where your going to end up the next day. It could work out good or it could be disastrous. It's like the throw of the dice.
Jim Morrison
Listen, real poetry doesn't say anything; it just ticks off the possibilities. Opens all doors. You can walk through anyone that suits you.
Jim Morrison

Love cannot save you from your own fate.
Jim Morrison

Music inflames temperament.
Jim Morrison

People fear death even more than pain. It's strange that they fear death. Life hurts a lot more than death. At the point of death, the pain is over. Yeah, I guess it is a friend.
Jim Morrison

Sex is full of lies. The body tries to tell the truth. But, it's usually too battered with rules to be heard, and bound with pretenses so it can hardly move. We cripple ourselves with lies.
Jim Morrison

Some of the worst mistakes of my life have been haircuts.
Jim Morrison

The appeal of cinema lies in the fear of death.
Jim Morrison

The most important kind of freedom is to be what you really are. You trade in your reality for a role. You give up your ability to feel, and in exchange, put on a mask.
Jim Morrison

The most loving parents and relatives commit murder with smiles on their faces. They force us to destroy the person we really are: a subtle kind of murder.
Jim Morrison

The time to hesitate is through.
Jim Morrison

There are things known and things unknown and in between are the doors.
Jim Morrison

This is the strangest life I've ever known.
Jim Morrison

Violence isn't always evil. What's evil is the infatuation with violence.
Jim Morrison

We fear violence less than our own feelings. Personal, private, solitary pain is more terrifying than what anyone else can inflict.
Jim Morrison

When you make your peace with authority, you become authority.
Jim Morrison

Where's your will to be weird?
Jim Morrison

Whoever controls the media, controls the mind.
Jim Morrison  

HISTORY OF THE DOORS

The Doors were an American rock band formed in 1965 in Los Angeles, California. Throughout its existence, the group consisted of vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, drummer John Densmore, and guitarist Robby Krieger. They were among the most controversial rock acts of the 1960s, due mostly to Morrison's wild, poetic lyrics and charismatic but unpredictable stage persona. After Morrison's death in 1971, the remaining members continued as a trio until finally disbanding for good in 1973.[1]

Although The Doors' active career ended in 1973, their popularity has persisted. According to the RIAA, they have sold over 32.5 million albums in the US alone.[4] The band has sold over 75 million albums worldwide. Ray Manzarek and Robby Krieger still tour sometimes, with additional musicians, as Manzarek-Krieger, performing Doors songs exclusively.

The Doors were an American rock band which formed in Los Angeles, California, United States in 1965. The band consisted of Jim Morrison (vocals), Ray Manzarek (organ), Robby Krieger (guitar) and John Densmore (drums). In this configuration, the band released six albums, all of which were successful and released two US #1 hit singles – 1967’s “Light My Fire” and 1968’s “Hello, I Love You”. After Morrison’s death in 1971, the band continued on as a trio, releasing two more albums that were ignored commercially and disliked critically before disbanding in 1973

UCLA film school students Jim Morrison and Ray Manzarek had known each other at college and met by chance on Venice beach in July 1965. Morrison told Manzarek he had been writing songs and, at Manzarek’s encouragement, sang “Moonlight Drive”. Manzarek immediately suggested they form a band.

Keyboardist Ray Manzarek was already in the band called Rick And The Ravens with Morrison and his brother Rick Manzarek while Robby Krieger and John Densmore were playing with The Psychedelic Rangers, and knew Manzarek from shared meditation instruction. In August Densmore joined the group and, along with members of the Ravens and an unidentified female bass player, recorded a six-song demo on September 2. This was widely bootlegged and appeared in full on the 1997 Doors box set.

That month the group recruited talented guitarist Robby Krieger and the final lineup—Morrison, Manzarek, Krieger and Densmore—was complete. Manzarek solved their lack of bassist by playing bass on a Fender Rhodes bass keyboard with his left hand and keyboards with his right hand.

The band took their name from the title of a book by Aldous Huxley, The Doors of Perception, which was in turn borrowed from a line of poetry by the 18th century artist and poet William Blake: “If The Doors of perception were cleansed, every thing would appear to man as it is: infinite.”

By 1966 the group was playing The London Fog club and soon graduated to the prestigious Whisky a Go Go. On August 10 they were spotted by Elektra Records president Jac Holzman on the insistence of Love singer Arthur Lee, whose group was on Elektra. On August 18 the group signed with the label. The timing was immaculate when, on August 21, the band was fired from the club after a profanity filled performance of “The End”. In an incident that was a foretelling of the controversy that would follow the group, a tripping Morrison bellowed during the “Oedipal” section of the song “Mother…I want to…fuck you!!!”.

Early recording: 1967–1969

After Jack Holzman and Paul Rothchild saw two sets of the band playing at Whiskey A Go Go, the first uneven, but the second mesmerizing, the band was signed to the Elektra Records label beginning a long and successful partnership with producer Paul Rothchild and engineer Bruce Botnick. Their self-titled debut LP featured most of the major songs from their set, including the eleven-minute musical drama, “The End”. With the band at the peak of their form and bristling with energy and ambition, the album was recorded in only a few days, in late August and early September 1966, almost entirely live in the studio, with most songs captured in a single take. Morrison and Manzarek also directed an innovative promotional film for the single “Break on Through”, which was an important stepping stone in the development of the music video genre.

Released in January 1967, the album caused a sensation in music circles and the second single released from it, “Light My Fire”, became a major hit, establishing the group alongside Jefferson Airplane and The Grateful Dead as one of the top new American bands of 1967. It was released in April but did not hit the top, with the long middle solo cut out, until July. In September the group played the song live on the popular Ed Sullivan Show where Morrison sang the word “higher”, despite being asked not to by the CBS Network. They also performed a new single “People Are Strange” which they repeated for DJ Murray The K’s TV show on September 22. Earlier in the month the group recorded a dazzling version of “The End” for CBS in Toronto. It remained unreleased until the release of The Doors Soundstage Performances DVD.

With his saturnine good looks, magnetic stage presence and skin-tight leather trousers, Morrison quickly became one of the major pop sex symbols of his day, although he soon became frustrated with the strictures of stardom.

The second Doors LP, Strange Days, was almost as strong as the first, and it cemented the group’s reputation. More subdued and less spontaneous than the debut, the album is notable for its evocative lyricism and atmosphere. Closing track “When The Music’s Over” was again, like “The End” lengthy and dramatic and helped establish Morrison’s reputation as the wild shaman of rock. Yet the album was also strongly commercial and featured well-known Doors songs, “Love Me Two Times” and “Moonlight Drive”.

Morrison’s status as a figure of rebellion was further cemented on December 9 when he was arrested in New Haven, Connecticut for badmouthing the police to the audience from the stage. Morrison said he had been maced by an overzealous cop after he was caught backstage with a girl. The group finished a successful year on December 27 by taping “Light My Fire” and “Moonlight Drive” for the Jonathan Winters Show. From December 26 to 28 the group played at The Winterland San Francisco and then two dates in Denver on December 30 and 31, capping off a year of almost constant touring.

As a result of their success, The Doors forfeited their status as underground heroes. They allowed Sixteen magazine to portray them as teen idols and their “spontaneous” stage-show was exposed as not-so-spontaneous after all. An article by Jerry Hopkins in the February 10, 1968 edition of Rolling Stone typified the fall from grace:

“One shtick, or piece of stage-business, missing at the Shrine performance, was Morrison’s carefully-executed ‘accidental’ fall from the stage into the crowd. For months this had been a part of the act. It got a lot of screams from the teenyboppers. Then a review appeared in a local newspaper which called the fall one of the phoniest things ever. Morrison was asked if he’d read the article. ‘Yeah,’ said Morrison, ‘and I guess he’s right.’ Morrison did not take the fall that night at the Shrine.”

Fraught sessions for the group’s third album took place in April as Morrison became increasingly dependent on alcohol. Approaching the height of their popularity The Doors played a series of outdoor shows which led to frenzied scenes between fans and police, particularly at Chicago Coliseum on May 10.

Their third LP, Waiting for the Sun, (1968) showed the band beginning to branch out from their initial form, as they exhausted their original repertoire and began writing new material. It became their first #1 LP and the single “Hello, I Love You” was their second and last US #1 single. The album is eclectic in style, sometimes inconsequential, and much less unified than the first two, despite containing some fine material. It further isolated them from the underground cognoscenti. As Lilian Roxon described it in her 1969 Rock Encyclopaedia, the album “strengthened dreadful suspicion that the Doors were in it just for the money”. It also included the song “The Unknown Soldier”, for which they created another self-directed music video, and “Not to Touch the Earth”, excerpted from their legendary thirty-minute concept piece Celebration of the Lizard, although they were reportedly unable to record a satisfactory version of the entire piece for the LP. This was eventually released on a later greatest hits CD compilation.

A month after riotous scenes at the Singer Bowl, New York the group flew for their first dates outside of North America, to England. The group held a press conference at the ICA Gallery, London and played shows at The Roundhouse Theatre. The results of the trip were broadcast on Granada TV’s “The Doors Are Open” and were later released on video. The group then played dates in Europe including a show in Amsterdam without Morrison after he collapsed from a drug binge. Morrison returned to London on September 20 and stayed for a month.

The group played nine more US dates and got to work in November on their fourth LP. 1969 would be a very difficult year for the group but it started well with a sold out show at the prestigious Madison Square Garden, New York on January 24 and with the success of new single “Touch Me” (released in December 1968), which hit US #3.

That month Morrison attended a theatre production which changed the course of his and the group’s life. At the University of Southern California’s Bovard Auditorium The Living Theatre took to the stage for a highly charged show which urged people to cast aside their inhibitions to freedom.

The show appealed to Morrison’s quest for personal freedom, the results of which can be heard the next evening, February 25, during a studio jam which became the legendary “Rock Is Dead” session, later released on the 1997 Doors box set. The stage had been set for the most controversial episode of Morrison’s life and one of the most notorious rock stories.

To fans of The Doors, the music included socially, psychologically and politically charged lyrics mostly written by ‘The Lizard King’, Jim Morrison. The jazz drumming of John Densmore, the swirling keyboards of Ray Manzarek, whose left hand played the parts typically associated with bass guitar, and Robby Krieger’s guitar playing, which showed the influence of flamenco, Indian, the blues and classical music, combined to form a distinctive sound. The Doors were unusual among rock groups in that they did not use a bass guitarist in concert, with Manzarek playing the bass lines on a Fender electric keyboard bass, an offshoot of the well-known Fender Rhodes electric piano. However, the group utilized bass players such as Jerry Scheff, Doug Lubahn, Harvey Brooks, Kerry Magness, Lonnie Mack and Ray Neapolitan on their albums.

Many of The Doors’ originals were composed communally, with Morrison usually contributing the lyrics and some melody, while the others hammered out the beat and flow of the song. While Morrison and Manzarek were walking on the beach in California, they passed an African-American girl, and Morrison wrote the lyrics to Hello I Love You in a single night, referring to the girl as the “dusky jewel”. The song received some criticism at the time for its resemblance to The Kinks’ 1965 hit “All Day and All of the Night”. Ray Davies, lead singer of the Kinks, sued the Doors for stealing the rhythm of “All Day and All of the Night”.
[edit]

Mid career controversy: 1969–1971

The Doors quickly earned a reputation as a challenging and entertaining live act, as well as having a rebellious reputation. Jim Morrison was arrested on stage in New Haven for foul language which he had directed toward police at the concert. In one appearance on September 17, 1967 with a live performance on the Ed Sullivan Show on the Columbia Broadcasting System network, the network’s censors demanded the group change its lyrics in its song, Light My Fire, altering the line, “Girl, we couldn’t get much higher” because of the reference to drugs. However, Morrison sang the original line instead, and on live television with no delay CBS was powerless to stop it. Ed Sullivan was so furious that he refused to shake their hands and they were never invited back. Morrison later insisted he was nervous during the performance and forgot to change the line. (They weren’t the only ones banned from the show. Eleven years earlier, Bo Diddley was banned from appearing on the show when he refused to sing Sixteen Tons.)

The most infamous incident occurred at the March 1, 1969 Dinner Key Auditorium concert in Miami, Florida. Morrison allegedly exposed himself during the performance. Morrison had been drinking since missing his flight to the show. The 6,900 seat auditorium had been oversold by almost double the hall’s capacity and fans were sweltering without air conditioning. From the moment the band walked on stage Morrison started bellowing into the microphone:

“Now listen here, I ain’t talking ‘bout no revolution and I’m not talkin’ about no demonstrations.

“I’m talking about having a good time, I’m talking about having a good time this summer. And you all come out to L.A., you all get out there, we’re gonna lie down there in the sand and rub our toes in the ocean, and we’re gonna have a good time, are you ready, are you ready, are you ready, are you ready, are you ready, are you ready, are you ready, are you ready?

“Now listen! I used to think the whole thing was a big joke. I used to think it was something to laugh about. And then the last couple of nights I met some people who were doing somethin’! They’re tryin’ to change the world! And I wanna get on that trip! I wanna change the world. Wanna change it. Yeeeeeeaaaaaahhh – change it.”

Within a few minutes Morrison had changed his tune:

“Now listen, I’m not talkin’ about no revolution, an’ I’m not talkin’ about no demonstration! I’m talkin’ about having fun! I’m talkin’ about dancin’! I wanna see you people get up and dance! I wanna see you people dancin’ in the street this summer! I wanna see you have some fun. I wanna see you run around. I wanna see you paint the town. I wanna see you ringin’ out. I wanna see you shout. I wanna see some fun. I wanna see some fun from everyone.”

The recording nears its end with the ominous words:

“ANYTHING YOU WANT! LET’S DO IT! LET’S DO IT! LET’S DO IT!”

The incident remains inconclusive. Morrison said: “I wasted a lot of time with the Miami trial. About a year and a half. But I guess it was a valuable experience because before the trial I had a very unrealistic schoolboy attitude about the American judicial system. My eyes have been opened up a bit.”

While Morrison as the lead singer received the most attention of the group, as well as getting a far larger image of himself on album covers, he was quite adamant about all the members of the group getting recognition. Before one concert when the announcer introduced the group as “Jim Morrison and The Doors”, Morrison in a rage refused to appear unless he announced the group again, solely as “The Doors”. While he never felt close to his real life family, he was extremely protective of the rest of the members of The Doors. Reportedly, he once told Ray Manzarek that he never felt comfortable in a social setting unless Ray or another member of the band were with him. Many people have since come to the conclusion that he viewed The Doors as his surrogate family. This may be attributed the fact that he not only repeatedly turned down every solo album opportunity he was ever offered, but that the remaining members of The Doors refused to replace him as the singer of the band after his death.

Although the band’s reputation was damaged Morrison was quietly relieved by the results of the Miami incident. He later said: “I think I was just fed up with the image that had been created around me… and so I put an end to it in one glorious evening”.

Released from the chain of touring Morrison recorded some of his poetry that month and, in April, began shooting footage for HWY, an experimental film about a hitchiker, played by Morrison. The poetry session was used for the 1978 album An American Prayer where it was set to new music by The Doors. HWY, which contains virtually no dialogue, circulates among collectors although an official release has been rumored.

In the last two years of his life Morrison curtailed his former prodigious intake of psychedelic drugs and began drinking heavily, which in turn soon began to affect his performance, both on stage and in the studio. Apparently trying to escape the image of “The Lizard King” that had come to dominate him, Morrison put on weight and grew a thick beard, forcing Elektra to use photos taken earlier in his career for the cover of their Absolutely Live LP, released in 1970. The album features performances recorded on their 1970 American tour and at the 1969 Aquarius Theatre gig and includes a full-length live performance of “The Celebration of the Lizard”.

The group’s only public appearance was on a PBS television special, recorded late in April and broadcast the following month. Here the group performed songs from the upcoming Soft Parade album, including a stunning version of the title track.

The group resumed touring at Chicago Auditorium Theater on June 14 and proceeded to play two dates at The Aquarius Theatre, Hollywood on July 21 and 22, both later released on CD. The shows were typical of a new kind of Doors concert where the emphasis was more on the band and fans having a good time than having a shamanistic experience. The bearded Morrison wore loose fitting clothes and steered the bands towards a bluesier direction with songs like “Build Me A Woman”, “I Will Never Be Untrue” and “Who Do You Love”. Yet his voice had lost none of its power and the band could still dazzle with performances of “When The Music’s Over” and “Celebration of the Lizard”.

Their fourth album, The Soft Parade (1969), released in July, further distanced the group from the “underground”, containing extremely pop-oriented arrangements, complete with “Vegas-style” horn sections (their single, “Touch Me,” featured saxophonist Curtis Amy).

Morrison’s excessive drinking made him increasingly difficult and unreliable in the studio, and the sessions for the record dragged on for weeks (where they had formerly taken days). Studio costs piled up, and the group came close to disintegrating.

Critics of the record see the band as struggling to maintain momentum and attempting to expand their sound with a horn section and strings, resulting in a weak record suffering from bloated overproduction.

In its defense, The Soft Parade stands as an experiment that succeeded despite Morrison’s erratic behavior and numerous technical challenges. In the context of the group’s established repertoire, the record finds them exploring a new “quasi-prog-pop” direction. The more commercially-oriented songs such as “Touch Me” and “Tell All The People” are memorable; tracks such as “Wild Child” and “Shaman’s Blues” are as stripped down and imaginitive as ever, with particularly excellent guitar and lyrics.

Amid the recording of their next album, in November 1969, Morrison found himself in trouble with the law again after becoming drunk and abusive to airline staff during a flight to Phoenix, Arizona to see The Rolling Stones in concert. He was acquitted the following April after a steward mistakenly identified Morrison as his traveling companion, American actor Tom Baker (Not the Tom Baker who played Dr. Who.)

The group started its year in New York again, this time over two nights at The Felt Forum. The two nights were well received.

The group staged a strong return to form with their excellent 1970 LP Morrison Hotel. Featuring a consistent, hard rock sound the album contains the memorable opener “Roadhouse Blues”, which typified the high-spirited assuredness of the entire album. Morrison Hotel had a buoyancy and optimism that the band had never had before with a host of celebratory songs and a couple of lovely ballads. It hit US #4.

The group continued to perform at arenas throughout the summer and Morrison faced trial in Miami in August. The group managed to make it to The Isle of Wight on August 29th where a tired Morrison performed what was considered a below-par set. Songs from the show show up in 1995 on the Message To Love documentary.

On September 16th, Morrison took to the stand but it was in vain, the jury returning a guilty verdict for profanity and indecent exposure on September 20. Morrison was sentenced to eight months custody but was allowed to go free pending an appeal.

On December 8th, 1970, Morrison recorded another poetry session, on his 27th birthday.

The Doors last public performance was at the “Warehouse” in New Orleans, LA on Dec. 12th, 1970, where it appeared Morrison had a mental breakdown on stage (slamming the microphone numerous times into the stage floor).

The group looked set to regain their crown as one of America’s premier acts with the superb L.A. Woman in 1971. It was conceived as a “back to basics” album which would explore their blues and R&B roots, although during rehearsals the group had a serious falling-out with Rothchild. Denouncing the new repertoire as “cocktail music”, he quit and handed the production reins to Botnick. The result was widely considered a classic, featuring some of the strongest material and performances since their 1967 debut. Some dissenters, however, consider nearly half the album to be lackluster blues material, detracting severely from the album’s overall quality. The atmospheric single “Riders On The Storm” became a mainstay of rock radio programming for decades.

Aftermath of Morrison’s death: 1971–1989

In 1971, following the recording of L.A. Woman, Morrison decided to take some time out and moved to Paris with girlfriend Pamela Courson, in March. He had visited the previous summer and, for a time, seemed contented to write and explore the city. But by June he was once again drinking heavily and suffered a fall from a second story window in May. On June 16 the last known recording of Morrison was made when he befriended two street musicians at a bar and invited them to a recording studio. The drunken results were later released on bootleg CD.

Morrison died under mysterious circumstances on 3 July 1971; his body was found in the bathtub of his apartment. It was concluded that he died of a heart attack, although it was later revealed that no autopsy had been performed before Morrison’s body was buried at the Père-Lachaise Cemetery on July 7.

Rumours persisted for many years that Morrison had faked his death to escape the spotlight, as did the rumour that Morrison had actually died at a Paris nightclub and that his body had been surreptitiously taken back to his apartment. However, in his book Wonderland Avenue, Morrison’s former associate Danny Sugerman states that during his last meeting with Courson, which took place shortly before she died of a heroin overdose, she confessed to Sugerman that she had introduced Morrison to the drug and that, because he had a fear of needles, she had injected him with the dose that killed him.

The remaining Doors continued for some time. After initially considering replacing Morrison with a new singer, Krieger and Manzarek took over on vocals, and released two more albums, Other Voices and Full Circle. The Doors also toured during this time.

Both albums sold well, but not in the numbers of the Morrison era releases, and the Doors ceased all performing and recording activities at the end of 1972. While the first is unmistakably Doors in sound and style, the last album showed the Doors further expanding into jazz territory. While neither album have yet seen CD reissues in the U.S., they have been released on 2-on-1 CDs in Germany and Russian Federation and are being heard via internet P2P networks and are undergoing fan reevaluation.

The remaining Doors recorded a third post-Morrison album, An American Prayer released in 1978, this time providing only backup music to recordings of Morrison’s poetry.

In 1979 Francis Ford Coppola released Apocalypse Now with “The End” used prominently in the sound track. With this, “The Doors” were rediscovered by new fans. In 1983, “Alive, She Cried” was released, which included a cover version of the Them hit “Gloria”, adding it officially to the Elektra Records discography.

The 1990s and beyond

In 1991, director Oliver Stone released his film The Doors, starring Val Kilmer as Morrison and with cameos by Krieger and Densmore. Ian Astbury of The Cult was Stone’s preferred choice, but Astbury decided not to enter the acting world for reasons unknown. While all were amazed at Kilmer’s impersonation, the film had numerous factual inaccuracies and members of the group later voiced displeasure at Stone’s portrayal of Morrison, at times making him look like an out-of-control sociopath.

In 2002 Manzarek and Krieger reunited and created a new version of The Doors, called “The Doors of the 21st Century”. In the place of Morrison, the new lineup was fronted by British vocalist Ian Astbury, former lead singer of UK band The Cult, with Angelo Barbera from Krieger’s band on bass. At their first concert the group announced that drummer John Densmore would not perform, and it was later reported that he was unable to play because he suffered from tinnitus. Densmore was initially replaced by Stewart Copeland, formerly of The Police, but after Copeland broke his arm falling off a bicycle, the arrangement ended in mutual lawsuits and he was replaced by Ty Dennis, drummer with Krieger’s band.

Densmore subsequently claimed that he had in fact not been invited to take part in the reunion. In February 2003 he filed an injunction against his former bandmates hoping to prevent them from using the name “The Doors of the 21st Century”. His motion was denied in court in May that year, although Manzarek publicly reiterated that the invitation for Densmore to return to the group still stood. It was also reported that both Morrison’s family and that of Pamela Courson had joined Densmore in seeking to prevent Manzarek and Krieger from using The Doors’ name. In July 2005, Densmore and the Morrison estate won a permanent injunction; thereby preventing his former bandmates from using The Doors’ name. The new band initially switched to the name “D21C” and now plays under the name Riders on the storm, which is itself the name of a Doors tribute band in the northeastern US. They are allowed to play under names such as “former Doors” and “members of The Doors”. Densmore has also been steadfast in refusing to license The Doors’ music for use in television commercials, including an offer of $15 million by Cadillac to lease the song “Break on Through (to the Other Side)”, feeling that that would be in violation of the spirit in which the music was created. Densmore wrote about this subject for The Nation, noting,

People lost their virginity to this music, got high for the first time to this music. I’ve had people say kids died in Viet Nam listening to this music, other people say they know someone who didn’t commit suicide because of this music…. On stage, when we played these songs, they felt mysterious and magic. That’s not for rent.

Manzarek and Krieger maintain that touring as a Doors revival and licensing the music to advertisements are a means to keep The Doors from fading into history. Manzarek was quoted as saying, “We’re all getting older. We should, the three of us, be playing these songs because, hey, the end is always near. Morrison was a poet, and above all, a poet wants his words heard.”

The Doors are remembered for shamanistic live performances. Some members of the “establishment”, however, felt that they were merely American rock music rebels. Jim Morrison said: “I like any reaction I can get with my music. Just anything to get people to think. I mean if you can get a whole room full of drunk, stoned people to actually wake up and think, you’re doing something.”

Their enduring popularity is reflected by continuing sales of their early work.

Recorded output

The Doors left a reasonably concise discography for an era dominated by groups which seemed to rush out an album every six months and a high number of non-album singles. The first, self-titled album is generally thought to be the strongest and is a regular sight in greatest 100 album lists. Strange Days, Morrison Hotel and L.A Woman are all highly rated by fans and, due to their different styles, (psychedelic pop, hard rock, blues) appeal to some more than others. Waiting For The Sun contains some strong tracks but is thematically weak. The Soft Parade is considered by some to be “plain bad and for fans only”.

1970’s Absolutely Live and 1983’s Alive She Cried are good examples of the band’s live show and are available on CD. The 2CD In Concert is better value for money as it collects the two and adds an interesting version of “The End” from the Hollywood Bowl show in 1968.

Only three non-album tracks were released in the band’s lifetime, the b-sides “Who Scared You”, “Tree Trunk”, and a cover of Willie Dixon’s “(You Need Meat) Don’t Go Further” sung by Ray. “Who Scared You” and “(You Need Meat) Don’t Go Further” appeared on the 1972 compilation Weird Scenes Inside The Goldmine while only “Who Scared You” has since been given a further CD release, on the 1997 box set.

In 1978 the surviving Doors re-united to add music to poetry recorded by Morrison in 1969 and 1970. The resulting album was “An American Prayer” and was re-issued on CD in 1995 with bonus tracks “Hour For Magic”, “Freedom Exists”, “A Feast Of Friends”, “Babylon Fading”, “Bird Of Prey” and “The Ghost Song (extended version)”.

The group had always shied away from releasing archive Doors material but in 1997 relented with the release of The Doors box set. While hardcore fans complained that most of the material had been previously released on bootlegs the 4CD set, one of which was a “greatest hits” type CD, proved popular. It was notable for a CD of highlights from the 1970 Felt Forum concert and a cleaned-up recording of the (edited) 1969 “Rock Is Dead” session. The surviving members again re-united to add new musical backing to the solo Morrison song “Orange County Suite”.

In November 2000 came the announcement many fans had dreamed of when The Doors announced the creation of Bright Midnight Records, a label through which 36 albums and 90 hours of previously unreleased Morrison-era Doors material would be made available on CD. This was launched with a sampler of forthcoming material, mostly from live concerts. The first full release was a 2CD set of the May 1970 show at Detroit Cobo Arena. It was followed by two CDs of interviews, mostly with Morrison, and the two 1969 Aquarius shows and one of the rehearsals. A 4CD set “Boot Yer Butt” unashamedly used bootleg quality material but sold out nevertheless. It was notable for the inclusion of the only known performances of songs from L.A Woman including the title track and “The Changeling” from The Doors’ last but one show, in December 1970, Dallas, Texas. In 2005 a 2CD concert from Philadelphia in 1970 was released.

Many illegal bootleg recordings are available of the group. Most impressive is a wealth of shows from March 1967 at the legendary Matrix Club in San Francisco. Many shows are available from 1968 when the band reached the height of its popularity, notably two shows in Stockholm, Sweden. The infamous Miami show has become widely available while many 1970 shows, notably a radio broadcast of the June 6 Vancouver show, make the rounds. The complete 1969 “Rock Is Dead” studio jam was discovered in the mid 1990s.

Recently, a commercial for Star Motorcycles featuring the Doors song “Riders on the Storm” has been seen.

The Doors lyrics sell for 19.500 $

A scrap of paper on which singer Jim Morrison scribbled lyrics to ”The Doors” track ”LA Woman” has sold for USD 19,500.

The note, which also included doodles and sketches drawn by the late singer, went under the hammer at a rock memorabilia auction in Reading, England on Tuesday, Contactmusic reported.

Other items in the sale at Cameo auction house included an abstract painting by late guitar legend Jimi Hendrix, which made USD 12,600, a green jacket belonging to the late rocker (USD 4,950) and a red fabric hairband which he once wore onstageA yellowing scrap of paper with Jim Morrison’s handwritten lyrics for LA Woman scrawled on it has sold for £13,000 at an auction.

The Doors singer penned the words – signed J-M/Doors – on the A4 sized sheet before recording the 1971 LA Woman album, which was released three months before he died in Paris, aged 27.

The lyric sheet, which was last exhibited at New York’s Hard Rock Cafe, went under the hammer at a pop music memorabilia auction near Reading, Berks, yesterday.

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An abstract painting by Jimi Hendrix went for £8,400 and a green velvet jacket he bought in Carnaby Street raised £3,300. A red fabric headband he wore on stage was sold for £800.

A Beatles fan paid £2,100 for a black and white poster of the band that was given away in a newspaper in 1967 and signed by John Lennon.

Psychedelic prints of John, Paul, George and Ringo sold as one lot for £560.

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information.The lyrics of legendary rocker Jim Morrison, singer of 1960s rock band The Doors, have sold for £13,000 in a Berkshire, UK, auction.

Handwritten in pen, the lyrics were written for the song LA Woman, the title track from the band’s sixth and final 1971 studio album (which also happened to feature Elvis Presley’s bassist, Jerry Scheff).

Beginning “Well I just got into town about an hour ago…” Morrison’s lyrics are accompanied by Biro doodles to the left hand side.

In the top left-hand corner of the A4 sheet is the singer’s autograph, which reads “J – M /Doors – Morrison”, next to the song title.

Later that same year, in July, Morrison would be found dead in a Paris bathtub. Today, the cause of his death remains uncertain – yet his rock ‘n’ roll legacy still burns as brightly as ever.’Well I just go into town an hour ago…’: Morrison’s £13,000 lyrics

The authenticity of this fascinating piece of music history was verified by its provenance, having been formally exhibited in the famous Hard Rock Cafe, New York.

Meanwhile, The Doors, whose famous hits include Break on Through (To the Other Side) and Light My Fire, have been enjoyed a renaissance of sorts.

Earlier this year saw the release of a documentary, entitled When You’re Strange, charting the band’s career with narration by longtime fan Johnny Depp.

Meanwhile, collectors on the lookout for autographs and lyrics penned by rock’s greatest legends can also find Paul McCartney’s signed lyrics to Lady Madonna and sheet music by Bob Dylan for sale on the market.

They are currently available to collectors alongside other signed photographs and memorabilia from Led Zeppelin, The Who and John Lennon – on which you can find more information here.

Jim Morrison’s Laurel Canyon Home on Market for $1,199,000

Two locations draw thousands of fans to pay tribute to the Doors’ late lead singer, Jim Morrison. One is his grave in Paris cemetery and the other is Morrison’s Laurel Canyon home he shared with his girlfriend Pamela Courson during the Doors’ heyday. And now, Morrison’s home is for sale for $1,199,000.
Called the “Love Street home” (named after Morrison’s tribute ballad to Courson), this is where they lived during the Doors’ prominence on the music scene in the 60s. In addition to San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury neighborhood, the Laurel Canyon area became a mecca among musicians during this time (Joni Mitchell, Graham Nash, Carole King, The Mamas and the Papas, Dusty Springfield, Brian Wilson lived here) due to its laid-back feel and rustic style.
The home’s interior appears reminiscent of what it may have been like if Morrison and Courson still lived there and perhaps stepped out for a moment. It retains a rustic feel with distressed floors, iron fixtures, and open beam ceilings. There are multiple patios where Morrison and friends hung out, wrote music and partied, and the house is being sold with all of its furnishings. Who knows, maybe the new owner will find another hidden area, as LA Curbed reports, where “… Morrison scrolled his writings, preserved and hidden behind the bathroom wall.”
Morrison died of an alleged drug overdose in Paris in 1971. Three years later, Courson also died of an overdose. Both were 27 at the time of their deaths.
Two locations draw thousands of fans to pay tribute to the Doors’ late lead singer, Jim Morrison. One is his grave in Paris cemetery and the other is Morrison’s Laurel Canyon home he shared with his girlfriend Pamela Courson during the Doors’ heyday. And now, Morrison’s home is for sale for $1,199,000.
Called the “Love Street home” (named after Morrison’s tribute ballad to Courson), this is where they lived during the Doors’ prominence on the music scene in the 60s. In addition to San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury neighborhood, the Laurel Canyon area became a mecca among musicians during this time (Joni Mitchell, Graham Nash, Carole King, The Mamas and the Papas, Dusty Springfield, Brian Wilson lived here) due to its laid-back feel and rustic style.
The home’s interior appears reminiscent of what it may have been like if Morrison and Courson still lived there and perhaps stepped out for a moment. It retains a rustic feel with distressed floors, iron fixtures, and open beam ceilings. There are multiple patios where Morrison and friends hung out, wrote music and partied, and the house is being sold with all of its furnishings. Who knows, maybe the new owner will find another hidden area, as LA Curbed reports, where “… Morrison scrolled his writings, preserved and hidden behind the bathroom wall.”