20-05-2025
Last Surviving Members of The Doors Remember Jim Morrison's 'Heartbreaking' Death
The Doors took music by storm in the late 1960s and early 1970s, with a string of hits including "Break On Through (To the Other Side)," "Light My Fire," "People Are Strange," "Hello, I Love You," "Touch Me," "Love Her Madly," "Riders on the Storm" and more.
But tragedy struck in 1971 when lead singer Jim Morrison was found dead in a bathtub in Paris at the age of 27. The cause of death was listed as heart failure, and Bill Siddons, The Doors' manager, told Rolling Stone at the time that there might have been a possible lung infection because Morrison had been coughing up blood in the days leading up to his death.
In a new in-depth history of The Doors' meteoric rise and fall for Louder Sound, surviving members John Densmore (drums and backing vocals) and Robby Krieger (guitar, lead and backing vocals) reflected on their time with Morrison and what might have become of the band had he lived.
"Jim's demise was heartbreaking. I mean, it was so good live, and then it eroded. And I hated that. But now, many years later, time has really helped me reflect on the fact that he was supposed to be a shooting star — a quick impact and then goodbye," said Densmore.
Krieger added, "When Jim went to Paris [March 1971], I figured he'd be back at some point and we'd start playing again. But it wasn't meant to be."
Krieger also said that they talked about trying to continue on after Morrison's death, and he kind of wishes they would have, but Densmore said it was a "real struggle" to figure out what to do.
"That was a real struggle. We didn't want to give up the musical synchronicity, but who's going to fill those leather pants?" said Densmore, adding, "We tried a few people, and Ray [Manzarek] and Robby sang. They were OK … Without Jim, what is The Doors?"
Ray Manzarek was the fourth member of the original group, who played keyboards and contributed to lead and backing vocals; he died of cancer in 2013.
Krieger and Densmore were contemplative about what might have happened if Morrison had not died so young.
"Had Jim lived, I think our music would've gone more in the direction of 'Riders On The Storm.' And we'd be into film soundtracks. We all loved film," said Densmore. "Ray and Jim went to UCLA film school and would be experimenting with that. Editing film can be like drumming. It's all about timing."
"I do sometimes wonder how The Doors might've sounded through the seventies, and possibly the eighties, if Jim had lived. But I really have no idea. That was the thing about The Doors – what we came up with was always a surprise, even to us. I think that's one reason why the music still holds up today. I still play those songs so much that it sometimes feels like it was only yesterday. It seems like we never stopped," concluded Krieger.
