Latest news with #JimMorrison
Forbes
2 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
John Densmore Talks 60 Years Of The Doors As Told In ‘Night Divides The Day' Book
American rock band The Doors pose for their first album cover, 1967. They are vocalist Jim Morrison, ... More keyboardist Ray Manzarek, drummer John Densmore, and guitarist Robby Krieger. (Photo by Mark and) John Densmore, the legendary drummer for the Doors, recalls coming across a classic rock station one night that bragged about a contest on who currently has the most money in rock and roll. It made Densmore think about his band's early years. 'In the '60s for a few years there — '65 to '67 — we were making music with not the primary motive of getting rich,' he says. 'We wanted to say something about society and make a bunch of money if we could?' 'For example,' he later says, 'when we had our first giant concert riot where people went crazy, [our singer Jim Morrison] went backstage after and said, 'Wow, that was great. All right, let's go to an island and start over.' In other words, his artistic spirit was so pure, [it] practically killed him.' Cover of 'Night Divides the Day' by the Doors. Sixty years after the band formed in Los Angeles — and nearly 54 years since the death of Morrison — the Doors' legacy and influence continue through reissues of their classic albums, previously unreleased live recordings, documentaries and memoirs by the band members. Coinciding with the band's 60th anniversary this year, Genesis Publications recently released the book Night Divides the Day: The Doors Anthology, a dazzling and lavish visual history of the band featuring new interviews with surviving members Densmore and guitarist Robby Krieger and archival commentary from the late Morrison and keyboardist Ray Manzarek. Among the book's highlights are rare and previously unseen photos; memorabilia such as ticket stubs, show posters and Elektra Records publicity material; and a complete discography and tour history. In between ex-Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic's foreword and Venezuelan conductor Gustavo Dudamel's afterword is guest commentary from Patti Smith, Simple Minds' Jim Kerr, Van Morrison, Nile Rodgers, Nancy Sinatra and others. 'They're just beautiful,' Densmore says of Genesis Publications' previous music titles. 'I was aware of Genesis. I had been given a couple of the books and was duly impressed. And then this came around, and, of course, we would do this. It's the highest quality you can get.' The new book provides another opportunity for Densmore to revisit his time with the band, which he previously addressed in his three books, including Riders on the Storm. His involvement in the Doors began in 1965 when he and his friend Krieger first met Manzarek at a transcendental meditation course. Inner spread of 'Night Divides the Day' by the Doors 'Robby and I were friends in high school,' says Densmore, 'and we were experimenting with then-legal psychedelics, but thought, 'Well, you know there's always danger around knowledge.' So meditation would be a less shattering route. We went to this meditation, and there was Ray saying, 'I hear you're a drummer.' 'I always wanted to play music,' he continues. 'I never thought I'd make a living at it, but I loved jamming. So I went to Ray's garage, and there was Jim, who'd never sung. I thought, 'He's not the next Mick Jagger.' But Ray handed me [Jim's] lyrics: 'You know, the day destroys the night/Night divides the day/Tried to run, tried to hide/Break on through to the other side.' Wow, that's percussive. I thought I'd follow this lead for a while. I'm still following it.' Morrison's reputation as a charismatic and extroverted performer has since become legend, but at the time of the band's formation, he was very shy. 'So shy,' adds Densmore, 'that he wouldn't even sing. He didn't have that deep baritone in the garage. He never sang, so he was shy. And over time, he turned into the Lizard King.' Morrison, Manzarek and Densmore were members of the group Rick and the Ravens, along with Manzarek's two brothers. 'The chemistry between me and Ray was immediate because, eventually, his left hand became the bass player,' Densmore recalls. 'But the chemistry with his two brothers wasn't there. They didn't realize [Jim's] lyrics are so brilliant. What a concept — poetry and rock and roll. 'So they went by the wayside and I brought Robby. I asked him to play bottleneck, which had not been done electrically. Robby did it at his audition, and Ray and Jim wanted it on every song, which meant he was in the band. That was when the chemistry hit. The four Doors were born.' Inner spread of 'Night Divides the Day' by the Doors. As chronicled in the new book, the Doors' early performances in Los Angeles, first at the London Fog and then later at the Whisky a Go Go, were crucial to the band's development and led to their signing with Elektra Records in 1966. 'We rehearsed for about a year,' Densmore says, 'but until you stand up in front of people, you haven't upped the ante,' he says. 'It makes you really listen to each other, which is the key to an ensemble becoming more than its parts. [At] the London Fog, Jim was so nervous. At least he was singing now. He would face us like in the rehearsal. And then slowly at the Whisky, he started to turn around and look at the audience and realize he had some power and developed.' Released in 1967, the group's classic self-titled album was a major critical and commercial success thanks to such memorable songs as 'Break on Through,' 'Soul Kitchen,' the haunting epic 'The End' and their band's first number one hit 'Light My Fire.' Densmore considers that record and 1971's L.A. Woman as his favorites. 'The two of them are sort of like bookends to our career,' he says. 'I like them all. Strange Days was fun. The studio became the fifth Door, in a way.' Musically and lyrically, the Doors were the moody opposite of the hippie, peace-and-love artists coming out of Los Angeles and San Francisco during the mid to late 1960s. 'Jim's lyrics were darker,' says Densmore. 'It was kind of like we were the underbelly of the undeclared Vietnam War. And so at first, I thought, 'This is dark.' But now I'm very grateful because Jim's looking at stuff that people try to hide." The photographs in Night Divides the Days capture the excitement and aura of the Doors onstage, especially through Morrison; certain gigs and tours are referenced in the book, including the infamous 1967 show at the New Haven Arena, where the singer was arrested. 'It was like walking the razor's edge,' Densmore says. 'Some nights, he was in a trance. Some nights, he was too drunk. And that part of him increased, which was really unfortunate. But self-destruction and creativity sometimes come in the same package and they certainly did with Jim.' Morrison's unpredictable behavior due to his drinking grated on Densmore, which he later detailed in his 1989 memoir Riders on the Storm. 'I threw my sticks down and said 'I quit' in the middle of recording Waiting for the Sun. And I came back the next day. How am I supposed to give up a life in playing music? Yeah, we had a wild man as a lead singer, but I was so blessed to be able to make a living at something I loved.' Inner spread of 'Night Divides the Day' by the Doors. More success followed for the Doors with 1967's Strange Days and 1968's Waiting for the Sun albums (which collectively yielded such popular songs as 'People Are Strange,' 'Love Me Two Times' and 'Hello I Love You'). In 1969, the group released the controversial The Soft Parade, which expanded the band's sonic palette by incorporating strings and brass. 'Ray and I had talked about jazz when we first met,' Densmore says. 'We were aware of Miles [Davis] and [John] Coltrane, and we got some sax solos on the album. We wanted to experiment with that. And the critics didn't like us changing our precious Doors now. But 'Touch Me' was number one, so take that! That's what an artist does — you try stuff and some of it sticks to the wall, some doesn't.' The group returned to its blues roots on the next record, 1970's Morrison Hotel, which was considered their comeback and contained another Doors classic, 'Roadhouse Blues.' That was followed a year later with L.A. Woman, which turned out to be the band's final recording with Morrison. It was a critical and commercial success whose highlights included the driving title song, 'Love Her Madly' and 'Riders on the Storm,' the latter showcasing Densmore's jazz chops. Of his memories of recording 'Riders on the Storm,' Denmore says: 'When we overdubbed the thunder and rain, it was like playing God. We had the tape machines queued up to various thunderclaps. And then we could just drop one in wherever we wanted, like after a guitar solo or something. So it was really fun creating the sonic natural atmosphere of nature.' The album was recorded at a time when Morrison was mired in legal turmoil following the band's 1969 show in Miami in which he allegedly exposed himself. Asked whether the incident may have been a foreshadowing of the end of Morrison — who died on July 3, 1971, in Paris at the age of 27 — Densmore responds: 'The razor's edge again. I thought, "Oh my God, this guy's going to self-destruct in a minute.' 'Oh, no, maybe he's going to live to be an 80-year-old drunk.' I don't know. I knew Miami was trouble. 'Somebody said to me, 'Hey, if Jim hadn't met you three guys, maybe he would have died sooner.' I thought, 'Oh, my God, what a thought.' He had this creative energy and he really needed to get it out. He heard a concert in his head, and we helped him manufacture that.' Inner spread of 'Night Divides the Day' by the Doors. The book covers the post-Morrison Doors, with Manzarek and Krieger taking up the vocal duties; the trio lineup lasted two albums. 'We didn't want to give up the musical synchronicity the trio had developed, being Jim's sonic mattress that he lay on top of,' says Densmore. 'Ray and Robby tried to sing. I mean, they're fine, but it wasn't Jim. And so after a couple of albums, we're like, 'Okay.' Our focal point is gone, and we had other solo projects in mind, so it was over.' The surviving members briefly reunited to record new music to accompany Morrison's spoken word poetry for the An American Prayer album, released in 1978. Over the next decades, the Doors' popularity grew with the inclusion of 'The End' in the 1979 Francis Ford Coppola movie Apocalypse Now; releases of Doors compilations and live recordings; the 1991 biopic movie directed by Oliver Stone; and the memoirs penned by Densmore, Manzarek and Krieger. Today, Densmore remains active in music with his projects, including one with keyboardist Adam Holzman, who had previously played with Miles Davis (His father is Jac Holzman, the Elektra Records founder who signed the Doors in 1966). Densmore's other project is an 'alt-hip-hop' collaboration with Public Enemy's Chuck D as doPE, an amalgam of the two artists' respective bands' names. As the two remaining members of the band, Densmore and Krieger are keeping the band's legacy alive not only through this new book but also in public — with Densmore recently guesting with Krieger's solo band at the Whisky, where they have been performing Doors music on a monthly residency. 'It was really a brilliant idea [by Robby's band] to do an entire album each month,' Densmore says. 'And so I sat in. I wanted to play 'Riders' and the one before that is 'The Wasp (Texas Radio and the Big Beat).' It's very difficult rhythmically. So I said to the audience, 'I've never played this song live. Wish me luck.' And we got through it.' Inner spread of 'Night Divides the Day' by the Doors. On this 60th anniversary year – amid the release of Night Divides the Day and an upcoming screening of the band documentary When You're Strange in New York City — interest in the Doors shows no sign of waning. Asked about people's continued fascination with the Doors, Densmore breaks it down to the core components of the band. 'You got this Adonis-looking Michelangelo's 'David,' who's full of brilliant poetry, and we just worked real hard to support his vision and get that concert out of his head," he says. "It's Ray's classical and Chicago blues, Robby's flamenco, my jazz and Jim's words that made this mixture.' .Night Divides the Day: The Doors Anthology is now available through Genesis Publications.
CBC
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- CBC
Marble bust of rock legend Jim Morrison found, 37 years after it disappeared
The bust was uncovered in Paris during an unrelated investigation Image | CORRECTION Jim Morrison Bust Caption: The grave of American rock singer and poet Jim Morrison stands in France's most famous graveyard, Le Pere LaChaise cemetery, in a photo taken Dec. 8, 1982. The bust disappeared in 1988, and was recovered earlier this year. (Herve Merliac/The Associated Press) Media Audio | As It Happens : Marble bust of rock legend Jim Morrison found, 37 years after it disappeared Open Full Embed in New Tab Loading external pages may require significantly more data usage than loading CBC Lite story pages. A marble bust of rock legend Jim Morrison vanished without a trace in 1988, leaving behind only rumours, speculation and a mystery that baffled fans for decades. Now, 37 years later, it's finally been found — unexpectedly uncovered in Paris during an entirely unrelated investigation. On May 16, the Paris Public Prosecutor's Office announced the recovery of the long-missing sculpture. The police's Financial and Anti-Corruption Brigade discovered the bust while executing a search order from an examining magistrate at the Paris Court. For Jeff Jampol, manager of Morrison's estate, the discovery was as unexpected as it was surreal. "I thought, 'Wow, it's a really interesting twist,'" Jampol told CBC's As It Happens host Nil Köksal. "It was really interesting how they came across it while they were undergoing a different operation." Croatian sculptor Mladen Mikulin installed the bust, carved from Macedonian white marble, to place on Morrison's tombstone in 1981, on the tenth anniversary of the Doors frontman's death. But over time, it was vandalized — its nose and lips chipped, covered in graffiti. And in 1988, it disappeared completely. Now recovered, the sculpture is reportedly in the same condition it was when it disappeared — still marred by decades-old graffiti, the nose still broken. There was no immediate word on whether the bust would be returned to the grave or what other investigation might take place, according to The Associated Press. Jim Morrison of The Doors: Rock and Roll Poet for a Generation Larger than life Morrison and the Doors left an indelible mark on the music scene of the 1960s. Co-creating the groundbreaking psychedelic rock band with keyboardist Ray Manzarek in Los Angeles, Morrison helped launch a sound that was dark, experimental and provocative. "The Doors were a very edgy, dark, psychedelic band, and they sang about and spoke of things that most bands do not," said Jampol. "It taps into a certain zeitgeist and a certain part of the conscious and unconscious. [They] stood apart from every other band I knew." The band exploded from obscurity to stardom with their 1967 breakout hit Light My Fire. At the heart of that mystique was Morrison — nicknamed The Lizard King — whose magnetic voice and outlandish performances, became a symbol of rebellion and counterculture. Before his days on stage, Morrison studied film at UCLA was a devoted reader of William Blake, Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg — poets whose influence bled into his lyrics. More than a bust In 1971, at the height of his fame, Morrison moved to Paris with his longtime partner, Pamela Courson. He hoped to devote himself to writing poetry. But just months later, he was found dead in their apartment bathtub at the age of 27. Though no autopsy was performed, his death was ruled a heart attack. Morrison was buried in Paris's famed Père-Lachaise Cemetery, resting among cultural giants like Oscar Wilde, Édith Piaf, and Frédéric Chopin. "Jim had commented he would love to be buried there. He's with his fellow artists," said Jampol. Morrison's grave quickly became one of the most visited in Paris. Tourists and fans alike continue to flock there each year on the anniversary of his death. "In a country where you have the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe and the Notre-Dame Cathedral and Euro Disney and the Louvre Museum and the Champs d'Elysées, Jim's gravesite at Père-Lachaise is one of the top five most visited sites in France," Jampol said. For fans, the bust is a tangible connection to Morrison's legacy. But for Jampol, his essence lies elsewhere. "There's so much mythology and lore ... tied up in Jim Morrison and the band," he said. "Some [fans] are attached to physical objects.… They attach some kind of outsized lore to them." "But for us [and] for the Morrison family, we're interested in the art, the music, the poetry and the filmmaking of Jim. That's what's important to us [than] which guitar Robby Krieger played, or which shirt Jim Morrison wore. 'The art and the message is what's key to us."
New Straits Times
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- New Straits Times
#SHOWBIZ: Jim Morrison bust found — 37 years after theft
FRENCH police have recovered by chance the long-lost bust of American singer Jim Morrison that once adorned the grave of the iconic frontman of The Doors, 37 years after it was stolen from a Paris cemetery. The sculpture, missing since 1988, was found during a search tied to a fraud case led by the Paris public prosecutor's office, a source close to the investigation told AFP. Nostalgic rock fans still flock to Morrison's grave at Paris's Pere Lachaise cemetery, where he was buried after his death in the French capital in 1971 at the age of 27. The sculpture, by Croatian artist Mladen Mikulin, had been placed at the grave to mark the 10th anniversary of Morrison's death. It was found by the financial and anti-corruption brigade of the judicial police department of the police. The exact circumstances of the singer's death are still shrouded in mystery, with most early accounts saying he died of cardiac arrest in his bathtub. A French journalist, Sam Bernett, claimed in a 2007 book that close friends and family spun the official version of Morrison's death to sanitise his reputation. Bernett said Morrison actually died from a heroin overdose on the toilet of a nightclub that the journalist owned at the time, the "Rock 'n' Roll Circus" on Paris' Left Bank. The Doors, founded in Los Angeles, were among the most influential rock groups of the late 1960s and early 70s and a mainstay of the counterculture of the times. Their hits include 'Riders on the Storm', 'Light My Fire' and 'The End', a haunting song that features prominently in Francis Ford Coppola's 1979 Vietnam war movie 'Apocalypse Now'. In February, Paris named a bridge after the iconic singer, located just steps from the bohemian Marais district where he last lived.
ABC News
27-05-2025
- General
- ABC News
Stolen Generations survivor Kath Ryan reflects on her life after WA redress scheme announced
More than 60 years ago, Stolen Generations survivor Kath Ryan was pulled screaming from her mother in Western Australia's Gascoyne region. WARNING: This story contains details that may be distressing for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers. At just seven years old, she became one of thousands of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in Australia taken from their families. Years later, her own daughter was taken from her. But in the years since, she has reconnected with her family, graduated university and is proud to be a grandparent. On Tuesday, the WA government announced Stolen Generations survivors would be eligible for payments of up to $85,000 as part of a landmark redress scheme. It leaves just Queensland as the only state or territory without a compensation scheme for survivors. Ms Ryan, a 72-year-old Yinggarda elder, was at the steps of WA's Parliament House when the announcement was made. "It's wonderful. I cried when [Noongar traditional custodian] Jim Morrison told us," she said. Ms Ryan was born in Carnarvon in 1953, her skin much lighter than her single mother's. It put authorities on alert, with Ms Ryan's hardworking mother always on the move to evade welfare officials. When they eventually caught up to her, she was powerless to act when a seven-year-old Ms Ryan was shoved into a paddy wagon and taken away. "I was screaming and kicking and stuff like that. I saw my mum walking off and she didn't look back," she said. "The penalty was back in the day if you kicked up and carried on, you would be thrown in jail." Ms Ryan was placed in a Church of Christ mission in Carnarvon, where she spent her days carrying out domestic tasks and looking after the younger children. When she was about 12 years old, she was sent to live with a family in the affluent Perth suburb of Cottesloe. She said the prospect of going to a big city was exciting, and she went to a private school where she worked hard. But she felt keenly the absence of her family and other children who looked like her. During this time, she fell pregnant and was sent to a home for women and babies. But as soon as her daughter was born, she was taken from Ms Ryan. "I had no choice in the matter," she said. Ms Ryan went on to have six other children, whom she vowed to keep close. "No way was I going to let those other six go," she said. Ms Ryan returned to Carnarvon in her 20s but received a shock when she was ostracised by her family. "It's sort of like … as we say in our language, 'you've been living with Wadjela people, you've got to live that life now'," she said. But she persisted in rebuilding a relationship with her mother, whom she only spent a combined nine years with before her death in her 90s. As well as taking away precious time with her family, her experience as a Stolen Generations survivor also made Ms Ryan doubt her intellectual abilities. It was not until a friend convinced her otherwise when she was in her mid-30s that she pursued a university education, graduating with a degree in community health. Her granddaughter is now following in her footsteps and is pursuing a law degree. "It makes me so proud," she said. Now retired, Ms Ryan enjoys spending time with her grandchildren and other Stolen Generations survivors. But she said she feels deeply the loss of other survivors who died before the announcement of redress this week. "It was great to hear it, but a great sadness as well, because the Aboriginal people don't have a good life span. I'm fortunate, I never in my wildest dreams thought I'd reach 60, let alone 72," she said. "For the unfortunate ones that have passed … it's a little bit too late." For some time, Ms Ryan wanted to keep her story close out of feelings of shame. But she said the time for silence had long passed. "People need to know that these things happened," she said. "With this truth-telling and stuff like that, hopefully we'll make a lot of people realise these things are true, they're not just made up." The state government estimates there to be between 2,500 and 3,000 survivors of the Stolen Generations in WA. Registrations for the redress scheme are expected to open later this year, with payments to follow towards the end of the year.
CTV News
27-05-2025
- General
- CTV News
Windsor council broadens search for homelessness hub, eyes city-wide options
Windsor City council is expanding the search for a site to locate a permanent homelessness and housing help hub. During Monday's meeting, council voted to look beyond a two-kilometre radius of the downtown core and instead explore options right across the city. The city's current Homelessness and Housing Help Hub, or H4, was opened in 2020 in the former Water World at Wyandotte Street East and Glengarry Avenue, but the city has been looking for a location to build a permanent expanded site that could house various wraparound support services. In 2022, a feasibility study by Glos Arch + Eng proposed that any site for a permanent H4 be walkable to existing community and health services, with most already near downtown, which resulted in the two-kilometre radius being set. The decision to expand the search comes after Ward 3 Coun. Renaldo Agostino expressed frustration during the May 12 meeting over the ongoing problems in the city core caused by people dealing with homelessness, mental health, and addiction issues and the proximity of services and homeless shelters in and around downtown. Agostino says location is what matters. 'Not putting handcuffs on ourselves by saying it has to be within this or that,' he says. 'We need to have the best spot that is best for the residents that live in the area. Best for the businesses that operate in that area and best for the people that need the help. Right now all three of those get a failing grade.' Ward 10 Coun. Jim Morrison says this has been three years, and it looks like to the people of Windsor we're doing nothing. 'I certainly fully support this. We need to move forward on this whole issue. I'm not going to sit here and do nothing for another three more years,' he says. The initial search for a permanent site resulted in the city eyeing a property at 700 Wellington Ave., but that was pulled off the table in December 2024 due to the cost of land acquisition. Ward 9 Coun. Kieran McKenzie says he reluctantly supports the expanded search but has some serious concerns. 'These are super complex issues. This opens the door to what I think is a significant departure from what we've already established about how we're going to address these issues. There's risk, and I'm taking that risk because I believe in all of us here,' he says. Ward 1 Coun. Fred Francis, who supported the motion, says he wants the search to be driven by professional best practice and data. 'It can't become a political decision. That's my main concern right now; it's moving into the realm of politics, and that's what I want to prevent as much as we can. We're never going to agree to this if it's on politics and politics alone,' he says. Francis is also concerned about how moving further out in the city could impact the organizations they need to help from. 'The further we go out from where the social services are, there's going to be a ripple effect that not only affects the city but also these other organizations, agencies, and programming that currently exist,' he says. Ward 6 Coun. Jo-Anne Gignac did not support the expanded search. 'Municipalities are never going to be able to afford to do it properly without assistance from the upper levels of government. Upper levels of government are not providing even a road map on how the problem would be solved. Period,' says Gignac. City staff will now begin examining potential locations for a permanent H4 and then bring back a list for the council to consider. Once the council has a location narrowed down, the city will seek funding from the provincial and federal governments to build the facility at the new location, which was previously estimated at over $50 million. — Rusty Thomson/AM800 News
