Overview
The Doors are rock royalty. Jim Morrison, Ray Manzarek, Robby Krieger, and John Densmore reinvented rock 'n' roll in the 60s, and their influence can be felt even today. Now, for the first time, the living members of the band are opening up their personal archives to their fans, telling their story in their own words. This book is filled with untold anecdotes and never-before-seen photos from their private collections. Fans can learn first-hand what really went on in America's most enigmatic and mythical band.Synopsis
An essential companion for fans of the Doors: a comprehensive collection of their lyrics, including live material and the posthumously issued poetry album by Jim Morrison, An American Prayer. The compilation also contains rare photographs, brought together by Danny Sugerman.
Danny Sugerman was the manager of the Doors and author of Wonderland Avenue: Tales of Glamour and Excess, and Appetite for Destruction: The Days of Guns N' Roses. He was coauthor of No One Here Gets Out Alive. Sugerman began working with the Doors when he was 14 years old, when his first job was answering their fan mail. As stated by John Densmore, the Doors' drummer, "Danny was the #1 Doors fan of the world." He died in 2005.
Publishers Weekly
L.A.'s answer to the British Invasion, the Doors burned brightly, burned out and left behind a clouded legacy. The continued fascination with the band has everything to do with Jim Morrison, of course, the charismatic singer who died young. Talented, inconsistent and a raging alcoholic, Morrison intentionally tried to channel the contradictory energies of the era and became its shaman stud. In this photo-rich volume, longtime music writer and former Rolling Stone editor Fong-Torres has expertly woven together a narrative from interviews with the band members Ray Manzarek, Robby Krieger and John Densmore as well as Morrison's family and closest friends. Collaboration created the Doors' sound and songs, and the biographies of each musician bring perspective to the more famous Morrison story. While there are no shocking revelations, it's useful to discover just how talented Morrison's band mates were in an age of three-chord wonders. Now middle-aged, the remaining Doors are clearheaded about their youthful extravagances and don't waste time with character assassination. Drug use is discussed openly, although Morrison's death is left needlessly vague (when a 27-year-old dies with only his junkie girlfriend, it's a good bet that heroin was involved). For the most part, though, this understated work further elucidates this iconic band. (Nov.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.