John Paul Densmore (born December 1, 1944) is an American musician and songwriter. He is best known as the drummer of the rock group The Doors.

Early life and The Doors

Born in Maine, Densmore attended Santa Monica City College and Cal. State-Northridge; at the latter he studied ethnic music under jazz cellist Fred Katz.

He joined The Doors in 1965 and remained a member until the band's dissolution in 1973. Densmore met keyboardist Ray Manzarek and guitarist Robby Krieger at a Transcendental Meditation lecture. Densmore says, "There wouldn't be any Doors without Maharishi." According to Densmore's own book, he quit the band on one occasion in reaction to Morrison's increasingly self-destructive behavior, although he returned the next day. He repeatedly suggested that the band stop touring, but Krieger and Manzarek were resistant to this notion. After the Doors' last performance with Morrison in New Orleans in 1970, the band agreed to discontinue performing live.

Densmore allowed "Riders on the Storm" to be used to sell Pirelli Tires, in England only. Densmore later stated that he "heard Jim's voice" in his ears and ended up donating the money earned to charity. In 2002, Densmore vetoed an offer by Cadillac for $15 million for "Break on Through (To the Other Side)" because of his strong views to conserve the environment.

Later career

John formed a band with fellow ex-Doors Robby Krieger in 1973 called The Butts Band but disbanded after two albums in 1975. John Densmore left the world of rock-and-roll in the 1980s, moving to the world of dance as he performed with Bess Snyder and Co., touring the United States for two years.

In 1984, at La Mama Theatre in New York, he made his stage acting debut in Skins, a one-act play he had written. In 1985, he won the LA Weekly Theater Award for music with Methusalem, directed by Tim Robbins. The play Rounds, which he co-produced, won the NAACP award for theatre in 1987. In 1988, he played a feature role in Band Dreams and Bebop at the Gene Dynarski Theatre. He developed and performed a one-man piece from the short story, The King of Jazz, at the Wallenboyd Theatre in 1989. With Adam Ant, he co-produced Be Bop A Lula at Theatre in 1992. He has acted in numerous TV shows, most memorably as himself in the show Square Pegs, working as a drummer for Johnny Slash's band Open 24 Hours. His film credits include: Get Crazy with Malcolm McDowell, Dudes directed by Penelope Spheeris, and The Doors directed by Oliver Stone.

Densmore wrote his best-selling autobiography, Riders On The Storm (publ. 1990), about his life and the time he spent with Morrison and The Doors. In the first chapter Densmore describes the solemn day on which he and the band finally visited Morrison's grave around three years after he had actually died. As the drummer and an influential member of The Doors, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He and Robby Krieger worked as technical advisers on the 1991 film, The Doors, but while they were impressed with Val Kilmer's performance as Morrison, they were unhappy with the film as a whole.

Current projects

Densmore is reported to be working on a first novel, producing a documentary film, an after-care program for ex-criminal offenders titled Project Return directed by Leslie Neale. When time allows, he lectures in colleges throughout the United States.

Densmore, popular as a rock drummer, expressed a desire to return to his roots as a jazz drummer. In 2006, his new band, Tribaljazz, released their first album of original work.

Densmore played the rare Mod Orange Ludwig drum sets from 1967 to 1971. This was his signature set on most of The Doors videos and photo shoots. He also played a White Marine Pearl Ludwig set alternating between the two. He is seen playing a White Marine Pearl Gretsch set in some photo and video shots. This was his first set with The Doors.

Fictional portrayals

Densmore was portrayed by Kevin Dillon in the 1991 biopic The Doors.