The Doors: ‘Jim Morrison Had a Pretty Tough Oedipus Complex – It Made Him Manic Depressive’
- by Greg Wetherall
REFLECTING ON THEIR HOLLYWOOD BOWL SHOW, JOHN DENSMORE AND ROBBY KRIEGER REVEAL HOW DRUGS ALTERED THE BAND’S SOUND—AND JIM MORRISON’S MIND
Doors drummer John Densmore is pointing over his shoulder to two royal blue LA street signs situated next to his drumkit. The signs say Densmore Av and Morrison St. “You’re probably curious about that?” he says. “I knew there was Densmore Av in The Valley. I drove by it many times. A few years ago, I thought, ‘I’m going to go up Densmore and see what I can find’. I drive up a mile and it crosses Morrison St. These streets were probably named hundreds of years ago.” He cracks a smile. “Kinda prophetic, huh?”
Much of what surrounds The Doors feels, and has always felt, rather prophetic. Jim Morrison’s mystical musings, tousled good looks and bourbon-soaked baritone left its mark on the map of American culture long before he died in Paris, July 3, 1971, at the age of 27. Over the course of six albums in five preceding years, the Doors had diced up jazz, blues and rock and roll to stunning effect, becoming the first American band to rack up eight consecutive gold or platinum LPs in the process.
