03 February 2013
Newsdesk
When surviving Doors members Ray Manzarek and Robbie Krieger decided to take $15 million to allow Cadillac to use one of the group’s songs in an ad, it was the start of a major rift with bandmate John Densmore.
Densmore chronicles that fight in his new book The Doors: Unhinged, out this April via Amazon’s CreateSpace and Kindle Direct Publishing.
The disagreement started with the ad but grew even bigger when Manzarek and Krieger decided to tour under the name of The Doors of the 21st Century using Morrison’s image to promote their trek. That was enough for Densmore, who sued his former bandmates with the support of Morrison’s parents, defending the late-singer’s artistic integrity. Manzarek and Krieger countersued. The case took more than five years of Densmore’s life.
Also included in The Doors: Unhinged:
* How Jim Morrison threatened to smash a car onstage if Buick used a Doors song in a commercial;
*Being sued by his former band mates for $40 million, more than they collectively had ever made;
*The opposing lawyer’s bizarre attempts to label him a communist, anarchist & al-Qaeda supporter;
*How testimony from Police drummer Stewart Copeland changed the trial;
*Getting tossed in the paddywagon with Bonnie Raitt after a protest to protect old-growth trees;
*How even years after the Doors’ success, his excitement when he got to carry his hero Coltrane drummer Elvin Jones’ cymbals to his car;
*How Morrison’s father, a career Navy man, was thwarted in his career ambitions by his son’s rock star antics, but how he sided with his late son in court.
The book also contains previously-unseen photos of Morrison and his family, the band and Densmore’s own career.
