Riders on the Storm: My Life with Jim Morrison and the Doors Paperback – September 1, 1991

This book is phenomenal. I wish I could thank John Densmore in person! If I could meet him, I would thank him for all the work he did and all the junk he put up with while he was with the Doors. What a legacy! I never even liked the Doors before I read this book, and I never knew that they were that popular (not far behind the Stones and the Beatles). Now I consider myself to be a super-fan, and I have to be honest and say that it is more because of this book than the actual music!I love that I was able to learn about THE DOORS from this book, NOT JUST Jim Morrison. There are so many books out there on Jim, who was only one quarter of the group. He provided the charisma and many of the lyrics, but he had almost nothing to do with the actual arrangement of the songs musically. The other three band members are extremely talented musicians and they should be recognized for that. Instead, when most people think of the Doors, they only think of Jim... the very one who caused the band's downfall in the media and ultimately their early cessation. Finally, we get an inside look at the OTHER three members and their invaluable contribution to a rock legend that will never die.John, I hope you check this page once in a while to see the reviews of your book. I was born in the middle of your heyday (1969) and I grew up probably able to name only a handful of Doors songs. Now I practically feel like an expert thanks to your book. You are absolutely right that new fans keep cropping up even after all these years. Would you believe that three of my favorite tunes are not even from among your mega hits? (Soul Kitchen ROCKS) Thank you for what you taught us about Jim. But more than that, thank you for teaching us about ALL of the Doors members. Thank you for all the details you provided about the messages behind the songs and the unique instrumentation and the reactions by the fans and events in your private life - the list is endless. I find myself wanting more because your story is so fascinating. Your book is filled with passion - and most compelling, is your MEMORY. I was riveted by your detailed accounts of specific conversations and impressions that you had. I am so glad you put it down on paper before it was lost forever. Your book is very COMPLETE, HONEST, humorous, tear-jerking, well-written and damn hard to put down. A+++

never cared for the doors, didn’t know anything about them, picked this up, and i have to say weirdly enough i’m very emotionally touched by johns writing. i highly recommend this book.

"There's the Beatles, the Stones, and the Doors," says Paul Rothschild, producer of one of the greatest bands of the sixties. Drummer John Densmore was only 21 when he joined with three other California students to form a band that would soon skyrocket to the top at a time when the US was a nation at war in Vietnam, and with itself. With quiet Robby Krieger on guitar, methodical and rational Ray Manzarek on keyboard and Adonis-look-a-like singer Jim Morrison, the band was like no other. With no bass player, they combined blues, jazz and psychedelic rock, with some Indian strings and often very dark lyrics, about death, murder and rage. And no wonder: Not long after forming, Densmore writes about their iconic lead singer, "I'm in a band with a psychotic."The book is captivating. It starts in Paris, 1975, with Densmore visiting Morrison's grave, four years after his death at age 27 on July 3, 1971 from an overdose. Returning to the hotel, he pours his feelings out in a "letter" to Morrison on the hotel stationery, which then gets interspersed throughout the book with his recollections. His memoir details his time in the band, returning now and then to the ongoing letter, and towards the end, "updates" Morrison on events of the 1980s and 1990s. Interspersed are appropriate lyrics from their songs, so that the book itself becomes quite artsy. The book gives excellent insight into what the 60s were like, what it's like being in a band on the rise and what it was like to survive the onslaught of Jim Morrison. What's missing, though, is what "The Lizard King" was really like. We get snapshots, snippets, and stories, but it's as if Densmore viewed Morrison at arm's length, even though he intensely shared six years with him. He was in awe of Morrison--who wasn't?--and scared of him, and rightly so. Though he feels guilty at not being able to help Morrison, we have to remember he was only a young man from a humble Catholic background, ill equipped to cope with sudden stardom, wealth and the phenomenally complex, creative and self-destructive Morrison.As if to highlight the detachment Densmore had with Morrison, Densmore dedicates the book to John Lennon of the Beatles, one of Densmore's heroes, and also mentions Lennon's assassination in his "letter" to Morrison, yet doesn't mention or maybe doesn't even know that Lennon was assassinated on Morrison's birthday, a fact he should know as Morrison and Densmore were born only a week apart."We sensed rage and a possible explosion too near the surface to mess with in dealing with you," Densmore writes in his letter to the now dead Morrison. "It seemed to have a lid on it--Pandora's box with all the demons that wanted to be released. We never opened the box... we had to deal with your demons seeping out the side." They seeped out and poisoned everything; the Doors had to cancel a 20-city tour when Morrison was arrested in Miami for indecent exposure at a concert (he was just pardoned this past December!). The charisma, lyrics and stunning voice of Morrison helped make the Doors a success; his addiction, rage and irresponsbility destroyed them. The book was published in 1990 and Densmore writes, "Well, we're going on 20 years and there's no end in sight" of the fascination people have with the Doors. On July 3, it will be 40 years since Morrison's death, and the Doors are almost as popular as ever. I picked this book up and finished it 5 hours later--it's compelling, honest, shocking and eye-opening. I literally could not put it down. A great book about my favorite band and my favorite singer--for no one could sing like Jim Morrison. Kudos to Densmore for being so unabashedly honest with his feelings and for sharing his life -- and the 60s--with us.