The Doors Unhinged: Jim Morrison’s Legacy Goes on Trial

The Doors drummer Densmore (Riders on the Storm) rockets through his tumultuous six-year lawsuit against former bandmates Ray Manzarek and Robby Krieger in this no-holds-barred account. Much has changed since the garage band from Venice, Calif., started writing lyrics that came to define a generation, and with lead singer Morrison long dead—and the band broken up in 1973, two years later—its members were left to negotiate their commercial interests in the years to come. Backed by the Morrison estate, Densmore sued guitarist Krieger and keyboardist Manzarek in 2003 over their unauthorized use of the band’s name, logo, and images, to promote their newly formed the Doors of the 21st Century. Manzarek and Krieger countersued, alleging that Densmore owed them an estimated $40 million in lost profits because he’d too often vetoed licensing the band’s songs for promotional purposes—a practice Jim Morrison vehemently opposed. The resulting mud-slinging court fiasco, rife with attacks on Densmore’s “communist” political beliefs and even the opposing counsel’s implication that he was a “supporter of Al Qaeda,” ended with Densmore winning against his former bandmates in 2009. Throughout, the author’s initial question—at what point does money cheapen art’s original message?—remains salient, even if he hammers it home a bit repetitively. Devoted fans will be eager to get their hands on this deep dive. (Nov.)