John Densmore, best known as drummer with The Doors, is planning to publish a New memoir titled 'The Doors: Unhinged - Jim Morrison's Legacy Goes On Trial'. In it, John writes in detail about the legal battles he's fought with fellow surviving band mates, keyboardist Ray Manzarek and guitarist Robby Krieger.
An official press release explains that for Doors fans, tracks like Break on Through and Light My Fire were the soundtrack to an era, and Jim Morrison's lyrics the voice of a revolution. Holding steadfast to their progressive 1960s ideology, the members of the Doors refused to sell out and, as four equal members, agreed that their music would never be used to push cars or cigarettes.
Then, more than thirty years after singer Jim Morrison's death, Cadillac offered the remaining members an astounding $15 million for the use of a song. Drummer John Densmore vetoed the deal, but his former band mates Ray Manzarek and Robby Krieger had a hard time turning down all that money.
Soon afterwards, Manzarek and Krieger took a new incarnation of the band out on the road, under the moniker The Doors of the 21st Century, using Jim Morrison’s face to sell tickets.
When John took legal action against his friends and band mates to defend Jim Morrison's artistic legacy, he landed in court, the subject of a countersuit.
In 'The Doors: Unhinged', the drummer describes how his former band mates sued him for $40 million, more than they collectively had ever made. He also tells how testimony from Police drummer Stewart Copeland changed the trial, and writes about his excitement when he got to carry Elvin Jones' cymbals to his car - even years after the Doors' success - among other things.
John Densmore's new book will be available through Amazon.com on April 17, 2013. It's the drummer's second foray into autobiography, his first book, dubbed 'Riders on the Storm', was published in 1990.
