Jim Morrison is still one of the most compelling figures who has ever been part of popular music. He never got old and therefore never seriously let us down, so the mysteries that remain still matter to many. I have gathered together most every existing recorded tape of The Doors and Jim Morrison from late August 1970 to Jim's death in Paris in July 1971 and combined them with a chronology of the events of Jim's Miami trial, his final shows with The Doors, the move to Paris, and the stories about his death.
Produced and engineered by dj bennett (chillroom@killradio.org)
This one took several weeks to put together, so I give thanks to my live listeners for their patience and support. This program is presented for educational purposes. Thanks to killradio.org and to radio4all.net. Comments are most welcome.
The Chill Room, 17 December 2011, at 00:00PST on killradio.org
128k, 2 hours, milestones from the last year of Jim's life
As a female voice in the crowd shouted after the isle of Wight performance: "Bring back Jim Morrison!'
There is a lot of contradictory information out there (hey, Ray Manzarek himself said he thought Jim was still alive for twenty years!), and so some, maybe a lot, of what is done here is based on speculation. The "Jomo & The Smoothies" tape I play here because most people think that this tape is what they say it is, but one of the most reliable historical authorities I have found, named Porsche, presents pretty solid evidence that the tape was actually recorded in L.A. at the time of the Rock Is Dead recordings, and I think Porsche is correct. I have found a very detailed account of "Jim Morrison's Quiet Days in Paris" from The Doors Quarterly (http://home.arcor.de/doorsquarterlyonline/quietday.htm), and it states that Jim left for Paris on 11 March 1971 (rather than the 15 April date I use). Based on many interviews with Jim's friends and Doors people, it gives us a puzzling and sometimes mixed up vision of that period. However, this account claims that the Jomo tape is authentic, which raises questions of the author's accuracy, and then dismisses the Rock'n'Roll Circus story AND Pam's own account as "junkie tales" and "rumors," so I don't know how much credit to give it.
The Doors: Jim Morrison, vocals; Ray Manzarek, keys; Robbie Krieger, guitar; John Densmore, percussion.
Set list, all musical performances by The Doors unless otherwise noted: Interview with Jim outside Miami courthouse (12 August 1970) / Isle of Wight Festival: Roadhouse Blues-The End (soundboard 30 August 1970) / Dallas State Fair Music Hall: Love Her Madly-The Changeling-L.A. Woman-When the Music's Over (lo-fi audience tape, 11 December 1970) / Getting To Know TV from Australia: Crawling King Snake (mid-December 1970, broadcast 1 March 1971) / The Doors Workshop: Riders on the Storm (January 1971, 40th Anniversary Mix) / Jim and Pam recorded by Ben Fong-Torres (early February 1971) / The "Jomo & The Smoothies" tape: Orange County Suite (this tape was found in Paris after Jim's death and is dated traditionally June 1971 in Paris but more likely is from March 1969 in L.A. -- I have also edited the tape) / Sunset Studios, L.A.: Moonlight Drive (recorded 1967, 40th Anniversary Mix)
Well, I took a little downer 'bout an hour ago / Took a look around, see which way the wind blow / Where the little girls in their Hollywood bungalows?
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