John Densmore
John Densmore (born December 1, 1944 in Santa Monica , California ) is an American musician . From 1965 Densmore was the drummer of the rock band The Doors until they split up in 1973.
Life
Densmore grew up in Los Angeles and learned to play the piano at an early age. In addition, he took lessons in drums and percussion instruments. After the Santa Monica City College he studied music at California State University in Northridge under the jazz cellist Fred Katz .
In the mid-1960s, Densmore joined the band The Psychedelic Rangers as a drummer along with guitarist Robbie Krieger . Shortly afterwards he began to rehearse with Krieger, keyboardist Ray Manzarek , his two brothers and singer Jim Morrison . The group was initially called Rick & the Ravens and after the departure of the Manzarek brothers in 1965 The Doors .
"As a drummer, Densmore had a creative, dynamic flair that was suitable for the surreal, kaleidoscopic music of the Doors," states the Densmore Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame website. And in 2010 Modern Drummer Magazine described Densmore's ride cymbal work as one of the most striking in classic rock: "Densmore favored a sleek, clear style with a feel-good rhythm." He himself felt strongly influenced by jazz drummer Elvin Jones .
After Morrison's death he was not involved in the new edition of the band ( The Doors of the 21st Century ), which Manzarek and Krieger had founded with singer Ian Astbury . He sued his former bandmates for infringement of the rights to the name of The Doors and in July 2005 obtained an order before the Superior Court in Los Angeles , which forbade Manzarek and Krieger from using the "Doors" component in the new band name. Since then, the band toured under the name Riders on the Storm .
Densmore's own new band called Tribal Jazz , with which he returned to his roots in jazz, released their debut album in 2006. In 2013, the year Manzarek died, Densmore's book The Doors Unhinged was published , in which he describes his view of the dispute with his former colleagues.
literature
- John Densmore: My Life with Jim Morrison and the Doors . Hannibal Verlag, Höfen 2001, ISBN 978-3-85445-066-5 (Original edition: Riders In The Storm - My Life With Jim Morrison And The Doors )
- John Densmore: I hope I die before I get old. Doors drummer John Densmore doesn't want to be part of the sell-out of pop classics . Rolling Stone , German edition, January 2003
Web links
- Literature by and about John Densmore in the catalog of the German National Library
- John Densmore in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Official John Densmore Website
Individual evidence
- ↑ Article by John Densmore in the LA Times
- ↑ Tribal Jazz at discogs.com
- ^ The Doors' John Densmore Talks About the Band's Ugly, Six-Year Feud at rollingstone.com
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Densmore, John |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American musician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | December 1, 1944 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Santa Monica , California , USA |