John Densmore was born today in Los Angeles in 1944 and he rose to fame as the drummer for The Doors. While most folks first think of Jim Morrison at any mention of The Doors, one could argue that Densmore was actually the most important person in the band. Lacking a proper bass player, Densmore’s responsibilities were magnified and he proved himself more than up to the challenge.
Densmore started playing piano at age eight and was soon looking for new musical challenges. Were it not for his orthodontist forbidding it, he might have been a jazz clarinetist. He instead turned to the drums but retained his love of jazz and he was heavily influenced by John Coltrane’s drummer, Elvin Jones. After graduating from high school he continued his pursuit of music and played in a variety of small bands.
By the time Densmore turned 20 he was playing in a band called Psychedelic Rangers with guitarist Robby Krieger. He met Manzarek, who was playing in Rick and the Ravens along with two of his brothers as well as Jim Morrison, at a Maharishi meditation class and one day Manzarek invited him to a jam session. At the session Densmore met Jim Morrison and read the lyrics Morrison had come up with for the song that would eventually become “Break on Through”. Densmore was blown away.
When Manzarek’s brothers left Rick and the Ravens it opened the door for Densmore and Krieger to join with Mazarek and Morrison and The Doors were born in August of 1965. Densmore brought his love of jazz and world music and immediately incorporated it into the recording of “Break on Through”. He lovingly lifted the beat to the Bossa Nova song “Girl from Ipanema”, stiffened up a bit with a rock feel, and this became the backbone of The Doors’ first hit.
Densmore has continued to experiment and improve his craft and he wasn’t above a bit of chicanery as well. Listen to the cymbal crashes on “Spanish Caravan”. Those aren’t cymbal crashes at all but rather Densmore making cymbal crash sounds with his mouth, kind of the same way you do when you punctuate a crummy joke with a “ba-dum-tsssh”.
John Densmore is a rock and roll workhorse on par with Ringo Starr and Mitch Mitchell. With the unpredictable Jim Morrison taking center stage, Densmore was often called on to provide the beat for extended rants and monologues during live shows. These could extend over ten minutes at times and Densmore was responsible for keeping everything together. While he may not have the flashy fills of a Bill Ward or the thunder of a Keith Moon, Densmore is just as important to the history of rock and roll.
The Doors released six studio albums while Morrison was alive and a few more after his death. They sold tens of millions of albums and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993. Densmore has released a few memoirs and still occasionally performs. If you are a Doors fan I highly recommend picking up the 40th anniversary editions of their albums. You will hear new things in songs you’ve heard hundreds of times and, while it’s not exactly like hearing them for the first time, it’s the closest we can come.
“Back Door Man” off the album “The Doors” 1967:
“When the Music’s Over” off the album “Strange Days” 1967:
“Spanish Caravan” off the album “Waiting for the Sun” 1968:
“Runnin’ Blue” off the album “The Soft Parade” 1969:
“Peace Frog” off the album “Morrison Hotel” 1970:
“Been Down So Long” (alternate version) off the album “L.A. Woman” 1971:
