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RECORDED INTERVIEWS
Note: Recordings are listed by date of original interview.SELF-INTERVIEW By Jim Morrison:
"I think the interview is the new art form. I think the self-interview is the essence of creativity. Asking yourself questions and trying to find answers. The writer is just answering a series of unuttered questions.
It's similar to answering questions on a witness stand. It's that strange area where you try and pin down something that happened in the past and try honestly to remember what you were trying to do. It's a crucial mental exercise. An interview will often give you a chance to confront your mind with questions, which to me is what art is all about. An interview also gives you the chance to try and eliminate all of those space fillers... you should try to be explicit, accurate, to the point... no bulshit. The interview form has antecedents in the confession box, debating and cross-examination. Once you say something, you can't really retract it. It's too late. It's a very existential moment.
I'm kind of hooked to the game of art and literature; my heroes are artists and writers.
I always wanted to write, but I always figured it'd be no good unless somehow the hand just took the pen and started moving without me really having anything to do with it. Like automatic writing. But it just never happened.
I wrote a few poems, of course. I think around the fifth or sixth grade I wrote a poem called "The Pony Express." That was the first I can remember. It was one of those ballad-type poems. I never could get it together though.
"Horse Latitudes" I wrote when I was in high school. I kept a lot of notebooks through high school and college, and then when I left school, for some dumb reason- maybe it was wise- I threw them all away... I wrote in those books night after night. But maybe if I'd never thrown them away, I'd never have written anything original- because they were mainly accumulations of things that I'd read or heard, like quotes from books. I think if I'd never gotten rid of them I'd never been free.
Listen, real poetry doesn't say anything, it just ticks off the possibilities. Opens all doors. You can walk through any one that suits you.
...And that's why poetry appeals to me so much- because it's so eternal. As long as there are people, they can remember words and combinations of words. Nothing else can survive a holocaust but poetry and songs. No one can remember an entire novel. No one can describe a film, a piece of sculpture, a painting, but so long as there are human beings, songs and poetry can continue.
If my poetry aims to achieve anything, it's to deliver poeple from the limited ways in which they see and feel."
Jim Morrison
Los Angeles, 1969-71
(Copyright © Jim Morrison; From 'Wilderness: The Lost Writings of Jim Morrison Vol. 1')
1967
PAUL WILLIAMS
Recording Date: Exact Date Unknown - March 1967
Interview Location: Englewood, NJ
Publication: Crawdaddy! Magazine
Length: Unknown
Info:
An interview with Paul Rothchild discussing The Doors, by Paul Williams, editor of Crawdaddy! Magazine. This recording is said to have been made in Englewood, New Jersey on an unknown date in March, 1967. This interview is published in the August 1967 issue of Crawdaddy! and portions are later used in Paul Williams' 'Outlaw Blues: A Book of Rock Music', published in 1969.
LENNART WRETLIND
Recording Date: Exact Date Unknown - July 28-30th - 1967
Interview Location: Fillmore Auditorium - San Francisco, CA
Publication: Unpublished
Length: 4:35
Info:
A short interview with The Doors backstage at the Fillmore Auditorium in late July, 1967. The exact date of this recording is unknown. A portion of this interview may have been aired during a broadcast of The Doors 1968 performances in Stockholm, Sweden.
MIKE LAZAR & STEVE FLESSER
Recording Date: September 11th - 1967
Interview Location: S.U.N.Y Oswego - Oswego, NY
Publication: Radio Broadcast
Length: 28:22
Info:
Recorded and intended for broadcast by Mike Lazar and Steve Flesser, this interview was never published and likely never broadcast on the radio. Features The Doors answering a series of questions shortly before their performance, and Bill Siddons is nearby. This recording also features unsuccessful attempts by Mike Lazar and Steve Flesser to record spoken radio promo's for the local S.U.N.Y Oswego AM station.
TOM REYNOLDS
Recording Date: October 21st - 1967
Interview Location: Broadmoor Drugstore - Colorado Springs, CO
Publication: Unpublished
Length: N/A
Info:
Recorded on October 21st, 1967 at the Broadmoor Drugstore prior to The Doors performance at the Broadmoor Hotel. This brief interview was not intentional, and the recording is no longer intact.
1968
(UNKNOWN #1)
Recording Date: February 17th - 1968
Interview Location: Veterans Memorial Coliseum - Phoenix, AZ
Publication: N/A - Unknown
Length: Unknown
Info:
Ray Manzarek is photographed backstage at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix, talking into a microphone held by an unidentified local radio personality or journalist. The details and whereabouts of this recording are unknown.
DIGBY DIEHL
Recording Date: March xx - 1968
Interview Location: Los Angeles, CA
Publication: Eye Magazine - April 1968
Length: Unknown
Info:
This interview by Digby Diehl is said to be recorded, and likely would have taken place in March 1968 while interviewing The Doors for the April 1968 issue of Eye Magazine.
RICHARD GOLDSTEIN
Recording Date: March xx - 1968
Interview Location: T.T.G. Studios - Los Angeles, CA
Publication: New York Magazine - August 5th 1968
Length: Unknown
Info:
This interview by Richard Goldstein takes place during a studio session in 1968, a year before he conducts The Doors televised interview on 'Critique' in 1969. The article is published in August, 1968 for New York Magazine and mentions the use of a tape recorder. The whereabouts of this recording are unknown.
JOHN CARPENTER
Recording Date: Summer - 1968
Interview Location: The Phone Booth - Hollywood, CA
Publication: The Los Angeles Free Press - July 19-25
Length: Unknown
Info:
This interview with Jim Morrison is recorded in June or early July, 1968 by John Carpenter, journalist for the Los Angeles Free Press. Prior to its publication, transcripts of the recording are sent to Jim for approval. He requests further clarification from Pamela Courson and extensive portions are removed. This interview is published in the Los Angeles Free Press for the week of July 19th-25th. The whereabouts of the original recording are unknown.
(UNKNOWN #2)
Recording Date: September xx - 1968
Interview Location: Europe
Publication: N/A - Unknown
Length: Unknown
Info:
This interview with Jim Morrison was originally thought to have been conducted or recorded by Geoffrey Cannon or Jo Durden-Smith during the production of Granada Television's 'The Doors Are Open'. The contents of this recording contain Jim Morrison's comments on The Doors performances at the Roundhouse in London, 1968. Because Geoffrey Cannon and Jo Durden-Smith do not appear to be responsible for this recording, the original interviewer remains unidentified.
LENNART WRETLIND
Recording Date: September 19th - 1968
Interview Location: Hotel Appolonia - Stockholm, SE
Publication: Unpublished
Length: Unknown
Info:
This second interview recorded by Lennart Wretlind was conducted at the Hotel Appolonia in Stockholm, Sweden on September 19th, 1968. A portion of this recording features unique poetry read by Jim Morrison with improvised 'musical' accompaniment by the band.
1969
JERRY HOPKINS
Recording Date: May xx - 1969
Interview Location: Various Locations - Los Angeles, CA
Publication: Rolling Stone #38 - July 26th, 1969
Length: Unknown
Info:
This interview was recorded over a period of two weeks, including sessions in a Santa Monica Blvd. bar, The Doors office, going to and from the office of an agent both Jerry and Jim Morrison coincidentally shared, and concludes in the Elektra studio with a reading of Jim's poem "The Death of Rock". During this interview, Jim Morrison tells Jerry Hopkins he would like to read a book about Elvis. The whereabouts of this recording are unknown.
JOSE CRUZ
Recording Date: June 27th - 1969
Interview Location: Mexico City, MX
Publication: Unknown Mexican Publication - Mid 1969
Length: Unknown
Info:
The whereabouts of this recording are unknown. From photographs, it appears that John Densmore was recorded in a backstage interview at the Forum in Mexico City.
ED LEIMBACHER
Recording Date: July 27th - 1969
Interview Location: Woodinville, WA
Publication: Portland New Times Journal - 1970
Length: Unknown
Info:
Jim Morrison is interviewed by Ed Leimbacher in a limousine prior to The Doors performance at the Seattle Pop Festival in 1969. Gram Parsons is also present during this unscheduled interview, and Jim Morrison is said to have been difficult to talk to, insisting that a recording can only be made if he is able to erase or re-record any segment he pleases. The recording likely no longer exists.
HOWARD SMITH
Recording Date: November 6th - 1969
Interview Location: The Doors Office - Los Angeles, CA
Publication: Village Voice
Length: 59:19
Info:
A one hour interview with Jim Morrison is recorded by Howard Smith for the 'Village Voice' in early November 1969. The exact date of this recording has yet to be confirmed. During this interview, Jim Morrison discusses a painting of Napoleon Bonaparte and glass elevators resembling Victorian era rocket ships.
1970
MICHAEL G. KAVANAUGH
Recording Date: Exact Date Unknown - April 1970
Interview Location: Telephone Call - Salt Lake City, UT > The Doors Rehearsal Space
Publication: Radio Broadcast
Length: Approx. 10:00
Info:
This phone-call interview with Robby Krieger was recorded by radio disc jockey Michael G. Kavanaugh prior to The Doors performance at the Salt Palace in April 1970, a show that would later be cancelled. This interview appears to have been intended for broadcast prior to the show, however the known recording is preserved on a broadcast special aired on KRSP in 1971.
TONY THOMAS
Recording Date: May 15th - 1970
Interview Location: The Doors Office - Los Angeles, CA
Publication: Radio Broadcast - CBC's Something To Say
Length: 26:53
Info:
This interview with Jim Morrison was recorded on May 15th, 1970 for broadcast on CBC Toronto's radio special 'Something To Say', airing on September 27th. The hour long program also features interview material from Grace Slick and Charlie Allen. The complete interview recording by Tony Thomas is officially released on Bright Midnight's 'The Lost Interview Tapes' Vol. 1
JOHN TOBLER
Recording Date: August 30th - 1970
Interview Location: Isle Of Wight - UK
Publication: ZigZag Magazine - October 1970
Length: 15:03
Info:
This interview with Jim Morrison was conducted and recorded by John Tobler at the Isle of Wight Festival on August 30th, 1970, and later published in the October issue of ZigZag magazine. Jim Morrison discusses various subjects including the future of music festivals, Woodstock, and The Doors performances at the Roundhouse in London in 1968. The published issue of ZigZag Magazine is available for viewing HERE.
SALLI STEVENSON
Recording Date: October 13th - 1970
Interview Location: The Doors Office - Los Angeles, CA
Publication: Circus Magazine - January/February - 1971
Length: 66:28
Info:
This interview with Jim Morrison by Salli Stevenson was recorded on October 13th, 1970 and is accompanied with color photographs. The interview is published over two issues of Circus Magazine - Jan '71, Feb '71. The original audio recording is officially released on Bright Midnight's 'The Lost Interview Tapes' Vol. 2
BOB CHORUSH
Recording Date: Early December - 1970
Interview Location: Various Locations - Los Angeles
Publication: Los Angeles Free Press - January 15th - 1971
Length: 125:01
Info:
This interview by Bob Chorush was recorded in early December, 1970 in various locations throughout Los Angeles. Elektra Records asked Bob repetitively to conduct an interview with Jim Morrison as he liked the articles written about him in the Los Angeles Free Press. Bob was not thrilled at the idea, and Jim had a "horrible reputation in LA for acting like a drunk jerk". The original article titled 'The Lizard King reforms: taking the snake and wearing it' is drafted over the holidays and submitted to the Free Press after New Year's and published on January 15th, 1971. The original interview tapes are given away following the publication of the article.
1971
BEN FONG-TORRES
Recording Date: February xx - 1971
Interview Location: Diane Gardiner's Apartment - Los Angeles, CA
Publication: Rolling Stone #77 - March 4th - 1971
Length: 73:43
Info:
Jim Morrison's last known recorded interview is conducted by Rolling Stone journalist Ben Fong-Torres and features Pamela Courson. This tape was made unintentionally after a chance meeting at Diane Gardiner's apartment in Los Angeles. The interview is later used in the March 4th, 1971 issue of Rolling Stone.