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By JEFF SHERWOOD They started at the Whiskey A Go Go on the Sunset Strip as the house band and in three years made their way to the top. The group is the Doors with a very controversial lead singer and spokesman, Jim Morrison. He’s not only the lead singer, but has written many of the group’s songs, is a published au thor and poet as well as an = Tnee actor. He has been called many different names by many writers, and it seems most of them don't really fit the man. When people think of Morrison, they think he is a real freaky guy, but ac cording to the group’s press agent, Leon Barnard, he re ally isn't. According to Barnard, if you don’t try and make Morrison perform when talking with him, you’! find out he is not like all the reports say. Barnard says he is one of the nicest guys he has ever met. No imitators Morrison has been called such things as “the swing ing Door” by Joyce Haber and is by self definition, the “Ligard King.” He makes headlines in newspapers and has been the topic for many magazine articles. His music? Well, it has that distinctive Doors sound that no group can imitate. It can be attributed to Ray Manzarek’s distinctive or gan sounds and to Mor rison’s voice. To Morrison, rock is the atrical. He has been con demned for his moves on stage, just as Elvis Presley was when he start ed. By the way, according to Barnard, Elvis is one of Jim's favorite performers. Feature Stars It may seem strange that Morrison likes Elvis’s music but he digs old rock ’n’ roll, according to Barnard. He recently did a concert in Las Vegas and while he was there, he took in the shows of Little Richard and Fats Domino. He also performed in the Toronto Rock 'n’ Roll fes tival recently that featured stars from the ’a0s. Since the Doors made the big time, they have received mostly poor reviews for their Los Angeles concerts. This changed completely af ter the Doors’ fantastic per formance at the Aquarius ‘Theatre last summer. Digs Date Most critics in town were high in praise for the excel lent show where Morrison seemed to really put his heart into it. The audience was very well behaved and would have sat there all night. According to Barnard, it was about their best per formance ever. He said the only one that was compara ble was at the Filmore East in New York As most of you know. Morrison hasn’t been doing as many dates lately, due to some bad publicity. But the Doors’ latest al bum, ‘Soft Parade,” was a million seller on the basis of pre-release orders. The group's other albums, ‘The Doors,” “Strange Days’ and “Waiting for the Sun” were all million sellers “as have been many of their sin gles. Of course, they are most famous for their rock classic “Light My Fire.” This rec ord will probably be around as long as rock music is. Barnard said that the Doors would much rather perform in clubs, like Whiskey A Go Go, than in concert. He said Jim likes to see the audience and have the audience see him. Shed Beard In concert, it is almost im possible to flop, said Bar nard. You just perform the things people want to hear. But in a club, you can de part from your usual mate rial and experiment, he said. Morrison reportedly is an intellectual. He enjoys such authors as Norman Mailer and is interested in politics and war. Much of his poetry expresses his views. Contrary to popular belief, Morrison doesn’t use drugs, said his press agent, al though very much enjoys drinking beer and wine. Morrison has shed his beard and long hair that seemed to give him a very mysterious look. He did it for no particular reason — just a spur of the moment thing, said Barnard. More than anything else, Morrison is an individual. He does what he wants, has his own opinion on things that come up and most of all, tries to do a good job at whatever he does.
Newspaper Details
Van Nuys Valley News
Van Nuys, California, US
Fri, Oct 24, 1969
Page 18
Full Page
Clipped by
Alex P.
GB 19 Feb 2026
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