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Jim Morrison: Friends Gathered Together
Jim Morrison… We know the stories, but does anyone know the real man? If you don’t know where the truth ends and the fiction begins, you’re not alone. Lies, myths, rumors and tall tales spread by people who didn’t know him have masked Jim Morrison and clouded what he accomplished.
Fearing that the original, actual real Jim would become hopelessly lost, Frank Lisciandro, Jim’s friend and film collaborator, gathered together more than a dozen of Morrison’s friends for a series of conversations and interviews. In the transcripts of these talks Jim Morrison is candidly brought to light by the people who knew him, who were his pals, colleagues, mentors and lovers. Jim Morrison: Friends Gathered Together confronts and sweeps away the fantasy to illuminate an extraordinary man and gifted creative artist.
A quote from the book:
"To call him a rock star is just a total insult to him and his intelligence and his awareness and this philosophy that was inside of him. His life was a philosophy. He didn’t tell people what they have to do, he just did it himself. He just put it all out there."– Ron Alan
The conversations covered a multitude of topics and events. The people who share their stories were themselves active participants in the West Coast music scene: musicians, concert promoters, publicists and band managers. Readers will discover funny stories, secrets revealed and truths more astounding than the fabrications published during and after Morrison’s life.
Another quote from the book:
“I loved Jim when he would get an idea, he'd say, ‘Uh oh, I think I'm getting a cerebral erection’. And then he'd hold his hands to his head because he had a new idea for a poem or song and then laugh about it. It was the laughter that followed that was wonderful.”– Leon Barnard
From his first year in high school and his student days at UCLA to the formation of The Doors and his rise to fame, this book weaves an amazing tapestry of honest information about Morrison the poet, the brilliant lyricist, and the iconic singer and performer of The Doors. The book is a treat for Jim’s fans worldwide and for curious readers who want to know the true Jim Morrison story. The conversations also offer a unique oral history of the restless and turbulent Sixties when L.A.’s Sunset Strip was the focus of a cultural renaissance and musical revolution.
The book contains more than 50 original Frank Lisciandro photographs, many never published before.
More quotes from the book:
"Jim was totally not interested in the economic aspect of his career. I never met anybody like Jim. He was seemingly disconnected with the meaning of money. He truly had no interest in physical possessions." – Bill Siddons
“The biographers seem to have lost Jim’s sense of humor. I can’t impress upon you enough that it was always there….He was the funniest human being I ever met. Simply that, the funniest human being I ever met.” – Fud Ford
"A few weeks before he left for Paris, I organized a (touch) football game. Jim was relentless in his pursuit of my brother, who was the opposing quarterback.
Fearing that the original, actual real Jim would become hopelessly lost, Frank Lisciandro, Jim’s friend and film collaborator, gathered together more than a dozen of Morrison’s friends for a series of conversations and interviews. In the transcripts of these talks Jim Morrison is candidly brought to light by the people who knew him, who were his pals, colleagues, mentors and lovers. Jim Morrison: Friends Gathered Together confronts and sweeps away the fantasy to illuminate an extraordinary man and gifted creative artist.
A quote from the book:
"To call him a rock star is just a total insult to him and his intelligence and his awareness and this philosophy that was inside of him. His life was a philosophy. He didn’t tell people what they have to do, he just did it himself. He just put it all out there."– Ron Alan
The conversations covered a multitude of topics and events. The people who share their stories were themselves active participants in the West Coast music scene: musicians, concert promoters, publicists and band managers. Readers will discover funny stories, secrets revealed and truths more astounding than the fabrications published during and after Morrison’s life.
Another quote from the book:
“I loved Jim when he would get an idea, he'd say, ‘Uh oh, I think I'm getting a cerebral erection’. And then he'd hold his hands to his head because he had a new idea for a poem or song and then laugh about it. It was the laughter that followed that was wonderful.”– Leon Barnard
From his first year in high school and his student days at UCLA to the formation of The Doors and his rise to fame, this book weaves an amazing tapestry of honest information about Morrison the poet, the brilliant lyricist, and the iconic singer and performer of The Doors. The book is a treat for Jim’s fans worldwide and for curious readers who want to know the true Jim Morrison story. The conversations also offer a unique oral history of the restless and turbulent Sixties when L.A.’s Sunset Strip was the focus of a cultural renaissance and musical revolution.
The book contains more than 50 original Frank Lisciandro photographs, many never published before.
More quotes from the book:
"Jim was totally not interested in the economic aspect of his career. I never met anybody like Jim. He was seemingly disconnected with the meaning of money. He truly had no interest in physical possessions." – Bill Siddons
“The biographers seem to have lost Jim’s sense of humor. I can’t impress upon you enough that it was always there….He was the funniest human being I ever met. Simply that, the funniest human being I ever met.” – Fud Ford
"A few weeks before he left for Paris, I organized a (touch) football game. Jim was relentless in his pursuit of my brother, who was the opposing quarterback.
- GenresMusicBiographyNonfiction
383 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 16, 2014
54 people are currently reading
244 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
December 19, 2014
I've been a Doors fan since I was about 12 years old. Insert that Kids in the Hall sketch about Doors fans here: ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xill... ). That means I've read an embarrassing amount of books on them…and there are some really shitty books out there. That being said, this, next to Break On Through by Stephen Davis is the best, most honest telling of the life of Jim Morrison from a host of very close acquaintances. Not only is it fascinating about what it reveals about a person who has been hugely misrepresented for the last two decades (thanks to Oliver Stone), but it is a great rumination on art, humanity, fame, and a time period that is also quite misrepresented itself.
After reading this, I came away thinking of a scene from 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind' where Kate Winslett's character says to her partner, "I'm just a fucked up girl looking for a little peace of mind." Jim Morrison at his heart, seemed to be searching for the exact same thing. Aren't we all?
Even if you're not a fan of Jim Morrison/The Doors, this is a great character study as well as a thought-provoking examination of what it is to be an artist, to be trapped by your own creation, and to simply be a human being. I wish all books researching so-called "rock stars" would focus on these elements before putting half-truths and hearsay out into the world.
After reading this, I came away thinking of a scene from 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind' where Kate Winslett's character says to her partner, "I'm just a fucked up girl looking for a little peace of mind." Jim Morrison at his heart, seemed to be searching for the exact same thing. Aren't we all?
Even if you're not a fan of Jim Morrison/The Doors, this is a great character study as well as a thought-provoking examination of what it is to be an artist, to be trapped by your own creation, and to simply be a human being. I wish all books researching so-called "rock stars" would focus on these elements before putting half-truths and hearsay out into the world.
January 25, 2014
Absolutely Essential!
The perennial question for those who knew Jim Morrison is “what was he like?” Jim’s friends along with The Doors have spent a lifetime answering that question and in “Jim Morrison: Friends Gathered Together” Frank Lisciandro succeeds magnificently in answering that question and presenting the many facets of Jim Morrison.
In the spring and summer of 1990 Lisciandro, a film school friend of Jim Morrison and Ray Manazarek as well as editor for The Doors documentary “Feast of Friends” and collaborator on Morrison’s film “HWY,” endeavored to talk with and interview on the record Jim Morrison’s friends. These are the interviews that comprise “Jim Morrison: Friends Gathered Together.”
The interviews in “Friends Gathered Together” were also the raw material for Lisciandro’s 1991 book on Morrison “Feast of Friends.” The question has come up how “Friends Gathered Together” differs from Lisciandro’s ‘91 book? The answer is, “Feast of Friends” is only 178 pages while “Friends Gathered Together” is 376 pages. The interviews in “Friends Gathered Together” are the full, unabridged, unexpurgated (slightly edited, by journalist Steven Wheeler) interviews conducted by Lisciandro in 1991.
Many books mention the different aspects of Jim Morrison, but “Friends Gathered Together,” through the differing viewpoints of the interviewees the reader is able to see the habits, temperament, and eccentricities of Jim Morrison. If you want some insight into Morrison’s personality read the interviews with Phil O’Leno and Rich Linnell, if you want to know what the Sunset Strip scene was like in the 60’s read Ron Alan’s interview, if you’re looking for Jim Morrison, the poet, read Michael McClure’s, what was Pam Courson like on coming back from Paris after Morrison’s death read the interview with Cheri Siddons, what was Jim like as a lover, read the interview with Eva Gardonyi. That’s not to say the interviews aren’t multidimensional, you will find elements of all in every interview, and it is through the commonalties in their reports the reader can bring the picture of Jim Morrison into closer focus.
“Jim Morrison: Friends Gathered Together” is a great reference book for any Doors/Jim Morrison fan. The look into Jim Morrison‘s personality and life is unparalleled. The interviews are annotated with dates of events that the interviewees’ memories are weak on. I’m sure “Jim Morrison: Friends Gathered Together” is a book that will be kept close by and referenced regularly.
Jim Cherry writes The Doors Examiner.
The perennial question for those who knew Jim Morrison is “what was he like?” Jim’s friends along with The Doors have spent a lifetime answering that question and in “Jim Morrison: Friends Gathered Together” Frank Lisciandro succeeds magnificently in answering that question and presenting the many facets of Jim Morrison.
In the spring and summer of 1990 Lisciandro, a film school friend of Jim Morrison and Ray Manazarek as well as editor for The Doors documentary “Feast of Friends” and collaborator on Morrison’s film “HWY,” endeavored to talk with and interview on the record Jim Morrison’s friends. These are the interviews that comprise “Jim Morrison: Friends Gathered Together.”
The interviews in “Friends Gathered Together” were also the raw material for Lisciandro’s 1991 book on Morrison “Feast of Friends.” The question has come up how “Friends Gathered Together” differs from Lisciandro’s ‘91 book? The answer is, “Feast of Friends” is only 178 pages while “Friends Gathered Together” is 376 pages. The interviews in “Friends Gathered Together” are the full, unabridged, unexpurgated (slightly edited, by journalist Steven Wheeler) interviews conducted by Lisciandro in 1991.
Many books mention the different aspects of Jim Morrison, but “Friends Gathered Together,” through the differing viewpoints of the interviewees the reader is able to see the habits, temperament, and eccentricities of Jim Morrison. If you want some insight into Morrison’s personality read the interviews with Phil O’Leno and Rich Linnell, if you want to know what the Sunset Strip scene was like in the 60’s read Ron Alan’s interview, if you’re looking for Jim Morrison, the poet, read Michael McClure’s, what was Pam Courson like on coming back from Paris after Morrison’s death read the interview with Cheri Siddons, what was Jim like as a lover, read the interview with Eva Gardonyi. That’s not to say the interviews aren’t multidimensional, you will find elements of all in every interview, and it is through the commonalties in their reports the reader can bring the picture of Jim Morrison into closer focus.
“Jim Morrison: Friends Gathered Together” is a great reference book for any Doors/Jim Morrison fan. The look into Jim Morrison‘s personality and life is unparalleled. The interviews are annotated with dates of events that the interviewees’ memories are weak on. I’m sure “Jim Morrison: Friends Gathered Together” is a book that will be kept close by and referenced regularly.
Jim Cherry writes The Doors Examiner.
April 1, 2014
Jim Morrison up front and personal
i liked that by the end of the book I felt I had hung around with Jim for a little while. Doesn't get much better than that.
i liked that by the end of the book I felt I had hung around with Jim for a little while. Doesn't get much better than that.
February 19, 2022
Libro impotente ed indispensabile per noi “amici” di Jim nonostante nella versione italiana ci siano parecchi errori dovuti alla mancanza di un serio Intervento di editing . In ultimo, forse è un libro con troppe interviste che si ripetono e si sovrappongono: diciamo che le interviste fondamentali sono quelle di Babe, Kathy Lisciandro, McClure e Siddons. Infine quello che mi rende felice è che sia stata restituita la figura del Jim poeta, cantante e scrittore e non il beone drogato e squinternato come ha fatto quella schiappa di olever stone . W I Doors sempre .
August 29, 2021
These are the stories of the friends who knew Jim best, the real Jim. You can hold onto the totems of the Lizard King and Mr. Mojo Risin, if that's the Jimbo you need. But these interviews dispel those myths.
The interviews were conducted in the 90s, when the cast of characters were decades removed from the events discussed. With most everyone in their forties, the stories are peppered with wisdom, nostalgia, but above all truth. I believe Frank Lisciandro's goal was honesty.
Published in 2014, I wish this book was around in the 90s. Back then, in my early twenties, all I had to go on was No One Here Gets Out Alive and Oliver Stone's movie The Doors.If I had read this at the time, Jim's influence on me would have been a lot different - just as profound, but different. I probably would have been a lot less self-destructive.
Anyhow, this is a poignant read for Morrison fans. Highlights include: Fud Ford, Michael McClure, Eva Gardonyi, and Babe Hill.
The interviews were conducted in the 90s, when the cast of characters were decades removed from the events discussed. With most everyone in their forties, the stories are peppered with wisdom, nostalgia, but above all truth. I believe Frank Lisciandro's goal was honesty.
Published in 2014, I wish this book was around in the 90s. Back then, in my early twenties, all I had to go on was No One Here Gets Out Alive and Oliver Stone's movie The Doors.If I had read this at the time, Jim's influence on me would have been a lot different - just as profound, but different. I probably would have been a lot less self-destructive.
Anyhow, this is a poignant read for Morrison fans. Highlights include: Fud Ford, Michael McClure, Eva Gardonyi, and Babe Hill.
June 7, 2020
This book is one of the best books about Jim Morrison around. It really takes you back in time and you get a realistic feel of those days in the sixties and seventies.
January 1, 2021
I too am a huge Doors fan. I remember singing "Hello I love You" (those are the only words of the song I knew so I repeated them over and over) through the play ground when I was in 1st grade. Then when I was a teenager I read "No One Here Gets Out Alive" and I began to get obsessed with Jim Morrison. I actually tried to emulate him and began to drink and do drugs heavily. Since then, I've been in recovery and have 17 years clean.
I have read almost all the books about the Doors and most of them are sketchy at best. Plus, I've met Robbie Krieger and he refutes most of the accounts out there. He told me Jim was just a normal cool guy. Another great read that I enjoyed is the autobiography by Ray Manzerak, "Light My Fire: My Life with The Doors".
This book is probably the best one yet because you get many different perspectives of Jim's character from many of his friends and associates throughout his short career. The ending was perfect too from Babe. I cried. Such a terrible tragedy that Jim died before he could have maybe gotten some help. The world lost one of the greatest talents and personalities of all time.
I have read almost all the books about the Doors and most of them are sketchy at best. Plus, I've met Robbie Krieger and he refutes most of the accounts out there. He told me Jim was just a normal cool guy. Another great read that I enjoyed is the autobiography by Ray Manzerak, "Light My Fire: My Life with The Doors".
This book is probably the best one yet because you get many different perspectives of Jim's character from many of his friends and associates throughout his short career. The ending was perfect too from Babe. I cried. Such a terrible tragedy that Jim died before he could have maybe gotten some help. The world lost one of the greatest talents and personalities of all time.
October 23, 2016
The most important bio on The Lizard King.
I've read many bio's on Jim Morrison that are filled with the sensational excess. For me this book has been my favorite. I enjoyed reading the transcript from the people Jim actually hung out with and considered friends. I felt like this book was a true account of Jim's fascinating personality. There was much more to The Lizard King then what has been made into film. After reading this, it seems that Jim was extremely kind, funny, generous, enjoyed life, not materialistic at all, did not have a death wish, treated his fans well when meeting them, and was supremely intelligent. This book is a good read if you're looking for a very real perspective of one of America's most provocative and interesting poets who happened to end up a rock star by pure fate seemingly. Jim and The Doors made some timeless music in a short time, that still holds up/surpasses what's on the radio today!
I've read many bio's on Jim Morrison that are filled with the sensational excess. For me this book has been my favorite. I enjoyed reading the transcript from the people Jim actually hung out with and considered friends. I felt like this book was a true account of Jim's fascinating personality. There was much more to The Lizard King then what has been made into film. After reading this, it seems that Jim was extremely kind, funny, generous, enjoyed life, not materialistic at all, did not have a death wish, treated his fans well when meeting them, and was supremely intelligent. This book is a good read if you're looking for a very real perspective of one of America's most provocative and interesting poets who happened to end up a rock star by pure fate seemingly. Jim and The Doors made some timeless music in a short time, that still holds up/surpasses what's on the radio today!
August 18, 2022
Shelved this one because it's just been on my nightstand for too long lol I wanted to read a Jim Morrison biography to find out who he really was outside of the stereotype of sex drugs and rock n roll god and this more than served that purpose. I wish more people could see him that way. I especially like how this framed him as more of a poet than a rock star.
My only complaint is God the people interviewed are such boomers lmaoo I couldn't help but feel a bit of resentment for the carefree, irresponsible and selfish life they all got to live just for being born at the right time but out of respect for Jim this review is not the place for me to really get on my soapbox.
Good interviews
My only complaint is God the people interviewed are such boomers lmaoo I couldn't help but feel a bit of resentment for the carefree, irresponsible and selfish life they all got to live just for being born at the right time but out of respect for Jim this review is not the place for me to really get on my soapbox.
Good interviews
December 23, 2022
Avevo già letto vari libri riguardo la figura di Jim Morrison, soprattutto biografie e poesie; questo libro mi ha coinvolta particolarmente, non solo per il modo in cui è scritto (interviste), ma soprattutto per lo sforzo di delineare in maniera più veritiera la figura di questo artista da parte delle persone che durante la vita gli sono stati più vicino, raccontandone pregi e difetti.
April 9, 2025
Hit and miss - some interviews are great, others not so much. I feel a bit like the interviewer maybe didn't get the best out of the interviewees. There were certainly a few times the interviewee gave an answer that imho would naturally lead to a further exploration but, it just didn't happen (of failed to make the edit).
March 26, 2018
A great insight from those that were there must for any Doors fan. Puts Jim in proper perspective relevant
To his character and lifestyle.
I have read several books regarding Jim and this is the real one. A must have.
To his character and lifestyle.
I have read several books regarding Jim and this is the real one. A must have.
August 15, 2014
Great insight into the life of James Douglas Morrison
I Love the way this is written in form of Q & A and conversations amongst some of the closets friends and confidants of the late Poet / rock legend. I love the stories they tell about their own personal.experiences, conversations and impressions of Jim. We get sense of who the real man was
This is not another book based on the sensationalized caricature that was produced for the stage and to sell records. Give this one a.gander if you are itching to know more about Jim Morrison.
I Love the way this is written in form of Q & A and conversations amongst some of the closets friends and confidants of the late Poet / rock legend. I love the stories they tell about their own personal.experiences, conversations and impressions of Jim. We get sense of who the real man was
This is not another book based on the sensationalized caricature that was produced for the stage and to sell records. Give this one a.gander if you are itching to know more about Jim Morrison.
July 10, 2014
My full and detailed review is on my website: http://rnrchemist.blogspot.com/2014/0...
I HIGHLY recommend this book to any Doors and Jim fan...you'll get a MUCH better understanding about what made him tick and what he was really like, and it'll completely change your perception of him.
I HIGHLY recommend this book to any Doors and Jim fan...you'll get a MUCH better understanding about what made him tick and what he was really like, and it'll completely change your perception of him.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews